Canterbury continued its good form in the Air New Zealand Cup on Saturday night with a commanding and very impressive 34-3 victory against Auckland at AMI Stadium.

Played in fine conditions, Canterbury started strongly, getting good possession and putting in some telling tactical kicks against a youthful Auckland side.

Auckland, though, had the first realistic chance of scoring when after two minutes first five-eight Lachie Munro had a field goal attempt. Although he missed it, the visitors had showed their intentions.

The first 10 minutes were tight and characterised by clinical rugby by both teams. Neither appeared willing to give the other an inch. As a result, both teams kicked a great deal and appeared unwilling to attack up the middle.

After 11 minutes Canterbury captain Kieran Read made a strong break, feeding vice-captain Paul Williams who shot down the sideline like someone surging for the top of a mountain. Williams (a man with a fine Auckland pedigree) made no mistake and Canterbury was ahead 5-0.

After the first try of the match (perhaps as a result of it) the game opened up. Canterbury had the better of the next few minutes, half-back Tyson Keats prominent.

Now Canterbury had the confidence to move the ball wide, albeit sometimes not accurately. They did, however, come close to scoring after 19 minutes when only a dropped pass prevented them from scoring their second try.     

Canterbury was dominating possession and territory. Despite that they were given a scare after 26 minutes when fullback Jamie Helleur was gifted a loose pass. Helleur almost ran the length of the field to score. It was a terrific run, the Auckland player being cut down on the line by the hard-chasing Tim Bateman. Auckland should have scored and with some better follow-up would have.

Canterbury scored their second try after 31 minutes. Auckland lost control of the ball (Helleur the culprit), the pill being toed through and left wing James Paterson controlling to score. Colin Slade missed the conversion, although the home side was now ahead 10-0.

After 36 minutes, Auckland was awarded a penalty when Scott Hamilton was penalised for tackling an Auckland player without the ball. It was a marginal call and it was perhaps just when Lachie Munro missed the resulting penalty attempt. The half-time score remained 10-0 to Canterbury, itself a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes.

There was plenty of urgency by Canterbury in the first half. They were, especially on defence, desperate in what they were doing, making sure the dangerous Auckland side had limited opportunities to counter-attack. They deserved their lead for they had played smart, controlled rugby.

The second half started at a frantic pace. The teams appeared to think that it was the last five minutes of the second half and not the first. Auckland initially appeared more patient on attack than what they had in the first half. They dominated the first 10 minutes, only being prevented from scoring by some hungry Canterbury defence.

After 14 minutes Canterbury’s Colin Slade got the ball off an attacking scrum. Noticing that the Auckland backline was up flat, he put in a beautifully balanced grubber kick that sat up well for Scott Hamilton to collect and score. Slade’s conversion gave Canterbury a commanding and well-deserved 17-0 lead.

Canterbury went straight back on to attack after Slade made another strong break. After some delicate hands by the home side (especially by centre Adam Whitelock), prop Wyatt Crockett collected a superb pass by Read to cross and give Canterbury their fourth try and the bonus point.

Auckland finally got on the board when Munroe kicked a penalty after 21 minutes.

Michael Paterson was an ankle tap away from extending Canterbury’s lead shortly after, Auckland defending well on the outside.

As the crowd celebrated New Zealand’s first gold medal of the Olympics, the home side continued to attack. They were rewarded after 32 minutes with replacement Ryan Crotty scoring in the corner when the ball was finally moved wide by Canterbury after some sustained attack.

The game was now over as a contest. Canterbury still attacked and was unlucky not to score two minutes later, when feisty replacement Kosuke Endo was just stopped with the line in sight, and two minutes after that when a forward drive over the line proved inconclusive.

Canterbury was rewarded for their attack one minute later when another forward rumble resulted in replacement hooker Steve Fualau crossing for a try. Slade kicked the conversion to give Canterbury a commanding 34-3 win.

This was Canterbury’s best performance of the season so far by a country mile. They were urgent, hungry and confident. They deserved their win and were totally comprehensive against the Auckland side.

There were numerous impressive performers, although captain Read was magnificent, while centre Whitelock, wing Hamilton and first five-eight Slade were very impressive. Wins such as this against Auckland don’t get much better. This performance should give this Canterbury squad every confidence for the rest of the season.

Canterbury 34: Tries: Paul Williams, James Paterson, Scott Hamilton, Wyatt Crockett, Ryan Crotty, Steve Fualau. Conversions: Colin Slade (2).

Auckland 3: Penalty: Lachie Munro.