Mighty Makos might make history [Marlborough Express]
The Tasman Makos toppled a rugby dynasty on Saturday.
The Makos' emphatic 26-6 ITM Cup semifinal win at Trafalgar Park ended Canterbury's six-year reign as New Zealand premiership champions.
It also means Tasman are one win away from becoming the first team to win the championship and premiership titles in consecutive seasons as they contemplate this Saturday's final against Taranaki in New Plymouth.
Tasman were not short of heroes on Saturday in front of 5400 excited Makos' fans, particularly their inspirational captain Shane Christie who required painkilling injections for a foot injury to get him on the park.
And in keeping with Tasman's 38-10 win over the red-and-blacks in Christchurch two weeks ago, it took another superb defensive effort by the Makos to keep Canterbury tryless as the mounting pressure got too much for the former champions.
Tasman led throughout and scored the game's two tries - both in the first half - to dynamic wing James Lowe and halfback Jimmy Cowan to put them ahead 17-6 at the break.
The Makos showed the visitors what they were up against early when they stunned Canterbury in the third minute with a thumping tackle by centre Kieron Fonotia on hooker Ben Funnell, forcing a turnover. Cowan kicked cleverly to space behind Canterbury's defence, Lowe latched on to the loose ball and scored the opening try which Highlanders-bound first five-eighth Marty Banks converted.
It took 28 minutes for Canterbury to get on the board - through a Tom Taylor penalty - Banks and Taylor trading further penalties to take the score to 10-6 to Tasman.
The Makos ended the half as they had begun - pacey fullback Robbie Malneek sparked a spectacular sideline attack from inside his own quarter and eventually set up a ruck near Canterbury's line. With the ball spilling free, Cowan regathered and powered across the line to score.
Banks converted and Tasman carried an 11-point lead to the break.
Banks provided all of the second-half scoring, with three penalty successes, while narrowly missing with two massive long-range attempts. His 16-point haul also pushed his season's tally to 163, seven points shy of the individual record of 170 which he set last season.
Saturday was not about individuals though, it was a victory produced from a total team commitment which had a delighted head coach Kieran Keane singing their praises - one week after a disappointing loss to Counties Manukau at Blenheim.
"I'm just absolutely thrilled for the boys," Keane said.
"It was a massive step up from the previous week. I think the thing that impressed me most was the defence and the resolve to not get into a scrap with them. We still had the smarts and the fortitude to keep playing."
Canterbury spent much of the first half on attack but Tasman defenders hit them in waves.
"I thought our D [defence] was particularly good, especially when they stretched us and bent us.
"We'd heard a lot about how good Canterbury were in semifinal rugby and that just fuelled our resolve to front again," Keane said."We weren't perfect but, my word, we were a united team and we had a great resolve to stand up and be counted.
Saturday's win was a proud moment for a franchise that has come close to being relegated to the second division or completely folding on several occasions in its nine-year existence. But now, one win away from being named the top provincial team in the country, assistant coach Leon MacDonald said the team had their feet firmly on the ground.
"We will pat ourselves on the back for this performance but it's all a bit lost if we don't go all the way," he said yesterday.
To prepare for the final, he said their buildup would be absolutely the same. "Nothing has changed at all. We probably wont even use the word final much, it will just be all about Taranaki and Tasman."
Loosehead prop Tim Perry will almost certainly be unavailable next week, having suffered a suspected ruptured Achilles early in Saturday's semifinal.
The remainder of the squad look set for the biggest match in Makos' history, even if the nagging injuries will take some managing. "We are just managing guys and even this last week been, it was pretty disrupted trainings, we had a lot of guys sitting out. We will do the same [this week] and just make sure we get people right and look for everyone to be fit on Saturday," MacDonald said.
FINAL WHISTLE
Tasman 26 (James Lowe, Jimmy Cowan tries; Marty Banks 4 pen, 2 con) Canterbury 6 (Tom Taylor 2 pen). Halftime: 17-6.
- The Marlborough Express
