Well, here is the review of the Championship & Premiership finals of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season but 1st it's the review of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup Championship final:
The Bay of Plenty Steamers are headed to the Premiership in 2020 after out-lasting Hawke’s Bay 12-7 in a grueling Championship final in Rotorua.
The last time the teams met there were 12 tries scored as Bay of Plenty surged to a 51-24 victory. It became clear quickly in Rotorua there would be no repeat of that score line as both teams looked to keep the ball in tight and kick for possession rather than unleash their dangerous backlines.
It was traditional finals footy in front of a bumper crowd at Rotorua International Stadium. The first and only try of the game was not scored until the 57th minute, and even then, it was an intercept by Hawke’s Bay wing Jonah Lowe.
While the Steamers run to the final was built on their expansive back play, the final victory was all about grunt work up front and a tremendous defensive effort across the park.
It didn’t seem to matter a dot to the crowd how the win came for the Steamers. A large crowd stayed to celebrate Bay of Plenty’s first Championship title for long after the final whistle. The win also marked the Steamers first national title since winning the second division in 2000.
Bay of Plenty exerted plenty of pressure on Hawke’s Bay at set piece and ruck time and benefited with four Dan Hollinshead penalties to take a 12-0 lead after 48 minutes.
The game was in the balance in the final five minutes as the Magpies banged on the Steamers line, but there was no way through as Clayton McMillan’s side would not yield.
The win also capped off 100 Mitre 10 Cup games for 38-year-old lock Alex Ainley (92 for Tasman, 8 for Bay of Plenty).
Bay of Plenty will ply their trade in the Premiership in 2020 while Counties Manukau will drop down to take their place in the Championship.
Scorers:
Bay of Plenty: 12 (Dan Hollinshead 4 pen) Hawke’s Bay: 7 (Jonah Lowe try, Tiaan Falcon con). HT: 6-0
And finally, here is the review of the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final:
Tasman completed an unbeaten sweep through the Mitre 10 Cup to claim their first national provincial championship premiership title when beating Wellington 31–14 at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Saturday.
Tasman was the first time since Auckland in 2007 that a team had gone through the campaign unbeaten.
Making the better start Tasman looked to be heading for a comfortable win but a strong defensive Wellington effort allowed them to claw their way back.
In the end it was one of Tasman's most inspirational players second five-eighths Alex Nankiville who finally sealed the win when making a crucial 78th minute break from within his own half before setting up wing Will Jordan for his second try to end the contest.
It was an intense physical contest with some outstanding defensive play with flankers Liam Squire and Jordan Taufua and props Tim Perry and Tyrell Lomax, hooker Andrew Makalio and locks Quinten Strange and Pari Pari Parkinson doing their bit for Tasman while Wellington offered hooker Asafo Aumua, locks Vaea Fifita and James Blackwell and hard-working loose forwards Kirifi du'Plessis and Teariki Ben-Nicholas.
Intense Wellington pressure around the three-quarter mark threatened to derail the home side's hopes. It came after Vince Aso pulled off a midfield intercept and heading for the goalline. However, he was pulled down just short of the line by wing Will Jordan.
It appeared replacement wing Pepesana Patafilo had touched down for a try but a TMO check revealed the ball had gone forward from Aso's arm.
But Wellington refused to yield and it took desperate defence to hold Wellington out and it was replacement prop Wyatt Crockett who twice won turnovers at breakdowns in front of Tasman's posts to save the day.
Tasman got off to a strong start, first five-eighths Mitch Hunt three penalty goals in the first quarter to gain early scoreboard advantage.
But it was old-fashioned, if often forgotten, chasing at restarts that allowed Tasman to heavy Wellington. Nankivell made himself an utter nuisance for Wellington at the restart.
In the 15th minute, he secured the ball from under Wellington noses, and with Squire and Strange took the ball into set-up phases and when released Hunt turned the ball back inside where Jordan came into the line from the blindside at speed to score.
Then at another restart, in the 22nd minute, Nankiville put pressure on again and Aso knocked the ball well forward. Tasman were onto it in a flash, Hunt again took a gap and gave fullback David Havili an easy run in for the try.
Scorers: Tasman 31 (Will Jordan 2, David Havili tries; Mitchell Hunt 2 con, 4 pen) Wellington 14 (Alex Fidow try; Jackson Garden-Bachop 3 pen). HT: 23-14
So that is my 328th blog of the year 2019 (MMXIX) & my 68th of this year.
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