Week 9 - Division Two previews
Wanganui v Nelson Bays, Wanganui
Nelson Bays might be already in the semifinals but that doesn’t mean Saturday’s clash in Wanganui is a dead rubber. “It’s a big test for us. One of the toughest games we will play this year,” says Nelson Bays coach Wayne Love. “We’ve been improving over the last couple of weeks but, if we want to measure up in the semifinals, we need to be able to travel up there and do the job.
“We only just beat them last year, and went on to win the competition from there, so we know how good they can be, don’t worry about that. If they’d had a little more luck, they could easily have been bidding for a semifinal spot themselves. With nothing to lose, and playing at home, they’ll throw everything at us. It will be another good test of the level we are at.”
Although Nelson Bays had to work hard to shrug off a dogged challenge from last year’s Division Three champions last weekend, Love was generally pleased with his team’s work against Poverty Bay. “There are still things that we can do better, but we showed a bit more patience with the ball, which we’ve been after,” Love says.
The game also allowed Nelson Bays to introduce All Black Rico Gear who made his debut at centre, where he will play for the rest of the campaign. “He’s slotted in no trouble at all, and we’re pleased to have him. His experience can only help over the next couple of weeks.”
Wanganui heads into its final outing of the season having outscored its opponents in the second period on each of the last two weekends, but lost the match. After scoring 28 second half points against North Otago last Saturday, Wanganui ‘won’ the second spell 15-7, but still lost 43–15 against Hawke’s Bay.
“The players got a bit of respect back in the second half, which was pleasing, but the first bit was really disappointing,” says Wanganui coach Milton Haig. “As good as Hawke’s Bay is, to be down 36–0 at halftime was pretty demoralising because we know that we are a better side than that.”
Haig says his side will be working on its composure this week, having been panicked into risky options too often while in possession against Hawke’s Bay. Wanganui will also be boosted by the returns of prop and skipper Mike Thompson (ankle) and hooker Shane Ratima (shoulder) after both missed last week’s game because of injury.
Kick-off: Saturday at 2.30pm
Referee: Gary Wise (Hawke’s Bay)
TAB odds: Wanganui $5, Nelson Bays $1.13
Manawatu v Counties Manukau, Palmerston North
Manawatu’s hopes of reaching the semifinals might be slight but the men from Palmerston North are hoping not to bow out of the competition quietly as they tackle Counties Manukau.
“It’s a huge game for us, our final,” says Manawatu coach Charlie McAlister. “There’s a major tradition around this game which we’ve made the players aware of, but it’s more about us as a team. We’ve had a few tough times during the competition, but the guys have hung in there, learned a lot, and gained a few plums in the last couple of weeks. We’d like to build on that by performing well against one of the competition’s better performed teams.”
To that end, Manawatu placed an emphasis on attack last weekend at Ruatoria, spurning kickable penalty opportunities in the quest for tries during a comfortable 36-7 win over East Coast. “We probably blew a couple more try-scoring opportunities, but it was a great experience for the players going up there to play. It’s an opportunity that probably won’t come again with the way the competitions have been structured heading forward, so we felt it was important that they players enjoyed their experience playing up on the Coast.”
While Manawatu has a mathematical chance of making the semifinals, McAlister says that won’t be mentioned in the build up, nor will it be a factor for Counties Manukau. Although the visitors are already assured of a home semifinal against Nelson Bays, Counties Manukau coach Mark Carter will field his strongest side.
“There will be no hiding behind a semifinal upcoming,” Carter says. “There’s huge tradition around this game and we’ll be going down there to give it everything we’ve got. We’ve built up a good record this year and we’re not about to start fiddling around now. It’s important that we build on everything that we have been doing heading into the following weekend, and Manawatu will provide a good test in that regard.”
Although Counties Manukau failed to secure a try-scoring bonus point last Saturday against Marlborough, the first time in seven outings this season that it has failed to score four tries, Carter was happy with his side’s 25-7 win. “We were guilty of giving away a few too many silly penalties, but that is something we will be working on this week,” he says.
“Coming off the bye, it was a game I was worried about because the weekend away from playing does disrupt your momentum, and that’s the way it turned out. In that context, it was a good result for us, especially as they were effectively playing for their season. But it also showed why this weekend down in Manawatu is effectively a minor semifinal for us because momentum is all important at this stage of the year.”
Counties Manukau’s only injury concern ahead of the final round is flanker Jeoffrey Maka although it is hoped his knee injury might not be as bad as was initially feared, and he may yet be fit for the semifinal.
Heading back to the big league
It’s easy to forget now but Premier Division-bound Manawatu and Counties Manukau were once the titans of the provincial game, and their individual clash used to be one of the highlights of the domestic season. Both have been Division One champions – ¬Counties Manukau in 1979 (which was just a year after Manawatu had held the Ranfurly Shield), and Manawatu a year later. In their Division One history, the honours were evenly shared, with Counties Manukau winning eight of the matches while Manawatu claimed seven. Since they have been paired in Division Two, Counties Manukau has won all four contests. Aside from a 36-10 win in the 2002 semifinals, Counties Manukau’s winning margins have been nine, nine and eight points respectively.
