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Hawke's Bay - 41 Waikato - 14
FULLTIME - What a second-half effort from the Magpies, who have bolted to a big win in The Bay. Click here for a full wrap.
77 mins - HAWKE'S BAY try to Neria Fomai
Scintillating counterattack by the Bay, as Visinia finds Fomai inside to streak 40m clear to score his second try. Conversion wide. (HB 41-14)
73rd min - TRY HAWKE'S BAY to Ollie Sapsford
Marino Mikaele-Tu'u draws three defenders and makes a deft flick pass to the replacement to put the icing on the cake. Conversion is over. (HB 36-14)
69 mins - TRY HAWKE'S BAY to Tom Parsons
Patient build-up play from the Bay and they get a touch of luck, as a short ball at the line rebounds off the attacking player's shoulder and into the arms of Parsons, who just has to crash over to score what should be the match-sealing try. Conversion is over. (HB 29-14)
68 mins - Scrum penalty Hawke's Bay, and again... they turn down the shot at goal for the 5m lineout.
67 mins - McClutchie plugs the corner from a penalty, big chance coming here for the Bay to ice it.
Waikato aren't ready to roll over yet, earning a turnover from the rolling maul. That was a very kickable penalty for McClutchie, perhaps getting a bit ahead of themselves there, Hawke's Bay.
62 mins - TRY HAWKE'S BAY to Neria Fomai
A touch of brillince from McClutchie, whose drops a pinpoint crossfield kick right into his wing's bread basket. Follows that up with a critical conversion to put the Bay beyond the seven-point margin. (HB 22-14)
60 mins - Visinia charges through some would-be tacklers. Penalty for the Bay, and they choose to go for the 5m lineout rather than the points.
58 mins - Penalty to the Bay for side entry at a maul they were about to hold up and claim a scrum from. Lineout inside the Waikato 22m.
55 mins - Scything kick return from Tongia and Waikato are back at the Bay 22m. Penalty to the Pies, pressure relieved back to a lineout at halfway.
54 mins - Big defensive penalty won by the Bay and this will be a gift three points for the Magpies. McClutchie puts the Bay back in front. (HB 15-14)
52 mins - Visinia beats a couple of defenders, finds Fomai. The Bay work their way to within 15m of the Waikato tryline.
McClucthie jinks inside one, flicks a back-hand pass and the ball is fumbled with the line beckoning. Need to be a bit more patient there, Hawke's Bay. It's been a theme here so far.
50th min - Clever kick from Ratama, pinning HB back on their 22m for a lineout.
His HB counterpart Enari returns the favour, lineout near the Waikato 22m.
48th min - Waikato look wide, Dawai breaks, looks inside for support but the pass is forward. HB scrum at the 50m line.
44th min - Referee gets a word in his ear about a small knock-on at the ruck, Waikato will feed a scrum just outside the Bay's 22m.
Magpies stifle the attack, Waikato look to chip but the ball rolls dead and the Magpies go deep with the 22m dropout.
41st min - Second half is underway! Nicely worked clearance by McClucthie, lineout at halfway.
HALFTIME
40 mins - Hefty rolling maul by the Bay, inside the Waikato 22m, they go. Toala just dragged down as he ghosts through a hole. Loose pass hacked into touch and that will do us for the first half.
39 mins - Penalty for the Bay, lineout at the 50m. One final chance here for the hosts before halftime.
36 mins - Sloppy ball from the scrum, pill is loose and hacked back down field. Waikato chase hard and force a goal-line dropout and we end with a Waikato lineout at the Bay 22m.
Poor lineout throw and the Bay control the ball, until an obstruction penalty is blown up. Leuila will have a shot at goal here for Waikato. Pulls it from handy range, no dice.
33 mins - Waikato win another defensive penalty and move to a lineout at halfway. Visinia collects a loose ball, Fomai chips ahead and forces a fumble. Bay scrum near the Waikato 22m.
31 mins - Magpies go wide, looking for some space. Waikato shut it down, lineout at halfway for the visitors.
