Tasman, North Harbour battle to exciting draw
Tasman winger James Lowe looked sharp in his first game back from a thumb injury.
Marty Banks for once couldn't deliver the final critical blow as Tasman battled to an exciting 27-27 draw with North Harbour in their Mitre 10 Cup rugby clash at Albany on Wednesday.
Tasman's prolific first five-eighth, who hadn't missed a kick all night, had one last chance to steal victory when Tasman were awarded a penalty at halfway in the fourth minute of injury time.
The kick appeared on target before rebounding off the left-hand upright to give both teams a share of the points in a frantic contest.
The draw temporarily lifted Tasman into third place on the premiership points table, with Sunday's final game against Southland at Trafalgar Park now critical to their playoff hopes.
But it could have been much worse.
It was a messy display by Tasman, littered with errors and indiscipline after Tasman players Kieron Fonotia and Ethan Blackadder were both shown yellow-cards during the second half.
In the end, Tasman head coach Leon MacDonald was satisfied with the two competition points.
"We nearly stole four [points], which we probably didn't deserve, but it was hard watching," MacDonald said.
"It was a really tough encounter, [North Harbour] played well and we struggled to match their line speed on D[efence] a little bit with our attack and we made a lot of errors and just struggled to get our game going really."
With premiership team Tasman and championship contenders Harbour each desperately chasing playoff spots, neither side was able to establish any clear edge in a tight contest.
Tasman applied much of the early territorial pressure, North Harbour's tight defensive line eventually broken when a strong break by winger James Lowe, back from a lengthy injury break, saw second five-eighth David Havili across near the corner for a 7-3 lead.
However, the ever-present threat posed by North Harbour's backs was soon evident when a blistering counter-attack and a pacey incision by winger Tevita Li created plenty of space for fullback Matt McGahan to open the home team's account and a 10-7 lead after 16 minutes.
As it's done all season, Harbour's scrum continued to apply the heat, which combined with the home team's excellent defensive line speed, severely restricted Tasman's attacking opportunities. It was left to Banks' boot to provide his team's remaining first half points, Harbour's Bryn Gatland also adding another penalty, as the team's headed to the break locked at 13-13.
The introduction of substitute props Kane Hames and Siua Halanukonuka appeared to provide an early second half boost for Tasman's scrum.
It might be an idea to give referee Kane McBride and his assistant Danny Morrison tickets to the next Joseph Parker fight. Then they might understand what a punch looks like, certainly not the innocuous shove that earned Fonotia his 10 minutes in the bin.
Fonotia's absence created some defensive indecision, allowing Harbour centre Matt Vaega to eventually cross in the corner as Gatland's excellent sideline conversion re-established Harbour's lead at 20-13.
Tasman skipper Alex Ainley's brave decision to turn down a handy penalty opportunity after 22 minutes, instead opting for an attacking lineout, paid dividends when hooker Andrew Makalio was driven across to level the scores.
Tasman earned a crucial reprieve when fullback Mitchell Hunt and Harbour winger Matt Duffie were ruled to have simultaneously grounded the ball over the goal-line. However, flanker Blackadder's sin-binning for hands in a ruck on Tasman's goal-line saw hooker Adrian Smith driven across from the resulting lineout for a handy 27-20 lead with just 12 minutes remaining.
Again reduced to 14 men, Tasman fought back superbly when No 8 Shannon Frizell scored from another attacking lineout, Banks' angled conversion again levelling up the scores at 27-27.
With time eventually up, both teams threw everything at each other in a bid to secure victory, Banks' final miss at least keeping North Harbour's championship hopes alive.
Despite their muddling efforts, Tasman still showed plenty of character to at least save the match.
"We showed a lot of guts. Twenty minutes with two men in the bin...I don't know what [the yellow cards] were for, we had to dig really deep," MacDonald said.
"It was a relatively short turnaround and unfortunately we've got an even shorter turnaround [for Southland]. So there's got to be some real character stuff over the next few days."
"We weren't surprised to come across that sort of Harbour team. They've been unbeaten at home all year for a reason.
"They were very tough, their scrum was good, their lineout was really good and they gave their backs plenty of ball. But we battled hard and showed plenty of grit - and two points is two points. It keeps us in the hunt and makes Southland really important."
Tasman 27 (David Havili, Andrew Makalio, Shannon Frizell tries, Marty Banks 3 con, 2 pen) v North Harbour 27 (Matt McGahan, Matt Vaega, Adrian Smith tries, Bryn Gatland 3 con, 2 pen) HT: 13-13
