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Tasman secure Mitre 10 Cup semi-final berth as play-off race and relegation battle intensifies

By Alex McLeod
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Tasman have secured hosting rights for a Mitre 10 Cup semi-final next week after dispatching Otago 26-20 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

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The win also eliminates any prospect of the reigning champions missing out on a top four spot in what is an extremely tight race as the season enters its final day of the regular season.

The Mako can rest easy ahead of Sunday’s crunch matches between Bay of Plenty and North Harbour, as well as Canterbury and Auckland, as they made an error-prone Otago side pay for their mistakes in front of their home fans.

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Crippled by  injuries in the backline, it was the hosts who struck first through explosive rookie wing Freedom Vaha’akolo, who scored his seventh try of the season on the back of some swift distribution by his inside teammates.

Aside from a few penalty goals from first-five Josh Ioane, that was about as good as it got for the Dunedinites, who succumbed to Tasman’s powerful attackers, with young wing Leicester Fainga’anuku among those to flourish with ball in hand.

The first to capitalise on his side’s strong running game was midfielder Tim O’Malley, who crashed over after beating numerous defenders about midway through the first half to put Tasman in the lead.

Ioane traded two penalties apiece with his opposite and Highlanders teammate Mitch Hunt on either side of halftime, leaving Tasman with a 16-13 advantage early in the second half.

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Hunt slotted another three-pointer before former All Blacks squad member Quinten Strange broke the Otago defence following a long sequence of build-up play by the Mako pack deep inside enemy territory.

That looked to have put Otago out of reach of victory, but a late piece of magic by Jona Nareki was enough to put Kayne Hammington in under the posts with about five minutes to play.

It was too little too late, though, with Tasman able to grind out the remainder of the match to confirm their second-place finish in the Premiership.

The result also denies Otago top place in the Championship, although their second-place seeding means they will host either Northland or Taranaki in a semi-final next week.

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Who Tasman play in the finals remains to be seen, though, as any one of Waikato, Bay of Plenty, North Harbour or Canterbury stand as potential opponents dependant on the results of Sunday’s matches.

The latter three teams also have the extra motivation of playing to avoid relegation into next year’s Championship.

Their fates will be determined when Bay of Plenty take on North Harbour in Tauranga at 2:05pm on Sunday, which will be followed by Canterbury’s clash with Auckland in Christchurch at 4:35pm.

Tasman 26 (Tries to Tim O’Malley and Quinten Strange; two conversions and four penalties to Mitch Hunt)

Otago 20 (Tries to Freedom Vaha’akolo and Kayne Hammington; two conversions and two penalties to Josh Ioane)

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

8 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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