Auckland go top of Mitre 10 Cup Premiership with statement win over defending champions
There’s a new leader atop the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership ladder after Auckland trounced Tasman at Eden Park this afternoon.
On the day before the All Blacks grace the same turf, Tasman had several national players to call on, including Tyrel Lomax and Sevu Reece, who had been released by the All Blacks to play one final provincial clash before they head to Australia for the Rugby Championship.
However, it was Auckland whose class shone through, in a surprisingly convincing 31-10 victory, which doubled as a small dose of revenge for their last meeting, which saw Tasman dump Auckland out of the semifinals in 2019.
They never looked like claiming victory yesterday though, with Auckland putting the game out of reach by halftime with four tries to take a 24-0 lead.
This was quickly extended to 31-0 after the break when Salesi Rayasi was on the end of a cross-field bomb.
Tasman crossed twice in the last 15 minutes but it was to no avail, with Auckland taking five points to move four points clear atop the Premiership standings.
Tasman will be bumped back to third after the clash between Canterbury and Waikato tomorrow afternoon in Christchurch.
Wellington have also positioned themselves nicely in the Premiership race, picking up their third win of the season with a 25-20 victory over North Harbour in the capital.
North Harbour were the better team for stretches of the contest, leading 13-0 after 30 minutes but two excellent tries, including a long-range effort against the run of play finished off by Billy Proctor, brought Wellington back within one at the break.
? @AucklandRugby putting on a dominant performance against @TasmanMako
Check out the full match highlights HERE
??https://t.co/lX9Syq0Pom?: @skysportnz pic.twitter.com/wPS8Yv5lLY
— Mitre 10 Cup (@Mitre10Cup) October 17, 2020
A Tomas Aoake try gave North Harbour a buffer but Wellington kept things ticking over with penalties from Jackson Garden-Bachop and then Aoake went from hero to villain as he spilled a kick through, allowing Julian Savea to pounce and score the match-winning try for the Lions.
North Harbour drop back to sixth on the ladder, on 12 points, the same as Bay of Plenty, who came out on top in a tryfest against Manawat? in Palmerston North, 53-35.
Bay of Plenty had a bonus point sealed by halftime as they ran in five tries but also conceded three to make it 38-21 at the break.
The teams added a further two tries apiece in the second half to rack up the highest scoring match in the competition this year.
The defeat sees Manawatu remain winless through six games and stuck at the bottom of the Championship ladder ahead of their Ranfurly Shield challenge against Hawke’s Bay next weekend in Napier.
Taranaki moved into fourth in the Championship after grinding out a 17-9 win over Southland.
The Stags, who have scored just 73 points in six games yet have conceded only 82, made the game a grinding affair as usual in Invercargill but failed to score a try and Taranaki’s 58th-minute strike to Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens was just enough to seal a handy victory.
Comments on RugbyPass
To me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
30 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
30 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
30 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
30 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
30 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
30 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
30 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
2 Go to commentsI think he is right, SBW is respected in RSA. The guy who never stood up is a worm. Sseems lots of NZ SBW hate, you do the crime do the time.
17 Go to comments