By DAVID LEGGAT
Imaginative Auckland Rugby Union officials decided to place a pair of poles with flamethrowers on top at the players' entrance as part of the sideline entertainment for Auckland's home NPC games this season.
The flames shoot up to welcome the teams on to the field and to mark every
score.
By halftime last night, Auckland coaches Wayne Pivac and Grant Fox would have been wondering how to inject more spark into their players after a first half which contained more muddle than class from both teams.
The flames throwers stayed in their place on the ground, but Pivac and Fox must have delivered a hot blast of their own as Auckland played like men possessed for the bulk of the second half.
They played with passion, tackled fiercely and shook a Canterbury team who, but for a change of jersey, could have been the Crusaders or might even have borne a strong resemblance to the All Blacks.
All this was achieved despite Auckland's having a scrum which was backpedalling and squirting up from early in the match.
It was not so long ago that Auckland's scrum was the most feared in New Zealand.
Men of iron such as Steve McDowell, Sean Fitzpatrick, Olo Brown and a younger Craig Dowd ensured the team were never bettered at scrum time.
Last night it was the Canterbury trio of Greg Somerville, Matt Sexton and David Hewett who were the masters.
It was not until 13 minutes into the second half that Auckland got in front for the first time, courtesy of a brilliant piece of opportunism by fullback Adrian Cashmore, who scampered to the left corner as the Canterbury defence dozed at a penalty.
Then Keven Mealamu got across in the other corner.
Roared on by 25,000 enthusiastic spectators, Auckland were out to an 11-point lead and the crowd sensed an upset. But a brace of Justin Marshall tries put the favourites back in charge.
It was fitting that the match ended on the Canterbury tryline with Auckland winger Malili Muliaina unable to force the ball for what would have been a stunning Auckland win.
Auckland should take heart, and so should their officials.
They must have been encouraged by the turnout for a match which might yet turn out to be a preview of a more important game in a few weeks' time.