28 mins - TRY WAIKATO to Liam Coombes-Fabling
The sparkplug wing runs a great line from the scrum and burrows over the line from first receiver. All too easy there for the try-scoring machine. Conversion is good. (Wai 14-12)
27 mins - HB pinged for engaging early at the scrum. Waikato will now feed a 5m scrum, huge chance here.
25 mins - Ratama breaks down the left-hand touchline after the Bay fumble. Inside the Bay 22m. Coombes-Fabling shoots for the corner but he's taken well, tries to find his support inside but it's knocked on. Great scrambling defence from the Magpies.
22 mins - TRY HAWKE'S BAY to Danny Toala
Neria Fomai makes a bustling run to within an inch of the line and Toala is on hand to sneak the ball over the chalk from the ruck. McClucthie converts. (HB 12-7)
20 mins - HB return the clearing kick and they're back in the Waikato red zone, McClutchie jinking his way to the 22m.
18 mins - The Bay come back with gusto, lovely passing interplay sees Visinia cross the Waikato 22m. Knock on at the ruck kills their momentum.
16 mins - TRY WAIKATO to Steven Misa
Textbook 5m lineout drive and the decision to rn down the shot at goal pays off, as the hooker burrows over. D'Angelo Leuila - filling in late for Smith - converts. (Wai 7-5)
13 mins - Waikato putting some pressure on the HB defence, moving inside the 22m. Intercept Devery, HB run it out then turn it right back to Waikato near the HB 10m line. Scrappy affair here so far.
Waikato win a penalty inside the Bay 22m. To the 5m lineout, we go.
10 mins - Another penlalty for HB and they move to the Waikato 10m line for the lineout. HB knock on early and Waikato will feed a scrum.
8 mins - Penalty advantage blown up for Waikato. They choose to pack down another scrum, 5m out.
This time it's the Magpies who win the scrum battle and the defensive penalty. McClutchie relieves the pressure back past the 22m.
6th min - Massive shunt from Waikato and HB can't hold the weight, penalty Waikato. They plug the corner, 5m lineout.
4th min - Waikato responding strongly, working through the phases and inside the HB 22m. Play breaks down with a knock on, HB scrum.
2nd min - TRY HAWKE'S BAY to Jacob Devery.
Effective rolling maul rolled into the corner from the 5m lineout and it looks as though the hooker Devery may have snuck this over in the corner. They'll check upstairs. Video review confirms it's a try. Great start for the hosts. Sidleine conversion wide. (HB 5-0)
1st min - McClutchie kicks off and we're into the action. Hawke's Bay turn the ball over and they're immediately on the attack. Ball knocked on and penalty advantage cashed in.
They opt for the 5m lineout.
We're underway...
7:07pm - And the very late mail confirms Fletcher Smith will not play this match. Huge loss for the Mooloo men.
7:04pm - Both teams huddle together in a circle in the centre of the park for a tribute to the late Sean Wainui, who died tragically last week.
7pm - Here we go team. Blustery and cool conditions in Napier, as the teams prepare to take the field.
Waikato pivot and captain Fletcher Smith is seen going through some - quite literally - last-minute fitness tests. Unclear whether he'll start this match.
***
Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage, as Hawke's Bay attempt to defend the Ranfurly Shield against Waikato at their McLean Park headquarters in Napier.
Sitting atop the Premiership standings, the Magpies have proven they're a serious force to be reckoned with this season, especially when the coveted Log o'Wood is on the line.
After a strong start to their campaign, the Mooloo men have hit the skids, dropping their last two matches.
But recent form counts for very little when the Shield is at stake and we should expect a torrid encounter in The Bay tonight.
We'll have all the action for you from 7pm, Saturday.
TAB betting odds:
Hawke's Bay - $1.29 Waikato - $3.35
Team line-ups:
Hawke's Bay: 1-Pouri Rakete-Stones, 2-Jacob Devery, 3-Joe Apikotoa, 4-Geoff Cridge, 5-Tom Parsons (c), 6-Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, 7-Brendon O'Connor, 8-Devan Flanders, 9-Ereatara Enari, 10-Lincoln McClutchie, 11-Jonah Lowe, 12-Danny Toala, 13-Stacey Ili, 14-Neria Fomai, 15-Lolagi Visinia
Reserves: 16-Kianu Kereru-Symes, 17-Jason Long, 18-Joel Hintz, 19-Josh Kaifa, 20-Gareth Evans, 21-Danny Tusitala, 22-Caleb Makene, 23-Ollie Sapsford.
Waikato: 1-Ayden Johnstone, 2-Steven Misa, 3-George Dyer, 4-James Tucker, 5-Laghlan McWhannell, 6-Hamilton Burr, 7-Mitchell Jacobson, 8-Rupeni Tamani, 9-Xavier Roe, 10-Fletcher Smith, 11-Mosese Dawai, 12-Gideon Wrampling, 13-Bailyn Sullivan, 14-Liam Coombes-Fabling, 15-Ryan Tongia
Reserves: 16-Sam Cooper, 17-Ollie Norris, 18-Rob Cobb, 19-James Thompson, 20-Tom Martin, 21-Cortez Ratima, 22-D'Angelo Leulia, 23-Tepaea Cook-Savage
Ioane leads Otago comeback against Canterbury
By Alex Powell
The boot of Josh Ioane has earned Otago a second consecutive NPC victory over Canterbury, winning 22-20 at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday.
Nearly a year after their 23-16 victory over the same opposition, Otago completed a memorable comeback against Canterbury, rallying from being 17-0 down to hanging on for another gutsy win.
The loss is Canterbury's third in succession, having also fallen to Wellington and Hawke's Bay in the last two weeks.
At the centre of Otago's triumph was 26-year-old Ioane, who kicked 17 of Otago's 22 points, giving another glimpse of his undeniable ability despite his questionable consistency.
Both sides observed a moment's silence in tribute to former Chiefs, Crusaders, Māori All Blacks, Taranaki and Bay of Plenty utility back Sean Wainui, and once play got underway, Otago quickly looked to take the upper hand.
But after Ioane missed not one, but two early shots at goal for Otago, it was Canterbury that broke the deadlock after 20 minutes.
Canterbury's cause was hindered as No. 8 Henry Stowers had to be helped from the field after a knock to the head in a tackle, but that proved to be a blessing in disguise for the red-and-blacks.
As Stowers left the field, his place was taken by All Blacks Sevens star Sam Dickson, who didn't wait to make an impact. Running from the back of a Canterbury scrum, Dickson scored with his first touch in the NPC, darting over for the first points of the game.
Minutes later, Canterbury were in again. An attempted pass from Ioane was intercepted by winger Manasa Mataele, who sparked a counter attack that ended in first-five Fergus Burke scoring his side's second.
After Burke had converted his own try, the score had pushed out from 0-0 to 17-0 in favour of the visitors.
Otago struck back before the break as winger Freedom Vahaakolo was put through by Ioane, and finally saw the hosts capitalise on some fluid attacking rugby, before the first-five landed a penalty with the final act of the first half to send the teams into the sheds at 17-10 in Canterbury's favour.
But despite having held a 17 point advantage, Canterbury threatened to squander their lead, as Josh Ioane kicked three consecutive second-half penalties to give Otago a 19-17 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Canterbury snuck in front thanks to a penalty of their own, kicked by debutant Alex Harford, only for their ill-discipline to bite again.
A high shot on winger Vilimoni Koroi gave Ioane another chance to give Otago the lead, and he obliged with a perfect kick from the left touchline, seeing his side retake the lead with only minutes to play.
And after withstanding one last push from Canterbury, Otago sealed the victory in style, as Ioane fittingly cleared the ball into touch to complete his side's victory.
The win solidifies Otago's hold on third spot in the NPC's Championship, sitting on 16 points from their six games played so far, four points behind Manawatu, and 12 behind leaders Taranaki.
Canterbury meanwhile at the very least earned a bonus point to remain fifth in the NPC Premiership, one point behind Tasman, and four ahead of Bay of Plenty - who despite having a game in hand do not play in week eight, after their match against Northland was postponed
