ITM Cup
Auckland 18 Waikato 21
Much like the stadium they play in, Auckland are building nicely but are not yet the finished product.
Yesterday they were one knock-on, one kick out on the full away from notching their second-straight win of their ITM Cup campaign but could only look on in anguish as Waikato wing Dwayne Sweeney scored in the corner 55 seconds after the final hooter.
Waikato had been trying to set for a drop goal, as they pounded away at the Auckland line, but flung it wide when they realised Sweeney was un-marked. The win was Waikato's first at Eden Park in eight years.
"Things got a bit out of hand," Waikato coach Chris Gibbes admitted of celebrations in the coach's box. "There were high fives being thrown around everywhere and yelling and screaming.
"We were happy because 12 months ago we would have lost that game. It's pleasing to see the growth and belief."
It's something that could apply to both sides.
Neither Auckland nor Waikato particularly deserved to lose a compelling and surprisingly high-quality match played in dreadful conditions.
They both defended like their season depended on it and smashed into each other with little care for their own wellbeing. Blood flowed and bodies hurt afterwards.
What was impressive was the patience shown by both sides. Auckland's second-half try to Peter Saili, for example, came after 30 phases and four minutes of searching to find a hole in the Waikato defence. It was revealing it took that long.
There were some moments of brilliance, none more so than Sosene Anesi's 24th-minute try that gave Waikato a 13-6 lead. Sweeney took the ball just outside his own 22, scythed through the middle, offloaded to Romana Graham and held the return before passing on to Anesi, resplendent in his pink and purple boots, to score in the corner.
Auckland coach Mark Anscombe lamented the errors as his side tried to hang on to an 18-16 lead in the final 20 minutes - they failed to clear a scrum and Matt Berquist missed touch with a clearing penalty.
"It's very disappointing," he said as the Waikato song rang out loudly from the visitor's dressing room.
"The boys showed a lot of character and the attitude was bloody good. They worked bloody hard in that last 20 minutes but you have to do the little things right. If you do that, you can close games out.
"It's still only the second round. It's going to kick us in the backside and tell us that we have a lot of areas we need to work on but we're still in there. We still have another 11 games to go."
That final one coincides roughly with the completion of Eden Park.
Auckland 18 (O. Auva'a, P. Saili tries; M. Berquist 2 pens, con), Waikato 21 (S. Anesi, D. Sweeney tries; T. Renata 3 pens, con). Halftime: 13-13.
