Tasman upset Canterbury in NPC [The Press]
Little brother got one up on big brother last night with a passionate Tasman upsetting Canterbury in the opening round of the national provincial rugby championship 25-22 in Nelson.
Up against a four-time championship-winning side which boasted a plethora of stars, Tasman were given little chance against their Crusader bedfellows, but a determined desire left the Canterbury outfit hapless as they were taken apart.
After trailing for most of the match, the collective Canterbury faithful gave a massive sigh of relief when Johnny McNicholl crossed over with five minutes to go, but were then again left reeling when replacement player Kieron Fonotia barged his way over after a charge down on full time to give his Tasman side the win.
Everything the Canterbury side threw at Tasman was met with a better answer as rushing defence on the star-studded backline shut things down.
Canterbury made costly errors at vital points in the match, and allowed Tasman back into the game after every period of play where they looked like getting the upper hand.
The result won't be the start new coach Tabai Matson will have been hoping for.
He would have headed to the half-time break wondering what he had got himself into.
Injuries to Sean Maitland and Luke Katene early in the match certainly didn't help their cause, but even the loss of those two players couldn't explain the lacklustre Canterbury effort.
Three penalties from Tom Taylor were all they had to show for the first 40 minutes while Tasman walked off with a try to Shane Christie, a penalty to Andrew Goodman and a drop goal to promising first-five Hayden Gripps.
Things looked more promising in the second half, before a try to Tasman fullback Robbie Malneek from a good session of play put the home side back in front.
That was the lift the Tasman side needed.
They began to hit every ruck with venom and found their opposition wanting and struggling to gain any continuity which ultimately proved to be the winning of the match.
Coach Kieran Keane looks to have pulled all the right reins with his side this year with a number of the side shouting to be taken notice of.
For Matson it's back to the drawing board and a quick turn-around before facing Auckland next Wednesday in Christchurch.
Tasman will head into a Ranfurly Shield challenge in Taranaki brimming with confidence on the back of their win.
In last night's other match Wellington proved too classy for Manawatu winning 30-11 in Palmerston North.
Tasman 25 (Shane Christie, Robbie Malneek, Kieron Fonotia tries, Andrew Goodman 2 conv 1 pen; Hayden Cripps dropped goal)
Canterbury 22 (Johnny McNicholl try, Tom Taylor 4 pen; Tyler Bleyendaal conv, pen)
HT: 11-9
