Tasman prepared for life in top tier [Marlborough Express]
The top tier of the NPC awaits the Tasman Makos next year after they edged the Hawke's Bay Magpies 26-25 in a thrilling and energy-sapping ITM Cup championship final at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Friday night.
Young Hawke's Bay first five-eighth Ihaia West had a chance to snatch it for the Magpies with time up on the clock, after replacement halfback Chris Eaton finished a brilliant 80 metre team try in the 79th minute. Thankfully for Tasman, though, the rising star missed the sideline conversion, signalling jubilant scenes among Makos players and supporters.
Titles are won for a lot of reasons, but defence and character are two of the biggest and in front of vocal home crowd of around 6000 it was exactly those qualities which got the Makos over the line.
A fired-up Magpies outfit, playing to regain their spot in the premiership division and for veteran loose-forward Karl Lowe in his 100th and final game for the province, dominated almost all the key stat lines and played the majority of the rugby.
However, finals are not won on statistics and a close-knit Tasman side hung tough on defence, pulled off some crucial breakdown turnovers and made the most of their limited attacking opportunities to secure the first NPC title of their eight-year history and a spot in the top flight for 2014.
Proud Makos coach Kieran Keane called the match "pure theatre" and paid credit to the strong culture and character which got his side home after the match. He also gave a passionate Hawke's Bay team all the praise they deserved.
"[We] needed to show a lot of things tonight, and it wasn't so much about the rugby. In some facets we were outplayed at certain times by a very good Hawke's Bay team. They came at us with a vengeance and they were good and they were tough so we had to show things that are more about the man and the player. I think our strong culture and will to win held us in good stead. We showed a lot of character. We made a lot of silly decisions that put us under a bit of pressure, so we weren't perfect, but gee we played with a lot of ticker.
"I feel very proud of Tasman and being able to mix it and have such a wonderful season with such a good, dedicated group of guys. There's work to be done when you step up [to the next tier], but in the meantime I think it's time to celebrate."
Things haven't always been this rosy for the amalgamation of the Marlborough and Nelson Bays unions. The merging of two arch-rivals has had its moments and, along with three other teams, at the end of the 2009 season Tasman faced being dropped out of the then Air NZ Cup altogether. However, fortunes have largely been on an upward trend since and Keane payed tribute to his assistant Leon MacDonald and said Friday night's result was a result of a lot of hard work.
"I'm really pleased for Rang (MacDonald), he's been outstanding for me. He's been a rock.
"We've had tough times and three years ago we were probably at rock bottom and we didn't know quite what was going to eventuate within the union . . . but we rolled our sleeves up and set a plan in place and tonight is the culmination of that plan, so it would have been a heartbreak to lose it."
As performances go, it was not one of the best for a Makos side which played some scintillating rugby over the competition and finished the season with 10 wins from 12 matches. To a large extent, however, the Magpies did not allow Tasman to get their up-tempo, attack-minded game going. The visitors held the ball for sustained periods, forcing the Makos to defend and play the majority of the match in their own half.
The key period in the match came in the shadows of halftime.
Tasman held a 13-10 lead after a well-taken try to wing Bryce Heem and two penalties from first five-eighth Marty Banks and an early strike by Magpies fullback Zac Guildford and a West penalty.
However, Makos No 8 Liam Squire dotted down, his seventh to set a new Makos individual season record, with four minutes remaining in the half and when Banks snuffed out an intercept to run 95m and score just a couple of minutes later the Makos went into the sheds with a 13-point buffer.
Hawke's Bay looked set to narrow an eight-point lead in the 39th minute when West opted to take a quick-tap penalty 5m out from the Tasman line with the Makos short on numbers. Banks, though, has had the Midas touch in his debut NPC season and read the opposing No 10s mind before out-pacing the cover defence to land a critical blow.
Even more so than they had done in the first spell, the Magpies dominated large parts of the second half. But Tasman's defence continued to scramble superbly and two more missed penalties from West early on were to prove crucial before the pressure told and they eventually scored their second try through tireless flanker Brendon O'Connor in the 60th minute.
