Canterbury secured a home quarter-final with a 31-7 win against Hawkes Bay at AMI Stadium on Saturday night.
The rain that fell at various stages during the match and the difficult underfoot conditions resulting made the game far from a spectacle, although the Red and Blacks did enough to not only win and secure five points, but continue to build momentum.
This was always going to be an evenly matched contest. The fact that Canterbury was second on the points table and Hawkes Bay third was only a part of the equation. The reality was that both sides were chock full of talent.
The first minutes of the match were characterised by a bout of often inaccurate kicking. It was, if anything, a reflection of the respect that both teams had for each other. As a result, both seemed apprehensive to run the ball.
Another more obvious reason could have been the wet weather. It was certainly soggy underfoot and when both sides (especially Hawkes Bay) managed to move the ball wide they had numerous handling problems.
Still, Hawkes Bay scored first. After six minutes second-five Sam Giddens kicked through after the Canterbury defence was up flat. Zac Guildford was chasing and he had too much speed for the home defence to cross. Giddens converted the try to give Hawkes Bay a 7-0 lead.
Canterbury went straight back on to attack and it was half-back Andy Ellis who scored next. The try came about after Stephen Brett had found a gap as wide as the Red Sea and fed the All Black. Ellis deserved the try for his support play alone and although he only just grounded the ball (confirmed by the TMO), there could be few complaints from the visitors as their defence had been almost non-existent. Brett’s conversion evened the scores with 12 minutes on the clock.
As the first half reached its middle stages, both teams seemed keen and willing to move the ball wide. Conditions and the pressure exerted by the opposition meant that the execution wasn’t as accurate as it might have been. On this night, however, the players had good excuses.
In the 25th minute Ellis scored his second try. It was a simple score on the face of it: a free-kick close to the line, limited Hawke’s Bay defence and a determined plunge. Yet it was the result of sustained pressure. Canterbury had been more accurate, launching probing attacks down the short-side, employing one-off runners and slowly building momentum.
Canterbury were on a roll. They scored again in the 34th minute when after another sustained build-up it was Tim Batman who latched on to a lovely kick through by Brett after the visitors’ defence was up flat. Brett continued his good form with the boot to kick the conversion.
Despite a couple of nice touches, Canterbury often lacked vision in the first half; often with men outside of the insides they chose to move the ball back inside. On other occasions their tactical kicking was off.
In the 40th minute Canterbury increased their lead to 24-7 when Brett neatly dropped a goal. It was a pragmatic decision by the Red and Blacks, testimony to their growing maturity and their ability to take points when on offer.
Canterbury went close to earning the bonus point in the early stages of the second half; only a knock-on near to the Hawkes Bay line preventing Canterbury’s fourth score.
With the rain continuing to fall at AMI Stadium, the Red and Blacks continued to attack but were hampered somewhat when Brett went off injured with what looked like a leg injury.
Part of the reason why Canterbury could attack so readily was because of the power of their scrum. The pack had an obvious edge on Hawkes Bay and in this respect prop Wyatt Crockett was outstanding.
The accuracy that both teams had been craving in the first half was still absent in the second half. While the conditions were certainly a major reason for it, the players would have expected more from themselves.
Hawkes Bay especially seemed unable to regularly get themselves into the Canterbury half.
Due to the numerous mistakes, the only real point of interest in the second half was whether Canterbury could secure a bonus point.
With the hooter having, it was substitute flanker George Whitelock who scored after Tim Bateman and Hamish Gard had combined beautifully. Whitelock sprinted 45m like a back to score and ensure that Canterbury obtained maximum points from the match.
The Red and Blacks deserved their win. They were better in most phases of the game than Hawkes Bay and were certainly more penetrating. The forwards were superb in the set pieces and kick-offs. In many respects this game was just what Rob Penney would have wanted: a decent win against a good side but still with plenty to work on.
For Canterbury there were a number of stand-outs. Tim Bateman and Andy Ellis both had terrific matches in the backs, while Sean Maitland regularly looked sharp on attack. In the forwards Wyatt Crockett and Kieran Read were both prominent, while George Whitelock made an impact when he came on in the middle of the second half.
Canterbury 31: Tries: Andy Ellis (2), Tim Bateman, George Whitelock. Conversions: Stephen Brett (3), Colin Slade. Drop Goal: Stephen Brett
Hawkes Bay 7: Try: Zac Guilford. Conversion: Sam Giddens