Kick-off: Saturday at 2.30pm
Referee: Jonathon White (Wellington)
TAB odds: Manawatu $5, Counties Manukau $1.13
North Otago v Poverty Bay, Oamaru
North Otago is chasing the fourth Air New Zealand NPC Division Two semifinal spot but they face some challenges. They had a bye last weekend, a break that has already tripped up East Coast, Wanganui and Nelson Bays, with all three having lost matches the weekend after the bye.
The other issue is North Otago’s opponent. The Poverty Bay team heads south in a confident frame of mind and well equipped to cause an upset after recording a union-best three wins already during the campaign. With a two-point advantage over Marlborough headed into the final round, North Otago has the luxury of knowing that the four championship points for the win alone will be enough to qualify for their third consecutive Division Two semifinals.
They also boast a fantastic recent record against Poverty Bay, having won seven of the last eight matches between the two unions since 1997, with a loss at Gisborne in 1999 their only defeat during that period. The problem is that this year’s Poverty Bay outfit appears a significantly better-rounded unit than those North Otago have accounted for previously.
Last year’s Division Three champion does not lack confidence either and capable of scoring plenty of tries against the top teams. Poverty Bay scored three each against Hawke’s Bay and Counties Manukau, and four during last weekend’s 50–22 loss to third semifinal qualifier, Nelson Bays. At one stage, Poverty Bay trailed just 29–22 against Nelson Bays before conceding a further 21 points, but coach Kiwi Searancke was not too disappointed.
“Nelson Bays is a good side, as are North Otago, but the players had a real dig,” he says. “While our skills levels let us down at times, resulting in a few too many errors that the better teams in the competition have profited from, I certainly can’t fault the commitment of the players. If you’d told me before the competition started that, coming up from Division Three, we’d be in this position and have this record heading into the last weekend, I’d have been delighted.”
Although a semifinal position is not mathematically impossible for Poverty Bay, that would require winless East Coast to upset Marlborough at Blenheim. “We’ve never really talked about the semifinals,” Searancke says. “It’s been more about performing on a weekly basis for us. As things stand, we’ve got one week to go and a great opportunity ahead, but it’s not going to be easy down there. North Otago has got a lot to play for, and they generally score a lot of tries. We missed far too many soft tackles against Nelson Bays last weekend. We’ll have to fix that up if we are to give ourselves any chance.”
Kick-off: Saturday at 2.30pm
Referee: Josh Noonan (Canterbury)
TAB odds: North Otago $1.10, Poverty Bay $5.75
Marlborough v East Coast, Blenheim
The door on the semifinals might already be closed on Marlborough prior to its late kick-off against East Coast, but that prospect will not affect the Red Devils in the lead-up to their final home outing of the season.
While Marlborough needs Poverty Bay to knock over North Otago at Oamaru if it is to have any chance of qualifying for the semifinals for the first time since 1998, coach Dennis Brown says the match will still have tremendous significance regardless of outcomes elsewhere.
“For our season’s sake alone, the result is important, but it also obviously could be the last game that any of these guys will play in the Air New Zealand NPC wearing the Marlborough jersey, so it’s very significant,” Brown says.
While last weekend’s failure to secure any points during a 25–7 loss to Counties Manukau at Pukekohe left Marlborough two points astern of North Otago, Brown says his team’s performance was a major improvement on its losing display at Palmerston North the week before.
“The conditions were very difficult but we competed well. At times our skill level got found out a little, but I couldn’t fault the commitment of the players. While it was disappointing to lose and come away with nothing in terms of competition points, I was certainly a lot happier with the way we had fronted, as opposed to the week before after we lost to Manawatu.”
Unfortunately, the pointless trip to Pukekohe means that a maximum five point haul against East Coast won’t be enough to advance should North Otago also win. If the two sides were to end up level on competition points, which could only happen in the event North Otago is held to a draw, Marlborough would advance by virtue of its win over North Otago earlier in the competition.
“We can’t control what happens down there (in Oamaru) so we are not dwelling on ‘what ifs’. We’ll have our fingers crossed that it goes our way for sure, but it won’t make any difference to how we prepared for this game,” Brown says.
A foundation member of Division One in 1976, when it beat Manawatu, Southland and North Auckland, Saturday’s game will be the 230th competition game played by Marlborough in the 30-year history of the Air New Zealand NPC. In that time, Marlborough has won 119 and lost 104 with six games drawn. From next year, the union combines with neighbour Nelson Bays to form the Tasman side that will contest the Premier Division of the Air New Zealand NPC.
East Coast heads south licking its wounds after a heavily reinforced side still lost 36–7 to Manawatu at home last weekend. Despite making seven changes to the side that was beaten in Nelson the weekend before, East Coast was still unable to muster its first win of the competition.
It travels to Blenheim needing to repeat its 17–15 upset of Marlborough at the same venue in 2001 if it is to avoid a first ever-winless campaign since joining Division Two. The win four years ago represents the only time that East Coast has ever beaten Marlborough in 11 Air New Zealand NPC meetings. Saturday’s game marks the end of East Coast’s four-year adventure in Division Two, where it made the final in 2001, as it will play in the new combined Division One next season.
Kick-off: Saturday at 5.30pm
Referee: Chris Rooney (Manawatu)
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