Tasman 7s consoled by beating Canterbury [Fairfax]
It has been another disappointing national tournament for the Tasman sevens team, with them losing all their pool games and ending up without a trophy once again.
After a frustrating first day at the national sevens in Rotorua when they finished last in pool A, the Turf Hotel Tasman team managed to bounce back to upset southern region winners Canterbury 19-12 as they re-evaluated their goals and searched for one of the minor trophies.
Three Wanderers players scored tries in the match with captain Trael Joass, Jesse Pitman and Tone Ng Shiu all crossing the line.
After their only win in four matches, Tasman were then edged 24-19 by Manawatu in the bowl semifinal to officially end their tournament.
It was a game Tasman had plenty of chances to win.
They led 14-7 at halftime with Joass and Sione Holani scoring the tries.
Both teams had their nose in front at varying stages of the match and Joass scored his second try of the game to lock the score up at 19-19.
Manawatu scored with one minute to go and, despite dominating the possession in the final 60 seconds, Tasman were unable to find the match-winner.
Coach Gary Stevens admitted his disappointment at their overall placing but said their fightback on day two was a positive, falling one match short of the team's highest ever finish.
"We've progressed from last year to be 11th or 12th now instead of 15th last year and we've moved up to the bowl competition," he said.
Tasman had a frustrating start to the tournament, going down 27-7 to Northland in an error-ridden performance.
Their chances of qualifying for the cup section of the tournament for the first time were significantly diminished in the next outing, losing 15-7 to a vibrant Horowhenua-Kapiti side.
As expected, Taranaki then proved too strong for Tasman in the final match of day one, handing them a morale-sapping 19-0 loss, despite Tasman showing glimpses of quality.
One consolation for Tasman was their win over Canterbury, having lost to them in the southern zone final.
Another consolation was the fact they went one better than last year's effort when they went the entire tournament without a win.
