A final-quarter hat-trick of tries by Joe Rau gave Hikurangi a comfortable 44-22 semifinal win on Saturday and gave the Takahiwai brains trust something to think about over the next two weeks.
To say that Joe Rau was the difference between the two teams would be too simplistic but his impact
was undeniably immense.
The Hikurangi player-coach said it was his job to be greedy at times: "I got a good platform to score from everyone in the team, I'm there to be a bit greedy and I'm allowed to do that sometimes."
On a more serious note, Rau was critical of his side's first-half performance, saying they spent too long adapting to the referee's game: "There was too much negative stuff out there today but once we stopped bitching and crying and started finding our composure, we played like we trained to do."
Former Takahiwai hooker Kahu Henare is another vital cog to the Stags machine and his combination with the Hikurangi standoff and playmaker is something that Takahiwai need to disrupt - if they can get past Moerewa next week and into the final.
Hikurangi started their match strongly with a 12-0 first quarter lead, thanks to tries to Henare and fullback Dean Schueres. But, when Takahiwai standoff Kyle Hool scored in the 21st minute and then George Hammon added a great long-range try thanks to a break by Courtney Donaldson, it was game on.
Henare scored again to move the Stags ahead again before hard-working Takahiwai utility forward Lafua Hita-Sofala powered over to close the deficit to 18-16 at the break.
The second half started as it was to end with a Rau scoring a try. The first was a gift to Steve Rau, who must have set alarm bells ringing in Takahiwai's goal-line defence as he slipped over to score virtually untouched.
The match had an underlying element of niggle to it. An alleged punch from Ken Palmer earned him 10 minutes in the bin.
Takahiwai used their numerical advantage to score again through Hool and, when Schueres unnecessarily slid into him as he scored, he was penalised, giving Dean Tuhoro two kicks at goals to convert the try. He nailed only one, to see them trail 22-24.
It was as close as they got, as Rau set about further exposing Takahiwai's defensive frailties.
A try to Shannon Neho was followed by one to Joe Rau in the 55th minute, with another in the 64th and his hat-trick try just as the hooter sounded.
Hikurangi 42 (K Henare 2, D Schueres, S Rau, S Neho, J Rau 3; 5 kicks) Takahiwai 22 ( K Hool 2, G Hammon, L Sofala; D Tuhoro 3 kicks).
A final-quarter hat-trick of tries by Joe Rau gave Hikurangi a comfortable 44-22 semifinal win on Saturday and gave the Takahiwai brains trust something to think about over the next two weeks.
To say that Joe Rau was the difference between the two teams would be too simplistic but his impact
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