A second Banks penalty from well beyond 40m put Tasman ahead 26-17, but West soon got those three points back and with seven minutes to go there was still just one scoring play in it. In the 78th minute, the Makos defence repelled yet another Magpies raid and cleared downfield and it looked as if the result was sealed.
Just moments later, though, O'Connor snaffled a turnover 20m out from Hawke's Bays' line and, following a bust by replacement lock Trent Boswell-Wakefield, delivered the final pass for Eaton to dive over in the corner. Hero status then awaited for the already impressive West, but under huge pressure from the home crowd he pulled the conversion to the left of the uprights.
Despite the result, Keane said it wasn't yet certain he and MacDonald would be coaching the Makos next season.
"[That decision] is a long way off for me . . . we are not sure whether we're going to kick on. I know we've got a lot of support to do that, so that's nice, but some things have to be looked at. I don't think it's a given that we'll be coaching that team..
"We've got a new CEO that's just come on board, so we want to let him find his feet and we also want to talk, and have already talked, with the rugby committee. I'm positive about it, but there a lot of things that have to be discussed."
After such a tense finish, MacDonald said he was more relieved than excited. The 56-test All Black also took time to praise Hawke's Bay and felt his side simply "hung in there".
"We won, and that's great, but you can't take anything away from that Hawke's Bay effort, it was a fantastic performance from them. To win, we were pretty lucky and we'll take it, but man they really turned up and played some good rugby.
"We just found a way, we hung in there. They did exactly what we were trying to do to them, but every little opportunity we took and I suppose that's what you have to do in a final . . . it's all history now and whether it's one point or 50 points it doesn't matter and we're really happy about that."
MacDonald said they had talked about defence all week because they knew it would be "the winning or losing of the competition." He felt increased professionalism within the playing group had been key to this year's success and used captain/flanker Shane Christie, who once again played an influential role for his side, as an example.
"The boys can be really proud of their season and we've made some massive gains as a group. A lot of the players have matured into good professional rugby players who take a lot of pride in their performance. When you see guys like Shane Christie turning into the leader he is and the player he is, that's probably where you can get your most satisfaction in coaching.
"There's a lot of positives in this group and they're a really neat bunch of guys who are a pleasure to be involved with. If we can keep this group together I've got no problem that we will be very competitive in that next tier."
A proud Marlborough man, MacDonald strongly felt the success reinforced the Makos concept was the way forward for both unions. He noted there was plenty to be done before next year, but said it was important to celebrate their promotion first.
"There's a lot of stuff in the air at the moment. There's players that we need to recruit and make sure that we've got and then there's obviously the coaching decision between Kieran and myself and what's moving forward there. It's been a busy couple of months and once we have a few drinks tonight and wake up with a hangover tomorrow we'll start contemplating what's next, but at the moment we'll just enjoy tonight."
BIG MATCH FACTS
ITM Cup championship final, Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Scorers:
Tasman Makos 26 (Bryce Heem, Liam Squire, Marty Banks tries; Banks con, 3 pen),
Hawke's Bay 25 (Zac Guildford, Brendon O'Connor, Chris Eaton tries; Ihaia West 2 con, 2 pen).
Halftime: 23-10.
Key moment: Tasman first five-eighths Marty Banks' 95m intercept try, which also prevented an almost certain Hawke's Bay try, to give his side a 13-point lead on the stroke of halftime.
Crowd: About 6000.
Key stats
Territory: Hawke's Bay 65, Tasman 35.
Possession: Hawke's Bay 58, Tasman 42.
Breakdowns: Hawke's Bay 103, Tasman 44.
Breakdown turnovers won: Tasman 5, Hawke's Bay 2.
Tackles made: Tasman 127, Hawke's Bay 48.
Pick ‘n' go: Hawke's Bay 15, Tasman 3.
Five-plus phases: Hawke's Bay 10, Tasman 1.
