Makos slump to second straight loss in Pukekohe
Tasman winger Viliami Lolohea pulls off a spectacular try-saving second half tackle against Counties' Willie Walker.
The Tasman Makos appear to be losing their bite.
Tasman's hopes of securing a home semifinal are now hanging by a thread after a gut-wrenching 42-33 loss to Counties Manukau in Pukekohe on Saturday. It was Tasman's second straight loss, the game attracting a fair amount of controversy after the Makos were reduced to just 13 players late in the first half of their eighth round national provincial championship rugby clash.
Second five-eighth David Havili was the first to go, shown a yellow card by referee Kane McBride in the 22nd minute for a tip tackle. He was then joined in the bin five minutes later by Robbie Malneek, in his 100th appearance for the province, after the veteran fullback was ejected for allegedly not rolling clear at a ruck.
The word upset will be bandied about - a fair enough assessment considering Counties had recorded just two wins and Tasman six prior to Saturday's clash. But Counties in the right frame of mind are a genuine threat. Give them a two-man advantage and they're virtually impossible to stop.
Counties turned it on in front of their home crowd, producing their best performance of the season and made all that much easier by some awful Makos defence as Tasman players continued to fall off first-up tackles.
Still, a try to centre Kieron Fonotia midway through the first half had initially pushed Tasman out to a 13-3 advantage. But with both Havili and Malneek sitting in the bin, Counties piled on 18 points, including tries to halfback Richard Judd and midfielder Cardiff Vaega, to give Counties a handy 21-13 lead at the break.
Tasman first five-eighth Marty Banks produced a touch of class with a fine individual try directly after the restart to reduce the deficit to just one point, before more threadbare defence allowed Counties to restore their eight-point margin through a try to reserve lock Sikeli Nabou.
Counties would add another two tries, to reserve halfback Pele Cowley and flanker Onosai'i Auva'a, with Tasman's only significant response coming through an excellent long-range try to reserve halfback Billy Guyton. Tasman were scrambling hard at the death to try to secure a bonus point, but they ran out of time.
Tasman coach Kieran Keane was typically direct after the match.
"I was pretty embarrassed by the first half, I thought that was a poor performance and really, again, it was a bridge too far in the second half," Keane said.
"We just dug a hole and jumped into it on that first half performance. We came back and showed a little bit of grit and character, but we couldn't nail anything really. It was pretty disappointing."
He struggled to explain his team's poor defensive effort.
"Ironically we worked on defence throughout the week so that failed to make too much of an impression. The individual tackling was well below par and tackling is personal, so there are some issues around that."
It was a bitter-sweet day for both Malneek and Banks, Malneek sadly not able to celebrate his milestone game in the apppropriate manner, and Banks' achievement of becoming the first player to pass 100 points this season also lost in translation. He'd end the game with 15 points, giving him 113 for the season to date.
While Banks showed some nice touches, winger Viliami Lolohea also took another significant step forward in his rugby education, including a spectacular try-saving tackle on reserve fullback Willie Walker midway through the second half.
Counties Manukau 42 (Richard Judd, Cardiff Vaega, Sikeli Nabou, Pele Cowley, Onosai'i Auva'a tries; Piers Francis 3 pen, 2 con, Willy Walker 2 con) Tasman Makos 33 (Kieron Fonotia, Marty Banks, Billy Guyton tries; Banks 2 pen, 2 con, David Havili 2 pen, con) HT: 21-13.
