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Canterbury score 11 tries to retain Ranfurly Shield against hapless North Otago
Canterbury have retained the Ranfurly Shield in emphatic fashion as they thumped North Otago 71-7 in their first pre-season outing in Christchurch.
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The Mitre 10 Cup juggernauts made light work of their Heartland Championship counterparts, who earned the right to challenge for the Log o’ Wood after winning the Meads Cup last year.
The Old Golds didn’t come close to giving the Cantabrians a scare, though, as Crusaders wing Manasa Mataele and new Blues lock Sam Darry each bagged a brace of tries in romp at Rugby Park.
With eight Crusaders players and All Blacks Sevens star Andrew Knewstubb in Canterbury’s starting lineup, the hosts ran North Otago ragged in the first half to head into half-time with a 45-0 lead.
Six of their 11 tries came within the first 28 minutes, with Knewstubb, who was making his provincial debut along with 13 other players, among those to cross the chalk inside the opening half an hour.
The difference in speed and physicality between the two sides was clear to see, and Canterbury coaches Mark Brown and Reuben Thorne will no doubt be heartened by the performances of Mataele and Cullen Grace.
Both players were making their first appearances following injury lay-offs, but wing Mataele – playing in his first game for Canterbury since transferring from Taranaki – looked in good condition as he made easy work of the North Otago defence with his pace and elusive footwork.
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Grace, meanwhile, showed why he was in firm contention for a possible All Blacks call-up following a breakout campaign with the Crusaders before a broken thumb scuppered his Super Rugby Aotearoa season.
The 20-year-old was a prominent threat in ball in hand, and had plenty to offer on defence before being pulled from the field at half-time in place of the impressive Bill Fukofuka.
Former All Blacks lock Luke Romano, meanwhile, took the captaincy role for the first time in his 11-year provincial career, and lived up to the occasion with some bruising tackles that rocked opposition ball carriers.
The South Island squad have been forced to dig into their reserves for next week's #NorthvsSouth clash.https://t.co/d3GK3g2HaJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 28, 2020
One-test All Blacks first-five Brett Cameron was another standout for Canterbury in a performance that will have pleased Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, who watched on with assistants Jason Ryan and Scott Hansen, as well as ex-All Black halfback Byron Kelleher.
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As the match wore on, however, the Canterbury attack became a bit more stagnant as the replacements rolled out onto the field, and North Otago were rewarded for their persistence when reserve prop Josh Hayward scored their sole try in the 70th minute.
Canterbury will now hold onto the Ranfurly Shield until September 19, when they host Taranaki in the second round of the Mitre 10 Cup, a week after they kick-off their domestic campaign against North Harbour in Albany on September 11.
North Otago, meanwhile, are set to defend the Hanan Shield against South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury in the coming weeks following the cancellation of the Heartland Championship due to COVID-19.
Canterbury 71 (Dallas McLeod, Andrew Knewstubb, Finlay Brewis, Isaiah Punivai, Billy Harmon, Manasa Mataele (2), Chay Fihaki, Sam Darry (2), Rameke Poihipi tries; Brett Cameron 8 conversions)
North Otago 7 (Josh Hayward try; Josh Phipps conversion)
Comments on RugbyPass
Its a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend om the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside od World Cup years.
5 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
5 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
5 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to comments