Canterbury 24 Manawatu 25
KEY POINTS:
Tt will be remembered as one of the biggest upsets of the Air New Zealand Cup as Manawatu did the unthinkable, upsetting Canterbury in a gutsy display.
It is Manawatu's first triumph in Christchurch in 26 years.
The win for the ages is loaded with irony, and comes at an inopportune time for the NZRU, as yesterday they announced "judgement day", with teams not financially sustainable to be culled in 2009.
Based on this performance, leaving Manawatu out of the top flight seems an unfair proposition. The Turbos, who finished 12th of 14 teams in 2007, played like they had something to prove.
Their defence was willing and they scored the bulk of their points off errors from last year's semifinalists. Manawatu wing Andrew Taylor scored a try seven minutes from time to edge the visitors ahead. Canterbury replacement Colin Slade had the chance to steal the game from the Turbos with a last-minute penalty from 35m but missed.
If Rob Penney was hoping to send out a message that Canterbury will challenge Auckland for the title this year, then that will have to wait for round two. The red and blacks, who lost seven front-line players including Steven Brett, Corey Flynn and Casey Laulala, lacked cohesion and fluency.
Hoping to avoid the run of upsets is Auckland coach Pat Lam. The champions, who play at Counties Manukau today, will be guarded after watching a Canterbury loss that followed Northland's win over Waikato.
Like most of the early action, the All Blacks on show in this Canterbury match, or fringe players for the national squad, failed to dominate. Kieran Reid, Mose Tuiali'i and Scott Hamilton were not at their best, but Wyatt Crockett and Paul Williams lived up to their reputations.
But this win should encourage Manawatu far more than it will give Penney sleepless nights. The mass personnel changes Canterbury suffered means they will be better, while Manawatu showed they are a much improved outift from the team hammered 64-10 last year. Most importantly, it showed they belong in the premier national competition.
The southern derby in Invercargill was another torrid tussle, decided by a last-minute 47m penalty from Otago first five-eighths Chris Noakes.
Otago enjoyed more possession and territory in the first half but failed to make the hosts pay and led only 10-9 at halftime.
With just four minutes remaining, Southland looked to have secured the win when Blair Stewart made his own long-range penalty. But that was undone by Noakes' brilliant goal under pressure.
Canterbury 24 (A. Whitelock 2, T. Keats tries; H. Gard 3 cons, pen) Manawatu 25 (A. Taylor 2, M. James tries; James con, pen; A. Cruden con, pen). HT: 7-10.
Otago 5 (J. MacDonald, L Mulipola, B Mather tries; C. Noakes 2 cons, 2 pens) Southland 23 (D. Ramsay try; B. Stewart 5 pens, 1 dg). HT: 10-9.
