Bay Of Plenty used yet another Get Out Of Jail Free card last week, scoring a try in essentially the final play of the game to break Hawke’s Bay’s hearts and record a 19-17 win. Taine Kolose was the man getting the pats on the back, being the one to score from the lineout drive, to seal the deal for the Steamers and book their spot in the semifinals. The game probably shouldn’t have been as close as what it was, with BOP enjoying 57% possession and controlling much of the play early on, but their inability to retain possession, especially in contact, made it a much tougher job for the hosts. Thankfully for them, Joe Johnston had another big game across the park, carrying regularly while being the Steamers’ most industrious defender, again stamping his mark on the game. Kaleb Trask and Leroy Carter also made positive impacts for their team, but BOP will need to clean up their lineout heading into a big clash on Saturday afternoon. There was a comedy of errors from the Steamers’ lineout on their own throw but they were able to disrupt the Magpies’ lineout enough to somewhat balance the scales, but they may not be so fortunate against a Canterbury team whose lineout — and everything else — was firing on all cylinders last week.
The red and blacks produced one of the best NPC performances in recent memory to blowout Tasman 62-14 in Blenheim. Marty Bourke’s men couldn’t have been better prepared, controlling the flow of the game for almost the entire 80 minutes to rout the hosts. In all, Canterbury scored nine tries and were ruthless in almost all of their attacks, as they produced a whopping 13 line breaks and finished the game with an astonishing 66% possessions. Ngane Punivai continued his excellent form this season, scoring two tries and generally looking dangerous whenever he was on attack, while Dallas McLeod excelled with ball in hand and Billy Harmon produced a complete game, proving his worth on both attack and defence. Things could hardly have gone better for Canterbury in that game and they have now racked up a great run of form, with five wins from their last six games. That said, Bay Of Plenty have also have five wins from their last six and have proven to be an incredibly tough team to topple at home. They have won their last six home games and six of their last seven games at Tauranga Domain. They are also 6-2 ATS in their last eight games in Tauranga and they have the personnel to match up with the experience, size and discipline of the red and blacks.
Tips
Best: Bay Of Plenty -1.5 ($1.87)
Value: Bay Of Plenty 1-12 ($2.80)
Wellington got their revenge on Counties Manukau last week, picking up a hard-fought 29-14 quarterfinal victory. It was a somewhat shaky outing from the Lions, but their class prevailed as they led for almost the full 80 minutes after Riley Higgins opened the scoring in the fifth minute with an athletic finish, and they will be particularly happy with how they defended, limiting Counties to just two tries despite enjoying a very generous 63% possession. With All Blacks Asafo Aumua, TJ Perenara and Billy Proctor in the starting lineup, the Lions were ruthless with ball in hand, scoring a few excellent tries in the process, but it must be said that Wellington did not look like a #1 seed in the game. With their four All Blacks returning to camp this week too, they will be forced to reintroduce the likes of Kyle Preston and Peter Umaga-Jensen into the starting team and that may result in some chemistry hiccups.
Waikato were able to upset the defending champions in New Plymouth last week, holding on for a 15-14 win. It was a gutsy effort from the injury-plagued Mooloos, taking on a Taranaki team that looked to be peaking in time for finals. Instead, Waikato dug in their heels and produced a stellar defensive effort in the first half to enter the sheds with a 12-0 lead thanks to a nifty try on the back of some nimble footwork from loosie-turned-wing Oli Mathis. A Tepaea Cook-Savage drop goal early in the second half took Waikato’s lead out to 15 points and that proved to be an unassailable lead for the visitors, as they held out a reluctant Taranaki team. Being forced to defend for a good chunk of the second half, Waikato showed great grit in limiting the Bulls to just two tries and it was Laghlan McWhannell, Quinn Tupaea and Luke Jacobson who were the most prolific, with each racking up 20+ tackles. Tupaea and Jacobson also had a few crucial plays at the breakdown to win the ball for the Mooloos and ultimately the class and the composure of Waikato shone through. I expect those traits to also be reflected in this second semifinal, as they take on a Wellington team who hasn’t looked overly settled all year despite finishing on top of the ladder. The Lions have been prone to a collapse and last week’s quarterfinal win was far from convincing. Playing at home may well be enough to get Wellington over the line but I wouldn’t be shocked by a Mooloos win here. Waikato have covered seven of their last eight games and the Lions are just 3-6 ATS in their last nine home games.
Tips
Best: Waikato +8.5 ($1.80)
Value: Wellington 1–12 ($2.80)