Tasman 41
Bay Of Blenty 39
Tasman played the spoilers' card to perfection to tip over national provincial championship rugby rivals Bay of Plenty 41-39 at Blenheim today.
Tasman were widely predicted to be easy pickings for Bay of Plenty, who entered the game very much in playoffs contention, but the home side pulled off an upset after a quality display of goalkicking from fullback Tom Marshall.
While Bay of Plenty displayed their attacking flair with six tries, Tasman turned to the reliable Marshall, who was entrusted with the kicking duties for the first time this season.
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He responded by nailing nine of 11 attempts for a personal haul of 26 points to complement his side's three tries as Tasman pocketed just their third win in 11 matches to improve from 13th to 12th on the standings.
They led 27-19 at halftime after playing with a brisk breeze at their backs and continued to benefit from Bay of Plenty's penchant to cough up penalties at the breakdown as Marshall extended their lead before five-eighth Robbie Malneek pierced a hole after a midfield turnover to make it 38-19 in the 55th minute.
Malneek's touchdown served to spark Bay of Plenty into action as replacement backs Grant McQuoid and Daniel Waenga responded with tries within the space of two minutes to slash the difference to seven points with 18 minutes remaining.
McQuoid hit the line on the angle to take a pop pass from Waenga before stepping inside the last defender and Waenga's effort came after a counter-attack featuring dangerous wing Lelia Masaga.
A storming run from captain and No 8 Colin Bourke from a scrum outside his own 22 set up Masaga for Bay of Plenty's sixth try in the 70th minute but Mike Delany's failed sideline conversion bid left the visitors two points adrift.
Delany prompted took advantage of the wind to bang over a 53m penalty only to see Marshall immediately respond with his eighth penalty from a much more modest range as Tasman snatched back the lead with 5min to go.
Tasman relied on Marshall and late tries to wing Kade Poki and flanker Sam Christie to earn their eight point advantage at the break.
The lead changed hands no fewer than seven times in the first spell alone as Bay of Plenty led 19-15 in the 37th minute when halfback Taniela Moa snapped up a fumbled ball from Tasman prop Ben Franks to scamper 40m for his second try.
While Marshall was banging over the penalties, Bay of Plenty responded with five-pointers, as flanker Luke Braid and Moa crossed for tries in the 22nd and 30th minutes.
- NZPA
