Tasman hand Taranaki a shock semifinal loss
Tasman winger James Lowe shows plenty of commitment on defence against Taranaki's Declan O'Donnell.
Tasman are the toast of Canterbury rugby after the Makos stunned top qualifiers Taranaki with a 30-29 Mitre 10 Cup semifinal win at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday.
Tasman's gutsy win means that second-seeds Canterbury will now host next week's final against fourth-seeded Tasman following Canterbury's 35-24 semifinal win over North Harbour earlier in the day.
After beating a 14-man Tasman team 40-26, also in New Plymouth, earlier this season, Taranaki were expected to once again be too strong on their home turf with hosting rights for next Saturday's final on the line.
Mitch Hunt clears for touch.
But Tasman were following a completely different script and although ultimately outscored by four tries to two, a superb 25-point haul by first five-eighth Mitch Hunt, including six penalties, was enough to get Tasman across the line.
Taranaki were also reduced to 14 men with seven minutes to go when winger Seta Tamanivalu was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Tasman fullback Will Jordan. It was just one instance of frequent indiscipline that cost Taranaki during the match and it ultimately proved costly.
Tasman head coach Leon MacDonald was naturally delighted with the win.
"I'm immensely proud," MacDonald said. "I thought the team just showed a huge amount of character just to hang in there, with a little bit of flair in there at times as well."
Taranaki's indiscipline, after Tasman had ended their previous encounter under-manned, certainly wasn't lost on him.
"That's life isn't it," he quipped. "We won the key moments, particularly at the latter part of that second half [and there were] a couple of really big scrums by [prop] Siua Halanukonuka when he came off the bench so, you know, it all just added up to a pretty good performance I thought.
"The difference was I thought we wanted it a little bit more in the end."
MacDonald also paid tribute to Hunt's massive contribution.
"For a small man he's got a big heart. He made the odd little mistake but it's only a mistake if you dwell on it for too long and you let it affect but just keeps bouncing back.
"He missed his first kick from in front but ended up kicking a lot of critical goals, so it just shows he's got plenty of character."
Tasman's physicality and a helpful wind contributed to an early 9-3 Tasman lead through the respective boots of Mitch Hunt and Marty McKenzie.
But after absorbing plenty of early pressure, it was Taranaki who struck after 25 minutes through a well constructed try to winger Declan O'Donnell who showed excellent pace down the right flank.
Taranaki's 10-9 lead was short-lived, Tasman's right winger Tima Faingaanuku intercepting a pass 40m to score in the tackle and restore the visitors' lead at 14-10.
Poor Tasman defence from a defensive scrum allowed second five-eighth Charlie Ngatai to breeze through a gap as the see-saw scoreline again put Taranaki ahead 17-14. However, a fourth Hunt penalty success had the scores locked at 17-17 at the break.
Taranaki looked confident on attack although a 7-3 penalty count and a telling wind advantage provided Tasman with ample opportunities to remain well in the contest.
When Leinster-bound winger James Lowe exploded through Taranaki's midfield defence from 60m out two minutes after the restart, Hunt was suddenly across in the corner for a 24-17 lead in front of a stunned home crowd. A fifth Hunt penalty increased the lead to 10 points.
Two tries to halfback Te Toira Tahuriorangi and again to Tamanivalu within four minutes of each other appeared to signal a significant momentum shift for Taranaki as they headed into the final quarter 29-27 ahead. But Tasman wouldn't go away, Hunt kicking his sixth penalty for a 30-29 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
A string of late penalties highlighted Taranaki's indiscipline, accentuated by Tamanivalu's exit. But with Tasman desperately trying to retain possession, a massive 56m penalty attempt by McKenzie with four minutes remaining was narrowly astray.
Tasman finished hot on attack to secure a repeat of last year's final showdown with Canterbury.
Halfback Finlay Christie, Lowe and Jordan were outstanding in Tasman's backline with hooker Andrew Makalio, locks Alex Ainley and Shannon Frizell and No 8 Jordan Taufua all making massive contributions up front.
Tasman 30 (Tima Faingaanuku, Mitch Hunt tries, Hunt con, 6 pen) Taranaki 29 (Declan O'Donnell, Charlie Ngatai, Te Toira Tahuriorangi, Seta Tamanivalu tries, Marty McKenzie 3 con, pen) HT: 17-17.
