Rugby: Canterbury steal late win

Tom Taylor secured the win for Canterbury with a late penalty. Photo / Getty Images

Canterbury have finally returned to their winning ways in the ITM Cup.

After dropping their past three contests, Canterbury battled back from 18-6 down at halftime to edge Taranaki 26-23 in New Plymouth today.

A late Tom Taylor penalty iced the result after two tries in quick succession mid-way through the second spell swung the game in Canterbury's favour.

Taranaki conceded both tries while wing Waisake Naholo was in the sin bin after he was deemed to have knocked the ball down intentionally while attempting to intercept a pass when Canterbury were hot on attack.

The result came at the right time for Canterbury with the semifinals looming next week and there's a chance these two sides may meet each other again in the knockout stages of the competition.

Canterbury coach Scott Robertson had the luxury of being able to recall All Blacks Colin Slade and Taylor today and he installed them at fullback and first-five respectively.

Taylor's steady hand and reliable goalkicking was always going to be a positive influence for the visitors, while Slade is a dangerous option on attack when he plays with confidence.

In the first half, Canterbury did their best to invite the home side in to the game as the defending champions made seven handling errors and missed 11 tackles.

Canterbury threatened to bust the contest open on numerous occasions but the last pass was missing for them, while Taranaki took their chances in a more clinical fashion.

Tries to Seta Tamanivalu and Codey Rei gave Taranaki a handy lead, while Tamanivalu proved tough to contain as the bruising centre broke tackles with regularity.

But Canterbury's class eventually shone through as they slowly eroded Taranaki's advantage before Taylor scored the winning points.

There was a frenetic spell after the hooter as Taranaki tried to find a way back but they weren't able to do so.

Canterbury 26 (Matt Todd, Johnny McNicholl tries; Tom Taylor 4 pen, 2 con) Taranaki 23 (Seta Tamanivalu, Codey Rei, Waisake Naholo tries; Marty McKenzie pen, con, Rei pen) halftime: 18-6