By Myles Hume
There’s one thing for sure, there is no footy like finals footy.
When Waikato travelled south three weeks ago to Christchurch’s Rugby Park and suffocated Canterbury, with their strike power up front, they would have felt they had the edge leading into the 2011 ITM Cup final at their own fortress – Waikato Stadium.
But they could not have been more wrong. Canterbury, who have won the last three provincial championships, showed there is no substitute for experience as they silenced the cow bells, squashing Waikato 12-3 and claiming provincial supremacy for the fourth time on the trot.
Canterbury coach Rob Penney hinted earlier in the week the battle of the loosies was going to be a huge deciding factor with George Whitlock, Matt Todd and Nasi Manu coming up against an all-star Waikato trio featuring world cup reject Liam Messam.
However, it was the Canterbury loose forwards that prevailed, showing tenacity and grind to ensure Canterbury retained the ball while pilfering the ball off a determined Waikato side.
With the convenient territory Canterbury had it was able to be churned into points as the cool-headed Tom Taylor, who was an early replacement for the injured Tyler Bleyendaal, kicked all of Canterbury’s 12 points – keeping the Canterbury trophy cabinet intact for another year.
After trailing by six points for 37 minutes, frustration snuck into the Waikato game after one of their players grabbed Willi Heinz, interfering with his pass, meaning Canterbury were awarded a penalty allowing Taylor to kick them out to a 9 point lead with five minutes remaining.
The rest was up to the red-and-black forwards to rumble it up as pick and drives chewed up the time to let the Canterbury legacy live on.
Canterbury always appeared in control with their abrasive defence and clinical ball retention giving Waikato limited chances to repeat their efforts almost a month ago against Canterbury.
Their teamwork was key, as Waikato flaked off into individuals as frustration and the bounce of the ball nullified their chances.
Canterbury join an elite group, with the last time a team completing a four-peat being the famous Auckland side that dominated the mid-nineties era.
Canterbury – 12 (Tom Taylor 4 pen)
Waikato – 3 ( Stephen Donald 1 pen)