Hawke's Bay 18
Taranaki 14
KEY POINTS:
Hawke's Bay had to come from behind to beat Taranaki in Napier last night as the teams kicked off the second half of the provincial season.
Trailing by 14 points after 20 minutes, the Magpies scored 18 unanswered points 20 minutes either side of halftime to claim their third win in a row and consolidate their position in the top four of the competition.
Taranaki had gone into the match in a confident mood after a fine 39-21 win over Northland in the last round, but their backs who starred in that victory, were mostly out of the picture last night.
With their forwards playing at pace, Taranaki grabbed two tries in the first 20 minutes of the game.
With locks Jason Eaton and Craig Clarke and loose forwards Chris Walker and Scott Waldrom playing major roles in securing Taranaki possession, Hawke's Bay could not get on to the front foot.
Under the battering, the Hawke's Bay defence faltered. From a five-metre lineout, Waldrom was driven over for the first try which was converted by Willie Ripia.
The second came when Waldrom won a loose ball to spark another series of forward charges which ended when halfback Brett Goodin managed to plant the ball on the try-line. Ripia converted for a 14-0 lead.
The Hawke's Bay pack finally got into their stride and the next 20 minutes were a reversal as Taranaki found themselves pinned in their own half.
The Magpies replied immediately after conceding the second try with prop Sona Taumalolo scoring. Matt Berquist converted and shortly afterwards added a penalty.
Wing Zac Guildford had another industrious game and helped set up Hawke's Bay's only try of the second half. Hawke's Bay will have some concerns for their next match over the fitness of skipper Danny Lee who came off early in the second half with a badly bruised hand.
- NZPA
