A big Canterbury forward effort extinguished Bay of Plenty's hopes as the Red and Blacks won 28-9 at AMI Stadium tonight.
The Canterbury front row of Wyatt Crockett, Corey Flynn and returning All Black Owen Franks paved the way for this victory.
Both teams made plenty of mistakes which upset the game's rhythm somewhat, but Canterbury were keener to play with the ball and they outscored the Bay three tries to nil, scoring an unanswered 18 points in the second half.
Sonny Bill Williams got his first outing for Canterbury, coming on for the injured Ryan Crotty after only 18 minutes, and the former league star had a good game.
He was a little frustrated that the ball didn't go his way more, but overall he showed he will be a force to reckon with on the rugby field.
Bay of Plenty first-five Mike Delany put his side on the scoreboard with an early penalty and Crotty injured his left foot – the same one he has been having trouble with this season – in a tackle.
He struggled on before being replaced by Williams – to the delight of the crowd.
Delany kicked another penalty to make it 6-0 before Stephen Brett narrowed the gap with a penalty of his own.
Williams showed several good touches – intercepting a pass on defence and setting up an attacking move before Nasi Manu continued his recent good form with a try.
Manu took a quick free-kick from a scrum infringement and powered over in two would-be tackles.
Brett converted to hand Canterbury the lead 10-6.
A Delany penalty after Canterbury were penalised for holding on in the tackle narrowed the gap to 10-9 at halftime.
Canterbury would have been frustrated that they couldn’t get their game going in the first half because they were creating opportunities. Too often poor communication cost them as the Bay looked vulnerable on defence at times.
After the break Tu Umaga-Marshall went close before being tackled in the corner by Ben Smith and Williams showed up with a run following a charge-down.
Brett kicked a penalty after BOP flanker Luke Braid was offside.
An Andy Ellis ankle tap on Braid soon after saved Canterbury before the Red and Blacks constructed a try for Matt Todd.
The tireless flanker was on the end of a move which featured good play from George Whitelock and Williams.
Williams was in the spotlight soon after when making a last-ditch tackle on wing Lelia Masaga in the corner when a try seemed certain.
A Brett three-pointer from another scrum infringement pushed the score to 21-9 before big centre Robbie Fruean scored his seventh try of the season with a powerful, barging run.
Brett converted and it was 28-9 with about 10 minutes to play and try as they might, Canterbury couldn’t quite get their fourth and bonus point try.
Apart from the front rowers, Manu and halfback Ellis looked strong.
Unfortunately injuries to Fruean (ankle), Umaga-Marshall (shoulder) and Crotty (foot) tempered the victory somewhat, but at least Fruean should be OK to face Northland in Whangarei next Saturday.
Kickers:
Brett: 5 from 7.
Delany 3 from 4
Canterbury:
1. Wyatt Crockett (Peter Borlase 61st)
2. Corey Flynn (Steve Fualau 70th)
3. Owen Franks
4. Sam Whitelock
5. Isaac Ross
6. Matt Todd
7. George Whitelock (c) (Luke Romano 70th)
8. Nasi Manu (Ash Parker 58th)
9. Andy Ellis
10. Stephen Brett
11. Telusa Veainu
12. Ryan Crotty (Sonny Bill Williams 18th)
13. Robbie Fruean
14. Tu Umaga-Marshall (Sam Monaghan 70th)
15. Sean Maitland
Reserve not used:
20. Takerei Norton