Canterbury continued to build momentum in their quest for Air New Zealand Cup glory with a 37-20 win against the third placed Bay of Plenty at AMI Stadium on Thursday night.

Played in wet conditions, Canterbury started the match slowly but eventually got into their groove to end up too good for the gallant and enterprising Bay side.

While Canterbury had only 33 per cent of territory and 45 per cent of possession during the match, they showed enough class and polish to secure the win.

Bay of Plenty started strongly in the first quarter: a well-taken try by centre Cory Aporo, converted by Mike Delany, ample reward. All Canterbury could manage in return was a Stephen Brett penalty. Still, it was early days.

After 17 minutes Canterbury was penalised for an incorrect entry at the ruck. The opportunity gave Delany a chance to extend the Bay’s lead. His kick went over and the Bay was now 10-3 ahead.

Canterbury stormed back on to attack and after a penetrating run by Scott Hamilton it was Mose Tuiali’i who was on the inside to score a fine team try. Stephen Brett missed the conversion but the home side was back to
10-8.

After 24 minutes Canterbury scored a magnificent try. After winning a turn-over, the ball was moved wide and it was lock Michael Paterson who showed plenty of pace and skill to feed Ellis on the inside and then Scott Hamilton back on the outside to score a brilliant team try. Brett missed the conversion.

The game was now opening up: the Bay especially leaving big gaps in the midfield that Canterbury’s Tim Bateman was more than happy to regularly exploit.

After 32 minutes the Red and Blacks were penalised when Ellis was disciplined for apparently refereeing the game. It was a strange decision but it gave Delany another chance to  kick a penalty. He made no mistake in the rain to even the scores with seven minutes left in the first half.

Two minutes later Colin Slade scored a wonderful try. After the Bay had attacked, Canterbury won turnover ball. Paterson, Ross and Tuiali’i combined, before Slade hit the last pass at pace, outsprinting the covering winger to score. Turnover ball had cost the Bay and gifted Canterbury points. The home side now led 18-13, thanks to three first-half tries.

One minute later George Whitelock scored after the returning left wing Sean Maitland had come oh so close to dotting down. It was questionable whether Maitland forced the ball down, although Whitelock certainly did and deserved it for his follow-up as much as anything else.

Canterbury led 23-13 at the break. As a result of their performance and with the bonus point in the bag, Canterbury went into the second half in a confident mood.

Playing into the wind in the second half, Canterbury gave away a penalty after one minute when the home side was deemed to have entered a ruck incorrectly. This time Delany pushed the resulting penalty attempt wide.

Canterbury appeared ready and willing to give the ball plenty of space. In this regard Ellis was having a very good match. He was into everything. Michael Paterson was another who was having a storming match.

After 14 minutes Bateman scored another cracking Canterbury try after the centre started and finished a strong midfield break from a scrum inside his own half. While the Bay defence was poor on this occasion, Bateman showed how skilful he is with the ball in hand. Canterbury now led 30-13.

After 20 minutes the exceptional Canterbury opensider George Whitelock was sin-binned for infringing at the ruck. Whitelock had been one of Canterbury’s finest and so his departure was a blow to the home side.

After 26 minutes the Bay scored through blindside flanker Solomon King and it came about after the Bay had vigorously attacked the Canterbury line. Delany converted and the Bay was back to 20-30.

The Bay continued to threaten and Canterbury was forced to do a great deal of defending. Still, they managed to do so with aplomb, making sure the Bay had limited opportunities to use their attacking flair.

Canterbury scored after 34 minutes to make the game safe when after a wobbly kick by Brett, Ellis and Flynn handled to put Brett away for the try. It had been a difficult night with the boot for Brett and so the try was a nice reward for his efforts. The University man kicked the conversion. 

Canterbury deserved their win as they had played with greater accuracy in most areas of the game.

Although their performance was far from perfect, they still showed enough skill and determination to take much from the match. They have also continued to build momentum as the play-offs begin to loom large.

There were a number of strong performers for Canterbury: in the backs Bateman and Maitland were especially sharp, the latter looking good after returning from injury. Up front, Kieran Read, George Whitelock and Michael Paterson (in the first half) were stand-outs.

It was also pleasing to see the return from injury of Hamish Gard, Corey Flynn and Maitland. Brett and Ellis also looked to have benefited from their game time.

Canterbury 37: Tries: Mose Tuiali’i, Scott Hamilton, Colin Slade, George Whitelock, Tim Bateman, Stephen Brett. Conversions: Stephen Brett (2). Penalty: Stephen Brett.

Bay of Plenty 20: Tries: Cory Aporo, Solomon King. Conversions: Mike Delany (2). Penalties: Mike Delany (2).