It wasn’t pretty, but South Canterbury withstood a motivated North Otago outfit to post a come from behind win in rugby’s Heartland Championship match in Ōamaru on Saturday.
South Canterbury came back from 5-0, 15-7 and 22-14 down to steal a 26-22 win from a home side that bossed the 2021 and 2022 champions for such long periods that few would have argued if the final scoreline had favoured North Otago.
Pressure was the key to North Otago’s enthusiastic performance with a defensive effort that shut down South Canterbury’s attack and forced errors throughout.
South Canterbury’s big ball runners like forwards Siu Kakala, Anthony Amato, Tevita Ahikovi and Solomone Lavaka were frequently stopped and driven back well behind the advantage line. That put the backline under pressure and as a unit they struggled to find space and made a number of unforced errors.
However, South Canterbury was able to steal the win with a few mercurial moments that highlighted the champion’s fighting qualities and sealed a 25th consecutive and record-extending Heartland Championship win.
The win also meant South Canterbury retained the Hanan Shield, and the Bill Direen and Phil Gard memorial cups.
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South Canterbury fullback Liueli Simote is well wrapped up by North Otago tacklers in the Heartland Championship rugby match played in Ōamaru.
North Otago coach Jason Forrest was rueful afterwards.
“We were just about there. We tried our heart out,” Forrest said.
“We knew we had to front up physically, and I thought we did that especially in that second half … we are happy, but obviously gutted.
“The game plan was just simply to front up physically and bring line speed and just try and keep them on the deck because they are big, big boys.”
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South Canterbury lock Anthony Amato tries to break the tackles of two North Otago defenders during the Heartland Championship rugby match in Ōamaru.
Forrest said they knew they had to shut down South Canterbury’s big ball runners behind the advantage line and use an inside rush defence to achieve that.
“We played enough rugby to take the win but didn’t quite get there and that’s footie.”
South Canterbury coach Nigel Walsh wasn’t surprised.
“We expected that from North Otago today and our boys had to dig deep and fight their way out of a hard battle.
“There was a lot of pressure out there today, and it is how you absorb that and how you react.
“This is the first time we’ve really been under that pressure at the end of a game … it is a good learning for our side, and we actually take it as a positive because we had to work for the whole 80 minutes.”
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South Canterbury No 8 Siu Kakala scores one of his two tries against North Otago in their Heartland Championship rugby match in Ōamaru.
South Canterbury looked dangerous early and a player was held up over the line in the 5th minute, but it was North Otago who scored first from a move that started 70m out and put winger Osea Qamasea away on a 50 metres run to score.
South Canterbury took the lead – 7-5 – with a converted try to Kakala who burst over from a ruck near the line in the 25th minute.
North Otago tookthe lead back with a penalty to fullback Lucas Ollion and then went out to 15-7 when winger Mone Samate intercepted a pass on halfway and raced away. Ollion converted.
The South Canterbury mistakes continued to flow in the second half as North Otago kept up the pressure but it closed the gap to 15-14 with Kakala’s second converted try off the back of a nice move that resulted in a 40m run from Ahikovi to near the posts.
North Otago hit back a few minutes later with a big forward rumble led by prop Meli Kolinisau before his fellow prop Kelepi Funaki scored near the posts for 22-14.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER
South Canterbury replacement winger Sireli Buliruarua stands with his niece and daughter, Olivia Newland, 6, and Sahara Vae, 4, who are holding the Bill Dirreen and Phil Gard memorial cups won by the team with a Heartland Championship rugby win over North Otago in Ōamaru.
Down by eight with 15 minutes remaining, South Canterbury scored the try of the match from a quick throw near its own goal-line, moving the ball left to give fullback Liueli Simote space to dash clear and when he was tackled the ball was swung back right for winger Peala Matakaiongo to score. With the conversion it was now a one point ball game.
Inside the final five minutes South Canterbury stole the result when a missed tackle allowed replacement winger Sireli Buliruarua to be on the end of a kick return move and score in the corner, to make it 26-22.
North Otago had one last chance for a remarkable win with a lineout 8m out with time up but botched the drive and then knocked on under pressure a short time later.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/Stuff
South Canterbury lock Tevita Ahikovi bursts into the clear at the start of a run that led to a try to No 8 Siu Kakala in the Heartland Championship rugby win over North Otago in Ōamaru.
Other matches: East Coast 24, Buller 21; Mid-Canterbury 23, Poverty Bay 20; Thames Valley 27, King Country 21; Whanganui 32, West Coast 16; Horowhenua-Kapiti 24, Wairarapa-Bush 19.
Points: South Canterbury 20, Thames Valley 18, East Coast 15, North Otago and Whanganui 12; Wairarapa-Bush 11, West Coast 10, Mid Canterbury 9, Poverty Bay 8, King Country 5, Horowhenua-Kapiti 4, Buller 2.
