Rugby: Jekyll and Hyde display by Ai'i as Auks survive

By David Leggat

Two Orene Ai'is turned up at New Plymouth's Rugby Park for Auckland's NPC first-division match against Taranaki.

The player in the No 10 jersey in the first half was scratchy, hesitant and error-prone, not unlike his Auckland team-mates. The replacement for the second half was a pivotal figure as Auckland managed an 18-17 win they scarcely deserved.

It was a match Taranaki, from 14-0 up early in the second spell, should have won. They had won the previous three against Auckland and did most things right in the first half and for much of the second.

Taranaki seem to delight in knocking the big city boys about and while their backs did not get much change from their opponents, the forwards made life uncomfortable for Auckland's pack.

Auckland lacked cohesion for much of the match, seemed incapable of incisive attacking play, had big problems at scrum time, and had to rely heavily on their renowned defensive strength.

Even fullback Adrian Cashmore, whose goalkicking has often carried Auckland out of trouble, was off his game, converting two out of five chances.

So this was truly the get-out-of-jail game for the championship leaders.

As captain Paul Thomson put it, Auckland had played their worst game of the year, but got away with it, and with their lead at the top of the table intact.

"Taranaki really hooked into it and we got no continuity at all," he added.

Taranaki had eased clear by halftime on the back of three Mark Urwin penalties and when impressive second five-eighths Mepi Faoagali split the Auckland defence, then regathered after the movement was briefly halted to score eight minutes after the break, the result appeared a done deal.

However two tries in the space of four minutes turned the game round and readjusted the momentum of the match.

First Auckland launched a counter-attack from deep inside their own 22, Mark Carter, Craig Innes and Ai'i combined, with Ai'i bolting down the right-hand touchline to set up halfback Steve Devine for the try.

Auckland coach Wayne Pivac may have checked his heart rate as Ai'i, with the open line five metres away, passed infield to Devine rather than take the try himself.

Then when Urwin was being hauled across the touchline, he flicked the ball back infield, replacement hooker Keven Mealamu grabbed the ball and scuttled 40m down the left touchline to score wide out.

Pivac rang the changes, three in quick time, to good effect as Cashmore and Urwin swapped penalties before little Ai'i had the final say.

He had shown his confidence was back near the end when he darted through a gap to give Caleb Ralph an opening he could not take.

Then two minutes from the end, Auckland had a stroke of luck. Taranaki halfback Brendan Haami threw a shocking pass which gave away a 5m scrum. From that, Auckland rumbled a couple of metres further forward, and when the ball came back Ai'i snapped over the drop goal.

There is a saying about teams who pinch wins when well below their best. With a home semifinal assured, Auckland have a royal chance of playing their last three games of the year - including next weekend's final round-robin match against Counties - at Eden Park.

And with the champion Michael Jones expected to retire at the end of the season, that would be a special farewell.