By Myles Hume

The Canterbury wings were the shining stars in a performance that lacked the final punch to knock out a persistent Tasman side.

Left wing Patrick Osborne and right wing Telusa Veainu had a field day off the back of a dominant Canterbury forward pack to score all five of Canterbury’s tries, managing to squeeze out a 36-32 win at Blenheim’s Lansdowne Park.

When Veainu crossed over for his third try in the 54th minute - thanks to a swift interchange of hands – Canterbury looked to have the game wrapped up with an unsalable 25-point lead, but after a late Tasman surge it was a close call for the Cantabrians.

Canterbury hit the ground running in the first half after Osborne crossed over for his first try in the 3rd minute off a classic set piece move, out-flanking the Markos’ defence.

Moments later it was the other wing, Veainu, who crossed over in a classic try after eluding four defenders to finish well in the right hand corner.

In the 31stminute Osborne went over for his second when talented first five-eighth Tyler Bleyendaal executed a perfect cross-field kick for his wing who had one man to beat – taking the score out to 19-3 at half time.

Canterbury’s tune didn’t change at the beginning of the second half after Veainu read a looping Tasman pass to run 70m untouched and then scored his hat trick try eight minutes later to tighten the strangle-hold on Tasman – leading 33-8 at the 54 minute mark.

Like a fairytale, the game turned on its head as Canterbury rested on their laurels – only kicking one penalty goal - and gave Tasman a taste of momentum.

Tries to Tasman’s flanker Tevita Kolomatanga, fullback Tom Marshall and two to number eight Mark Bright - in 25 minutes - allowed Tasman to sit four points behind Canterbury and secure two valuable bonus points.

Canterbury held out in the final minute to gain a much-needed bonus point victory and keep their title-defending season alive.

It is a short turn around for the red-and-blacks who play Waikato on Wednesday at Christchurch’s Rugby Park. It will be the first time these two face-off since the ITM Cup final last year.

Canterbury – 36 (tries: Patrick Osborne 2, Telusa Veainu 3; Tyler Bleyendaal 2, Tom Taylor 2 conv; Tom Taylor 1 pen)

Tasman – 32 (tries: Andrew Goodman, Tevita Kolomatanga, Tom Marshall, Mark Bright 2; Andrew Goodman 1, Tom Marshall 1 conv; Andrew Goodman 1 pen)