Magpies fullback JJ Taulagi puts in a don't-argue fend for the match-defining try in the 74th minute against Northland in Napier on Wednesday night. Photo/Duncan Brown
Magpies fullback JJ Taulagi puts in a don't-argue fend for the match-defining try in the 74th minute against Northland in Napier on Wednesday night. Photo/Duncan Brown
Try fests are godsend in meeting the mind-blowing expectations of bullish fans but Hawke's Bay Magpies coach Mark Ozich says there's a conscious desire to put up the storm shutters more adroitly in their quest to fulfil their playoff ambitions in the national provincial rugby campaign this season.
The Gareth Evans and Brad Weber co-skippered Magpies bounced back from a 14-point halftime deficit to trounce the Northland Taniwha 55-41 during the Mitre 10 Cup clash at McLean Park, Napier, on Wednesday night.
"Our fans most definitely get their money's worth," said Ozich, mindful they would have ridden an emotional rollercoaster but filed out of the turnstiles happy with the victory.
Juxtaposed with the turnout at most other venues, the rookie NPC mentor was pleased with a crowd of around 4000 for a Wednesday.
The teams had traded blows in the first half before the hosts stopped the rot after a pep talk from the Magpies' coaching stable, in a game that yielded 14 tries.
Twenty-six points were accrued from the boots of JJ Taulagi and Weber, for the victors, and Jack Debreczeni for the visitors.
"We just talked about a couple of first-time issues we had defensively and then just to shore that up," said Ozich after the Taniwha, under the tutelage of Derren Whitcombe and Bay-born George Konia, made their intentions clear with a bolshy halftime lead of 38-24, in what was billed as a pivotal match to secure to a playoff spot.
"Once we addressed that we got some bodies in front of their bodies to make some tackles to be a bit more effective defensively."
The Magpies are second on the second-tier Championship table, albeit level on 23 points with leaders and Ranfurly Shield holders Waikato in week seven of the competition.
Ozich's men have eked out seven bonus points, just as many as Waikato, to date to ensure they are on the right side of the ledger.
Last Saturday, the Magpies had a similar free-flowing affair against North Harbour but lost 34-51 here.
However, the enormity of the victory on Wednesday is best juxtaposed in the knowledge the Magpies still have to play top-tier defending champions Canterbury as well as their Crusaders' franchise cousins and losing finalists, the Tasman Makos, in Christchurch this Sunday and in Nelson on Thursday, October 11, respectively.
The nine-week competition pits every side into a Wednesday night fixture in a double-header week.
The semifinals will be staged on October 19-20. The Championship final is scheduled for Friday, October 26, and the Premiership one on Saturday, October 27.
In attack, Ozich had impressed the need to hold on to the ball for longer spells to deprive the opposition of much-needed possession, and consequently, starve them of points.
That was obvious for a lion's share of the second half when Northland only added three points to their tally from Debreczeni, who was in his zone.
"When you leak points it's an area you need to improve on so it would be a good learning for our group out of that."
Man-of-the-match Marino Mikaele Tu'u powers over for a try despite the attention from Northland player Renee Ranger at McLean Park, Napier. Photo/Duncan Brown
The Magpies have conceded 205 points and amassed 231 from seven matches to date.
When Ozich reaches for the freeze-frame buttons of the remote control in the video session today with his platoon he'll impress the urgency of making smarter decisions for better outcomes.
"We're a pretty young group so it's a case of getting these guys into recognising that and learning quickly but it can be a pretty tough place to learn on TV in front of everybody."
He lauded his players for adapting incisively at halftime to turn their fortunes around.
"It's a good sign that they can take on that sort of direction and feedback to make those sorts of adjustments in their game, which shows really good promise for us moving forward."
Fullback Taulagi didn't find as much traction as he would have liked from the uprights with Weber backing up with two of his own but the astuteness of Debreczeni wasn't lost on Ozich, who impressed injured Tiaan Falcon was their first port of call when the conversion tee was summoned.
"I think we can always take those opportunities but on the flip side of that, for me, is when players can step up to say, 'I'll take responsibility for that', so that needs to be celebrated, too.
"It's easy for people to criticise young men who step into that space to stand up but ... I just applaud the fact that they're willing to do that when they aren't first-string kickers who are filling a well for us."
It was gratifying for Ozich and his stable to see players come off the bench to slot into the equation without losing much impetus in the second half.
"In the collisions and the break downs they were really effective."
No doubt, they don't have the time to sit on their laurels to take stock of what has effectively been a reassuring exercise in building character because tougher assignments beckon.
"It's going to test our ability to recover and come up with a second-half performance like that again," said Ozich.
The 2.05pm kick off at AMI Stadium on Sunday will test the depth of the Magpies' squad on a snap turnaround time this week.
"When we come back we have another game at home against Manawatu, another big game, which is only another a five-day turnaround," he said of the 7.35pm kick off at McLean Park on Friday, October 5.
Ozich said that put the points from the win over Northland in context of the competition and what a result against the Turbos would mean.
Sixth-placed Manawatu are struggling, with five points, three above the last-placed Southland Stags.
Hawke's Bay Magpies midfielder Stacy Ili dives over for a try against the Northland Taniwha at McLean Park, Napier. Photo/Duncan Brown
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
■ Heartstopper: When Wellington referee Nick Hogan asked television match official Bruce Dockary to check for a potential second movement when Magpies second five-eighth Pasqualle Dunn scored in the 47th minute. Fortunately there wasn't.
■ Turning point: When Magpies fullback JJ Taulagi scored in the 74th minute and Brad Weber converted to end the scoring. This thriller could have gone ether way until then.
■ Player of the match: Magpies No 8 Marino Mikaele Tu'u. Outstanding line breaks and offloads. Magpies lock Tom Parsons and Northland first five-eighth Jack Debreczeni were close behind him.
■ Scorers:Hawke's Bay Magpies 55 (Stacey Ili 2, Gareth Evans, Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, Pasqualle Dunn 2, Ben Power 2, JJ Taulagi tries; Taulagi 3, Brad Weber 2 cons) Northland 41 (Matty Wright 2, Jordan Hyland, Rene Ranger, Jaycob Matiu tries; Jack Debreczeni 5 cons, 2 pens). HT: Northland 38-24.
