Last-minute try secures dramatic South victory over the North
New Zealand and the rest of the rugby world wanted an exciting game of rugby, and the North and South Islands delivered it.
The highly-anticipated fixture lived up to every lofty expectation placed on it, with New Zealand’s best showing exquisite skill across the board to show the three-week break since the end of Super Rugby Aotearoa hasn’t diminished their frenetic pace of which they’re able to play the game.
As a result, the South chalked up a 38-35 victory over their Northern neighbours, but it took a very late fightback and a try long past the full-time siren to clinch the win.
It didn’t take long for the North to assert their authority on proceedings, with Blues wing Caleb Clarke storming through the South’s defence from deep inside his own 22 from the kick-off.
Not only did the uncapped youngster’s scintillating burst showed he has lost none of his electric touch that made him so valuable in Super Rugby Aotearoa, it also laid the platform for an early try that set the tone for the attacking edge the game was expected to have.
Latching onto a Beauden Barrett grubber kick inside the in-goal area, Rieko Ioane smashed his way over the chalk to give the hosts a five-point buffer after just three minutes.
It wasn’t an advantage that lasted for very long, with South prop Nepo Laualala showing great awareness to exploit a gap in the defensive line close to the ruck and snatch a close range try that any halfback would be proud of.
Going tit-for-tat in the attacking stakes, the North responded by producing one of the tries of the match, with Clarke, Ioane and TJ Perenara flinging offloads to one another to send Damian McKenzie in untouched from about 20 metres out.
Taking a more robust approach to crossing the line, the South used brute force to smash their way to their second try, using the massive frame of Jordie Barrett as a battering ram to smash through Sevu Reece and Perenara and slam the ball down in the corner.
An earlier penalty by the 23-year-old handed the South a three-point buffer at the break, but the North flexed their depth early on in the second stanza.
Coming on in place of Perenara, Highlanders star Aaron Smith was on the receiving end of another spectacular North team try that McKenzie and Hoskins Sotutu both played a helping hand in.
The fifth lead change of the night came just before the hour mark when Clarke, who hadn’t put a foot wrong all match, tried to keep the loose ball in play by swatting in-field as it bobbled towards the sideline.
That only allowed prolific try scorer Will Jordan – who, in contrast to Clarke, had been particularly quiet up until this point – to scoop it up and sprint 50-odd metres away for yet another try in 2020.
A pair of tries over the next 10 minutes followed, one for the South via reserve prop Tyrel Lomax, and one to the North through Ioane, whose pace and power were on full display in a performance that could almost be worthy of man-of-the-match honours.
However, it was a 72nd minute try to reserve North hooker Ash Dixon that looked to be the difference, with his borrowing run to the tryline under the posts piling a heap of pressure on their Southern counterparts.
The South never said die, though, with a Josh Ioane cross kick into the clutches of Jordan deep into injury time proving too much for Mitch Hunt to handle on defence.
That allowed the Crusaders flyer to cross over in the 85th minute, much to the delight of the South contingent, whose joy was audible throughout the empty Sky Stadium.
Their victory did come at a cost, however, as one-test centre Braydon Ennor collapsed in a heap after making a tackle on Rieko Ioane early on in the first half.
Clutching at his knee and having to be helped off the park after just 13 minutes of action must be a concerning sight for All Blacks coach Ian Foster.
He might have to rub Ennor’s name off his 35-man squad list before it’s announced on Sunday morning should the injury be as serious as it first looked.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments