Well, here is the review of the 4th round of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season:
Tasman established a buffer for themselves at the head of the Mitre 10 Premiership ladder when remaining the only team not to have drawn or lost this season by beating Taranaki 28-18 on Sunday.
Auckland, who have had two draws, including a 20-20 draw on Saturday with Waikato, are second four points behind Tasman but two points clear of Waikato and Wellington who have 12 points.
In the Mitre 10 Championship, Bay of Plenty, after their 27-19 win over North Harbour in Albany, moved one point clear of Taranaki on 15 points, with Hawke's Bay on 13 points in third place.
Wellington 29 Counties Manukau 22
Counties Manukau had every reason to expect they might be able to pull off a surprise at Westpac Stadium but Wellington's fighting spirit and Counties Manukau's inability to shut the home team down saw Wellington skipper Du'Plessis Kirifi finish off a long-range move in injury time for the winning try. Two yellow cards also didn't help the visitors as Counties Manukau mistakes allowed Wellington back in the game to tie the scores at 22-22. Wes Goosen for Wellington and Kali Hala and Orbyn Leger for the visitors scored fine tries.
Scorers: Wellington 29 (Wes Goosen, James Blackwell, Billy Proctor, Du'Plessis Kirifi tries; Jackson Garden Bachop 3 con, pen) Counties Manukau 22 (Sikelo Nabou, Kali Hala, Orbyn Leger, Malgene Ilaua tries; Riley Hohepa con). HT: 7-12
Otago 37 Manawatu 20
Fireworks from hat-trick tryscorer wing Vilimoni Koroi and another for Jona Nareki set up Otago in their Ranfurly Shield defence against a game Manawatu side who had a strong first half only to fade in the second. Koroi was outstanding, unleashing his Sevens skills in an outstanding display while also showing the presence of mind to show a sleight of hand to set up the final try for Sio Tomkinson. Manawatu halfback Jamie Booth had enough time to show his running skills to score.
Scorers: Otago 37 (Vilimoni Koroi 3, Jona Nareki, Sio Tomkinson tries; Josh Ioane 3 con, 2 pen) Manawatu 20 (Jamie Booth, Adam Boult tries; Otere Black 2 con, 2 pen). HT: 22-17
Canterbury 80 Southland 0
A lineout conceded on Canterbury's line in the 10th minute proved a harbinger of mayhem to come for Southland. Canterbury ran the ball from their own line, a big run was made by wing Patrick Osborne and at the other end of the field supporting flanker Tom Christie ran in the try. It was one-way traffic thereafter with Ryan Crotty showing his readiness for higher rugby by scoring two tries. Fullback Josh McKay twice unleashed his speed to score tries that took him to six for the competition, two ahead of his nearest rivals.
Scorers: Canterbury 80 (Tom Christie, Mitchell Drummond 2, Luke Romano, Ryan Crotty 2, Fergus Burke, Josh McKay 2, Mitchell Dunshea, Dallas McLeod, Luke Whitelock tries; Burke 4 con, Brett Cameron 6 con). HT: 33-0
Northland 28 Hawke's Bay 43
Northland made the better start but three tries in the last 15 minutes of the first half saw Hawke's Bay enjoy a halftime advantage. Hooker Ash Dixon's try-scoring continued apace, notching his fourth of the campaign but it was outside back Neria Fomai who hit Northland hardest, scoring a hat-trick of tries while Caleb Makene backed him with two more. Northland showed their own attacking ability in crossing three times.
Scorers: Northland 28 (Temo Mayanavanua, Jack Straker, Jaycob Matiu tries; Jack Debreczeni 2 con, 3 pen) Hawke's Bay 43 (Ash Dixon, Neria Fomai 3, Caleb Makene 2, Folau Fakatava tries; Danny Toala 4 con). HT: 15-22
Waikato 20 Auckland 20
A typical Waikato welcome was laid out for Auckland in Hamilton with prop Oliver Norris and wing Declan O'Donnell crossing within 12 minutes of the start. But as so often happens, maintaining that early momentum proved a little harder. It took Auckland 37 minutes to get going but wing Caleb Clarke made the most of a kick-pass to score wide out. Waikato got out to a 20-10 lead but Auckland used their forward power for hooker Leni Apisai to score while a late penalty goal to five-eighths Daniel Kirkpatrick drew Auckland level for their second draw of the competition.
Scorers: Waikato 20 (Oliver Norris, Declan O'Donnell tries; Fletcher Smith 2 con, 2 pen) Auckland 20 (Caleb Clarke, Leni Apisai tries; D'Angelo Leuila con, pen; Daniel Kirkpatrick con, pen). HT: 14-10
North Harbour 19 Bay of Plenty 27
Bay of Plenty's impressive run continued as it moved to the head of the Mitre 10 Championship ladder, one point ahead of Taranaki when taking four points off Premiership side North Harbour in Albany. Bay of Plenty first five-eighths Dan Hollinshead's goal-kicking boot marked the difference as the sides scored three tries each. He converted all three Bay tries and added two penalty goals for good measure.
Scorers: North Harbour 19 (Lotu Inisi, Shaun Stevenson, James Little tries; Matt McGahan 2 con) Bay of Plenty 27 (Mitch Karpik, Joe Webber, Alex Ainley tries; Dan Hollinshead 3 con, 2 pen). HT: 14-21
Taranaki 18 Tasman 28
Tasman established an early lead at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth, and while Taranaki looked to narrow the game in the second half they ran out of time and lost the chance to push for a loser's bonus point when penalised at a scrum just out from the Tasman line on the fulltime hooter. Tasman's pack proved equal to everything Taranaki threw at them up front. Wing Tima Fainga'anuku scored twice to demonstrate his class for Tasman.
Scorers: Taranaki 18 (Lachlan Boshier, Waisake Naholo tries; Daniel Waite con, 2 pen) Tasman 28 (Tima Fainga'anuku 2, Andrew Makalio, Finlay Christie tries; Mitch Hunt con, 2 pen). HT: 6-18
And in international rugby news such as France continuing their dominance against Italy by thrashing them at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis then the All Blacks are back on top of the World Rugby rankings after Ireland cruised to victory against Wales (Who had to lose top spot after being ranked number 1 in the world for a fortnight after taking top spot by beating England) at Millennium Stadium (Which was opened 20 years ago to replace the old Cardiff Arms Park in time for the 1999 Rugby World Cup) in Cardiff then the Pasifika Challenge took place at Eden Park in Auckland with Samoa taking honours with a hat-trick of tries by Ahsee Tuala & a double on debut for Crusaders prop, Michael Alaalatoa (Who is following in the footsteps of his famous father Vili Alaalatoa during the 1991 tournament for Samoa) before Fiji (Featuring players such as former league player Semi 'Semi Trailer' Radradra & gold medal winning sevens player Josua 'The Bus' Tuisova) ran away with a win against Tonga.
So that is my 307th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 47th of this year.
P.S. And Pops took me to The Grand for lunch (I had a cheeseburger there for a big lunch) just before we went to see Whanganui play but they couldn't got it done right against the defending Heartland champions Thames Valley but it was on Monday that I only watched the 1st half of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final between France & hosts New Zealand on Spark Sport (I was watching it to see how it works on Pops new TV) then yesterday it was Australia against New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup semifinal (I only watched the 1st half of the game) & New Zealand vs Argentina today in the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal (I also saw the 1st half of the match).
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