KEY POINTS:
Hawke's Bay 41
Southland 13
Hawke's Bay scored four tries to one to beat the more established premier side Southland 41-13 in their Air New Zealand Cup rugby competition season-opener in Invercargill today.
All five tries resulted from turnovers, with Hawke's Bay punishing the home side through their more imaginative and quicker backs.
Hawke's Bay, who spent most of the past decade in the lower division, scored a try in the first half to lead 20-13 at halftime and piled on 21 unanswered points in the second half as Southland continued to lose possession at vital times on attack.
Fullback Ben Batger, centre Jason Shoemark, winger Zac Guildford and prop Faka'anaua Taumalolo scored a try each for Hawke's Bay with Matt Berquist kicking four penalties and three conversions. Unwanted All Black halfback Jimmy Cowan scored Southland's only try.
"It was pretty disappointing. Whenever we started building some phases and putting some pressure on (Hawke's Bay) we let ourselves down and they went down to the other end," Southland's former All Black prop Clarke Dermody said.
"We knew they'd play with a lot of emotion this week for (the late) Jarrod Cunningham, which is a respect to them. But it's disappointing for us because we got bullied off the ball and we missed some tackles which we shouldn't have, so we've got a lot to work on."
Dermody said Hawke's Bay stretched their defence out wide and they would be concentrating on doing the little things, such as ball security, passing and catching, before they meet Waikato on Saturday.
Hawke's Bay captain and halfback Danny Lee said they achieved what they had been seeking to launch their campaign.
"It's a pretty good way to start. Our effort proved we're worthy of being at this level," he said.
Hawke's Bay, playing against the wind, kept the ball close and rumbled up the middle for the first 20 minutes.
They took on the Southland pack, who worked hard but were let down by the handling of their backs that resulted in three of Hawke's Bay tries.
In fact all three first-half tries, one by Southland, came from turnovers.
Batger's 16th minute five pointer was the result of Jason Kawau losing the ball in a tackle after Southland looked good on attack from a lineout.
Hawke's Bay captain and loose forward Michael Johnson picked up the ball and sparked a counter-attack with a 20m run. Hawke's Bay moved the ball to the backline and Guildford stabbed a kick through the defence, chased and toed it again before Batger kicked it over the line and dived on it to give the visitors a 10-3 lead.
Southland won a tighthead and attacked the Hawke's Bay line in the 27th minute, with Cowan finally forcing his way through from close range. James Wilson, who had kicked a penalty goal early, converted and the teams were tied 10-10.
Berquist kicked his second penalty for Hawke's Bay in the 30th minute before Shoemark silenced the home crowd with an intercept try from 80m. He beautifully anticipated a pass from first five-eighth Wilson to Kawau when Southland were hot on attack, to give Hawke's Bay a 20-10 lead.
Wilson thumped in a penalty goal to narrow the deficit to seven points before the changeover.
Berquist kicked two more penalties and then converted Guildford's try. Southland had won a lineout, setting a nice platform for their backs to attack but they lost the ball instead. Shoemark kicked through and Guildford beat everyone, including Southland winger Watisoni Lotawa, in the race for the ball bouncing over the line.
Ahead 33-13, the tiny group of Hawke's Bay supporters in the crowd started celebrating. Aayden Clarke extended their lead with a penalty goal and Taumalolo drove over in the 72nd minute for the bonus-point earning fourth try.
NZPA
