Border’s first half was just another masterclass in percentage rugby through smart kick-and-chase pressure to force Marist to carry back through the mud - inevitably making a mistake or giving away a penalty, with first-five Craig Clare in his element for his 50th appearance in Border colours.
Halfback Lindsay Horrocks marshalled the troops, with props Ranato Tikisolomone and Hamish Mellow outstanding, as was No8 Kieran Hussey, who firmly imposed himself on proceedings.
Talented midfielders Silio Waqalevu and Alekesio Vakarorogo were given assignments and carried them out expertly, the former hounding Marist’s back three off the boot of Clare, Horrocks and fullback Nick Harding, and the latter being set loose when Border entered the 22-metre zone, powering through defenders to score both Border tries.
Although they didn’t want to be reactive and knew how Border were going to play, Marist couldn’t stop the inevitable during the first stanza, and then just made far too many handling errors in the second to sustain pressure - finally scoring in the corner with less than five minutes left through reserve winger Ioane Hough-Aki.
They had some smart tactics, first five Rangi Kui switching to the wing on defensive line-ups to keep Border speedster Harry Symes honest, while in the pack starting flanker turned hooker Alesana Tofa again played out of his skin with some great cover defence.
Lock Ben O’Leary impressed again with some turnovers and lineout pressure, while it was good to see Steelform Whanganui prop Keightley Watson finally make his comeback from injury off the bench - although the Border pack made a big statement at his first scrum by driving Marist off the ball and getting a penalty.
Swapping with Winslen Klassen for the second half, reserve halfback Rory Gudsell worked hard, but whereas Horrocks had his players showing good ball control, Marist would rue low passes, spilled possession, and kicks missing touch - making Border’s afternoon a lot more straightforward.
“The weather didn’t help, but at the end of the day, I said to the boys, ‘the pill’s the most important thing, you really need to respect it and look after it out there’,” said Marist coach Travers Hopkins.
He had to tip his hat to Border’s brains trust in Clare and Horrocks.
“You know full well those two are going to take control, especially in weather like this, you know what to expect.
“But especially Chock [Clare] in that first half, he played superbly - he just put them in the right areas of the field, and playing catch-up rugby is not easy.
“We thought, going into the second half, we can emulate the same sort of thing.
“We’d be on attack and then a loose ball, fortunately enough we held it, but we needed to be down there carrying, being patient and coming away with points, which we didn’t do enough now.”
Always known for perpetually rebuilding, Marist had nonetheless cracked back into the playoffs, and while the club always undertakes coaching reviews, Hopkins and his group feel they have unfinished business.
“What we’ve done over the last three, four years has got to be credit to what we’re doing at the club, and I’d like to think we can break that cap.
“We’re just in an era where these guys have some really talented players, you got your Gus [Angus Middleton] and your Lindsays, but Craig is instrumental in their whole team.
“We’re just so, so close to getting what our club and our fans deserve to see, and probably none more so than the players themselves.”
Having guided Border to their eighth grand final in nine years in his rookie season in charge, Border coach Todd Cowan was pleased with the composure.
“Regardless of the weather, there’s only a few opportunities [to score] in finals time, so fortunately in the first half we were able to take them,” Cowan said.
“It was a decent battle, Marist pretty much had all the territory in the second half, I think we were lucky we just grinded it out and backed our defence.
“I’ve definitely got to be happy with the defence, I think there were times in the game it was better not to have the ball, being so slippery out there.
“Experience counts for a lot when you get into this [playoffs] rugby as well, so we were fortunate we’ve just got some old heads out there that chip away and put us in the right parts of the field.”
Border 18 (A Vakarorogo 2 tries; C Clare pen, con, N Harding pen) bt Marist 5 (I Hough-Aki try). HT: 15-0.
