Rugby: Taranaki put champs to test

By Wynne Gray

For the second successive week, Otago were put through the NPC wringer but like the champions they are, the stoic southern men held on for another tenacious victory.

They soaked up the aggression from a durable Taranaki pack and when they got a little space worked the angles and percentages well to score four tries and an important bonus point. In the wash-up, a little extra class was the difference.

Out of the victory at Carisbrook came a national bonus with prop Carl Hoeft completing his comeback from a calf injury, while All Black reserves Byron Kelleher, Tony Brown and Pita Alatini all looked sharper for the workout.

And the pack, under so much pressure last week against Northland, looked far more composed and organised so that the fluent Otago backline could operate with much more consistency.

There was an astonishing start to the game. Many of the crowd had scarcely settled in their seats when Jamie Cameron scored for Taranaki.

He charged down a clearing kick from Brown and the ball sat up sweetly over the tryline. Fullback Urwin completed the surprise with a magnificent sideline conversion.

That rousing start should have got better when Taranaki ignored kicking for goal in the ninth minute and kicked for touch.

The pack drove over the Otago line from the subsequent lineout win but failed to force the ball properly for their second try.

That let-off sparked Otago. Brown broke out of a couple of tackles near halfway, Reuben Parkinson carried the move on and Kelleher backed up his centre for an excellent touchdown.

Such a frenetic opening 10 minutes suggested a scoring blitzkreig but the remainder of the half was a penalty shootout between Urwin and Brown which left the halftime scores locked at 13-all.

The breeze, which had been brisk behind Taranaki in the first spell, strengthened during the interval. It meant Taranaki had to be extra careful with their close-quarter forward work where one mistake allowed Otago to either counterattack or kick the ball well downtown.

An early turnover allowed hooker Tom Willis to feed Brendan Timmins then Kelleher for the transfer to No 8 Isitolo Maka who smashed his way into and over Urwin to the tryline.

That should have been the catalyst for Otago to shift gears again and work out to a decisive victory.

They got some assistance when two of the redoubtable Taranaki front row, Gordon Slater and Dawson Tamati, went off with rib injuries but the visitors refused to yield.

Brown and Urwin traded two more penalties and there was a tremendous rolling maul by Taranaki, dragged down by Otago in a move which must have made referee Steve Walsh jun consider awarding a penalty try.

Instead Urwin goaled the penalty and at only 19-26 adrift and 15 minutes left, Taranaki smelled their victory chance.

But those senses were smashed from the kickoff when Otago skipper Kelvin Middleton beat two tacklers and carried two other defenders across the line for a superb individual try.

Soon after, Brendan Laney tiptoed over by the posts and Otago had blown by the visitors very quickly.

Prop Tama Tuirarangi scored in the final minute from a 50m move involving half-a-dozen team-mates to display some late Taranaki defiance.

Otago 40 (B. Kelleher, I. Maka, K. Middleton, B. Laney, tries; T. Brown, 4 con, 4 pen) Taranaki 26 ( J. Cameron, T. Tuirarangi, tries; M. Urwin, 4 pen, 2 con).Halftime:13-all.