Tasman take out battle of Trafalgar

If you turned up at Trafalgar Park on Saturday expecting flowing, running rugby you would have left disappointed as Tasman subdued Auckland 16-11 in an NPC arm wrestle.

Patrons at ringside for the bout between New Zealand’s provincial rugby’s heavyweights were treated to a war of attrition, effectively a “battle of the breakdown and the boot”.

Fittingly, three of the game’s biggest moments came from kicks.

Firstly, a raking punt from inside the Auckland half eluded the clutches of Mako winger Leicester Fainga’anuku and rolled into touch inside the Tasman 22. Under another of the new laws this “50:22” effort allowed the kicking side to throw to the lineout, from where they launched the attack that led to their only try of the match.

Then, in the second spell, as Tasman desperately sought a way through the dogged Auckland defence a long, hopeful Tasman kick was knocked on by Auckland fullback Salesi Rayasi on his goal-line and, from the resulting scrum Mako No 8 Shannon Frizell produced an exquisitely timed pass to send Fainga’anuku in for the home side’s only try.

A third notable kick in the final moments threatened to have an even bigger impact on the final result. Mitch Hunt’s 70m clearance kick rolled over the dead ball line, conceding a handy attacking scrum to Auckland, setting up a final surge which came oh so close to snatching a late victory.

Although both sides endeavoured, at times, to create space and play with width, they seemed more intent on winning field position against an opponent whose game they knew inside out.

Mako head coach Andrew Goodman said, “it was a typical Tasman Auckland affair … over the last three or four years there has been a pretty cool rivalry building between the two sides.

“We knew it was going to come down to that physicality around the breakdown. They were strong there last week against Canterbury so we had a big week prepping around making sure we fronted up there and I think the boys did a great job.”

Andrew said Tasman’s focus on kicking back at Auckland was planned.

“Auckland have a strong kicking game … they look to pressure with their kick chase, forcing errors through us running back, then they really attack that breakdown, so we didn’t want to give them those opportunities. We were successful sometimes, but you could see we still have work to do on other occasions. But generally, I was happy with how that worked out.”

Another plus for the home side was the input of the bench, or the “Sparkies” as they are known.

“Last week and today our bench has come on and added energy and impact … we talk a lot about their roles and the accuracy they bring,” said Andrew.

Several starting players had a strong influence on the outcome. The tireless Hugh Renton and Sione Havili Talitui were instrumental in the breakdown battle, Hunt kicked long and accurately, Quentin MacDonald carried well, as did midfielder Fetuli Paea.

However, Andrew singled out a couple of long-standing Mako favourites for special mention.

“It was great to have Shannon [Frizell] back today – he gave us a lot of go-forward and a high work rate on both sides of the ball. Some of the boys out wide, when they got space, especially Tom Marshall in the second half looked dangerous against tiring defenders. It was awesome to see him back on T Park again in front of his family.”

With their last loss in Nelson coming way back in 2018, Trafalgar Park has become a fortress for Tasman and it will be tested again on Sunday when Counties Manukau come to town.

Two consecutive NPC premiership wins have drawn a huge target on Tasman’s back, a fact Andrew freely acknowledges.

“Looking at the standard of competition we can’t take our foot off the gas at all …  every team is improving and the gap is closing … we are stoked to get a win against a quality Auckland side, but now our job is to make sure we turn up against Counties as well.”

Scorers: Mako 16 (Leicester Fainga’anuku try, Mitch Hunt con, 3 pen) Auckland 11 (Salesi Rayasi try, Plummer 2 pen). HT: 11-6 Auckland.