Tasman's players celebrate winning the NPC Premiership semifinal against Hawke's Bay. Photo / Getty
Tasman's players celebrate winning the NPC Premiership semifinal against Hawke's Bay. Photo / Getty
Tasman have earned the right to defend their NPC premiership title, and they will again have to travel north to do so.
After winning away against Auckland to lift the silverware in 2020, the Mako will take on Waikato this year to lock the trophy away once more.
Tasman had to do it the hard way to earn their place in the final, qualifying as the fourth seed in the playoffs and having to venture to Napier to meet top-seeded Hawke's Bay.
With Hawke's Bay's only loss of the season being away to Taranaki in week one and having already dispatched Tasman earlier in the year, the southerners came in with a big job in front of them.
But as has been proven year after year in the sporting world, anything can happen in the knockout stages.
After a fast start, Tasman upset Hawke's Bay 33-27, with captain Quinten Strange noting the lessons his side took from their previous encounter.
"Last time, we actually learned a lot from that game. We've got to thank them for it – they showed us how to play footy with momentum," Strange told Sky Sport.
"Today, the biggest thing we wanted was effort and I think we got that from the whole squad, with the guys coming off the bench nailing their role. It wasn't easy, they're a quality side as you've seen all season."
Tasman got off to a flying start with Mitchell Hunt kicking them into the lead with an early penalty, before Andrew Makalio crashed over from the back of a lineout drive to see the Mako take a 10-0 lead inside of 10 minutes.
It wasn't long before the Magpies found their stride, with Jonah Lowe scoring and, after another Hunt penalty, a try to Tom Parsons saw Hawke's Bay close the gap to one point.
That didn't last as Andrew Knewstubb crossed for Tasman just a minute later, before Timoci Tavatavanawai went over in controversial fashion as what appeared to be a clear forward pass was not picked up by the officials.
The Magpies took the momentum into the break, with Marino Mikaele-Tu'u scoring just before it, and continued to test the Tasman side early in the second half. While a try to Geoff Cridge and a penalty gave the Magpies a slim lead, they were unable to close the game out.
Tasman hit back through Leicester Fainga'anuku before a Hunt penalty put the game out to a six-point margin. That was where it stayed, with a late a turnover at the breakdown by reserve back Levi Aumua closing out the win.
Waikato earned the right to host the final next weekend with a tight 17-14 win over Canterbury in Rotorua.
Waikato first five D'Angelo Leuila launches a clearance during the win over Canterbury. Photo / Getty
In a rather messy affair, the two fought back and forth to gain some sort of ascendancy in the opening stages, with Canterbury ultimately opening the scoring after 25 minutes through a Fergus Burke penalty.
But with tries through Rhys Marshall and Bailyn Sullivan soon after, Waikato took a 14-3 lead into the break.
Despite Canterbury fighting back with a try through Corey Kellow and two Burke penalties, the match looked like Waikato's to lose. They did keep the door open for Canterbury, unable to make the most of having the better of the late field position, but ultimately did enough to close out the game.
Earlier in the day, Taranaki claimed hosting rights for the Championship final with a 22-13 win over Southland and will now meet Otago in a week's time.
Tom Florence on his way to scoring Taranaki's first try in the win over Southland. Photo / Getty
With the rain beating down and settling on the surface of the pitch in Inglewood, visibly splashing around the ankles of players as they ran, there were few moments to write home about.
However, a couple of patches of brilliance saw the hosts take a comfortable 10-0 lead in as many minutes. In a match riddled with penalties, the two traded three-pointers before halftime, with Taranaki maintaining their 10-point buffer at the break.
While Southland were able to come back into the contest in the second half, the hosts closed the game out with three second-half penalties from the boot of fullback Stephen Perofeta.
Tasman 33 (Andrew Makalio, Andrew Knewstubb, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Leicester Fainga'anuku tries; Mitchell Hunt 2 con, 3 pen) Hawke's Bay 27 (Jonah Lowe, Tom Parsons, Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, George Cridge tries; Lincoln McClutchie 2 con, pen) HT: 25-17
