Auckland 38 Hawke's Bay 3
KEY POINTS:
Auckland, helped by standout performers such as inside back Isa Nacewa and loose forward Daniel Braid, placed themselves on the brink of a notable and rare double in provincial rugby by comfortably winning last night's semifinal.
Having taken the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury a fortnight ago, Auckland will claim the other major provincial prize if they can beat Wellington in next weekend's final. Wellington have performed well in recent weeks but Auckland not only have home advantage but the added incentive of creating a little history.
A win would mean Auckland having gone through the season unbeaten - something which has not been accomplished since the playoff format was introduced in 1992.
Adding intrigue to the final is the possibility of returning All Blacks being in either side. It's hard to see Auckland gaining much benefit, so well are they playing at present, but coach Pat Lam last night did not rule out All Blacks being called up. He said it would depend on how everyone scrubbed up at training tomorrow.
However, despite the comfort of the win over the Magpies, there were some disappointing aspects last night, especially the dreadful weather conditions which inevitably affected the quality of rugby and contributed to a modest crowd of only 9500.
For all the bad weather, though, Lam was delighted with his side's performance, pointing out the accuracy was so good, there were only eight handling errors. But while delighted with the form his team has shown, he remained wary of Wellington's threat.
"Wellington were superb last night [against Canterbury]," he said. "They will be a big challenge."
The Magpies have been one of the success stories of this year's provincial premiership, fully deserving their semifinal spot. They brought plenty of spirit and commitment to last night's contest, Michael Johnson being a sterling leader of the pack and first five-eighths Matt Berquist making one fine break, only to be castled by a tackle from Auckland prop John Afoa.
But they were simply outclassed by the Aucklanders and, even with the wind advantage in the second spell, could not score any points. Coach Peter Russell, though, was content with his side's effort and its season.
"Our players have performed well above their weight all season and I'm proud of them," he said.
The depth of the Auckland side was shown in that second spell, when the multi-talented Troy Flavell came off the bench and quickly made his presence felt with the second spell's first try. Another sub Lachie Munro added the second right on fulltime.
With first use of the vile weather conditions, Auckland virtually had the game wrapped up by halftime, having secured a 24-3 lead.
Auckland were superior in all aspects. A strong pack, in which prop Afoa and especially Braid were the cutting edges, kept the Bay pinned inside their own territory and facing a barrage of pick and gos.
At first-five Nacewa furthered this command with his skilful kicking, harassing the Bay's young outside backs with up-and-unders and accurately finding touch. Also in impressive form was halfback Taniela Moa, while Sam Tuitupou and wing Benson Stanley terrorised the Bay with their tackling.
Auckland's first try came from a lineout drive from a penalty, with prop Saimone Taumoepeau mauling his way across.
In the 23rd minute, lively young wing David Smith was over following more pick and go pressure and in the 34th minute, Nacewa placed another of his clever kicks inside the Bay goal-line and Tuitupou raced through to beat Bay wing Jason Kupa to the ball.
The Bay's only first spell score came when Tuitupou was penalised for a late charge on wing Zac Guildford and first five-eighths Matt Berquist landed the goal from in front.
Auckland 38 (S Taumoepeau, D Smith, S Tuitupou, T Flavell, L Munro tries, I Nacewa 4 cons, penalty, Munro con) Hawke's Bay 3 (M Berquist pen). HT: 24-3.
