But when a strong break by winger Peceli Malanicagi led to West Coast second five Nick Foxley being sinbinned for a professional foul at the breakdown with the tryline in sight – Whanganui had an overlap to exploit.
Suddenly, everything they have wanted to put together during this campaign in terms of moving the ball and maintaining connections with their support runners was coming off – centre Alekesio Vakarorogo the willing recipient with three tries, while also setting up the other two.
A 12-3 deficit had become a 24-12 lead by the time Foxley returned, but now Whanganui had their timing down to score two more tries in very warm conditions which took a toll on the South Island visitors.
Even when Whale received a yellow card of his own due to a dangerous tackle as the West Coast carrier unfortunately started to slip when he had been lined up for a full body hit, Whanganui defended well and navigated the 10 minutes comfortably – before getting back down the other end to score in the shadow of fulltime.
Prop Raymond Salu embraced his opportunity to start with a high workrate on the carries in the first half, meaning Keightley Watson was able to be more effective coming off the bench in the final quarter when West Coast were tired.
It was good to see lock Peter-Travis Hay-Horton get through a solid shift in his return from concussion, likewise reserve forward Ranato Tikisolomone.
The veteran flankers in try-scorer Jamie Hughes and Samu Kubunavanua had good afternoons, and the bench did their role when Whanganui had momentum – back Apolosi Tanoa and forward Matt Ashworth having a hand in two of Vakarorogo’s tries.
As well as Tauwhare, it was a shame for the Coasters they could not deliver a win to No 8 Amena Tukana in his 50th game, the other standouts being try-scoring lock Josh Manning and reserve prop Daniel Foord.
Whale was pleased with the turnaround from the King Country loss, even if it took the Foxley sinbinning to click into gear.
“That probably was a little bit of a turning point, but I felt that we were ready to just crack [them], we were just starting to find those gaps, and obviously with one man down, you’re going to start finding them a little bit quicker.
“We dug ourselves the hole that we were in before this game - if we dropped that today, it was going to be a pretty tough ask to keep our goal of the Meads Cup within reach, so I’m honestly so proud of the boys to pull through in that second 40.
“Cool for the guys to come off the bench and give it that little bit of added pressure back onto them.
“We always knew [West Coast] had a big pack, so this hot weather probably helped us with those boys getting a little bit tired.”
Although the penalty count was still high, Whanganui exercised a lot better ball security at the breakdown, with fewer line breaks being squandered.
“We really worked on that during the week. We let guys come through the middle of our ruck last week, and that was right through the heart, so [stopping that] was a big emphasis today,” said Whale.
Coach Jason Hamlin saw his team get to where he wanted them when “the dam burst” after the yellow card.
“What we worried about with West Coast is they brought a big, physical team and physical presence.
“We were still not quite getting it right but they were trying, the intent was there.
“We were a hell of a lot better at the contact area in terms of our carry into and then our support players and the clean.
“That just gave us some pill to play with, and while we didn’t use a lot of it in the first half, we were able to take some juice out of them, and I thought by the 60-minute mark they were really gassed and we were able to find another set of legs.”
Whanganui’s fitness levels are improving and they showed the kind of rugby they can play when the continuity is there.
“We’ve got to be a bit more ruthless, and that starts with ourselves and we can go from there,” said Hamlin.
“We’re getting some of what we want, and we’re seeing it, and just staying at it and competing.”
Whanganui opted to compete on all of West Coast’s set piece to keep grinding them down, and while the attack was still generated through Vakarorogo and fellow try-scoring midfielder Timoci Seruwalu, they also moved the ball towards others in space, rather than trying to do everything themselves.
“That’s the thing around making better decisions, and we’re starting to do that more and more, that’s a continuous work-on for us,” said Hamlin.
Whanganui 36 (A Vakarorogo 3, T Seruwalu, J Hughes tries; D Whale pen, 4 con) bt West Coast 12 (J Manning, T Tauwhare tries; L Ross con). HT: 7-3 West Coast.
