Rugby: Rejuvenated Canterbury on target after victory

Canterbury moved into second place in the NPC rugby competition when they scored four tries to beat Otago 35-16 at Carisbrook on Saturday night.

The win pleased Canterbury captain Todd Blackadder, and put his side back on target for a home semifinal after their surprise loss to lowly Northland in the last round.

"We did some hard talking and put in some hard work this week," said Blackadder. "It was a vital game for us and we came together as a team."

Blackadder is always wary of playing Otago at Carisbrook and knew Canterbury still had hard work to do when leading 20-10 at halftime.

The forward pack laid the foundation for Canterbury's win, with hard-driving play complementing superb lineout work.

Lock Chris Jack was the hero in this department, his two-handed takes helping deliver controlled ball to the backline. Blackadder also made some clean takes at the back.

The Canterbury backline ran with more purpose than their opposites, with newcomer Aaron Mauger having a superb game at first five-eighth.

He scored Canterbury's first try when he cut through the Otago defence midway through the first spell to take his team to a 13-10 lead.

Canterbury took a stranglehold on the game when winger Daryl Lilley scored in the corner and converted just before halftime.

Otago fought back after the break, but lacked the co-ordination between backs and forwards to breach the Canterbury defence.

But Otago were still within seven points of Canterbury before second five-eighth Mark Mayerhofler used his strength to score Canterbury's third try with 10 minutes remaining.

Mayerhofler used his experience to put pressure on the Otago midfield throughout the game.

- NZPA