Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team's co-coach Tom Coventry was a happy man as he drove home from Rotorua last night.
Coventry gave the AC/DC concert he attended in Auckland on Thursday night 10/10, and SportToday got the impression he had given his Magpies players on display in the Super 14 pre-season clash between the Hurricanes and Chiefs at the International Stadium yesterday similar marks.
Magpies openside flanker Karl Lowe, a second-half replacement, scored a late 70m intercept try to give the Canes a 17-12 victory. His side trailed 12-10 in the close encounter before he handed the Chiefs their third consecutive loss in pre-season encounters.
Coventry said Magpies and All Black lock Bryn Evans would have been happy with his 60 minutes of action in his first game since June last year after recovering from a back injury.
Coventry said Magpies hooker Hika Elliot was dynamic with the ball in hand as a second half replacement for the Chiefs.
``Obviously Hika has a contrasting style to Aled and it will be a case of horses for courses with those two,'' said Coventry referring to the Chiefs All Black hooker Aled de Malmanche.
He added that Magpies prop Sona made the most of his first half of action and scrummaged well in a pack which was slightly bettered by the Canes at scrum time.
Coventry was also impressed by the Canes replacement first five-eighth Aaron Cruden and the Chiefs replacement fullback Tim Nanai Williams.
The Hurricanes have won all three of their pre-season games and open their Super 14 campaign against the Blues in Auckland on Friday night.
Conversely, the Chiefs are winless, having also suffered narrow losses to the Highlanders and Blues.
They travel to Durban tomorrow to prepare for their opening match against the Sharks in Durban.
Scorers:
Hurricanes 17 (Tamati Ellison, Scott Waldrom, Karl Lowe tries; Aaron Cruden con) Chiefs 12 (Tanerau Latimer, Sione Lauaki tries; Stephen Donald con). Halftime: 10-7.
RUGBY: Coventry rates Magpies' effort up with AC/DC
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