Rugby: Auckland comeback falls short

Charles Piutau of Auckland is tackled. Photo / Getty Images

Canterbury 40
Auckland 33

A sunny afternoon, a firm ground, seven tries, plenty of running rugby; what's not to like about Sunday afternoon football?

This will doubtless fall on the deaf ears of the god Television but the sight of shirtsleeves and sunglasses brought back memories of happy days. It should be the way of the future. Yeah right.

Defending champions Canterbury got their ITM Cup campaign off to a fine start, after conceding three early penalties to Auckland's deadeye kicker Gareth Anscombe.

They nabbed a bonus point with four tries, showed plenty of ticker to hold on to their advantage and unveiled another young talent for the future in Tom Taylor.

Former All Black Warwick Taylor's son, on his debut, took over the Canterbury goalkicking and nailed eight out of 10.

It might not be rugby's sexy stuff, but when you throw in Anscombe's seven-from-seven return, there was plenty to admire about two young men's skills in an important aspect of the game.

Canterbury's first choice kicker, Colin Slade, played 50 minutes as a lead-in to All Black week in Dunedin but was protecting a groin strain.

On paper, this should have been Auckland's game, but paper wins nothing on a football field.

They had more experience but they let themselves down at important times.

There was sloppy handling, missed tackles - in which captain Daniel Braid was twice culpable - and a lack of calmness in pressure situations.

The jubilant punching of the air at the final whistle by red and black arms told its own story.

"We've had a lot of faith in this group and I always felt if the guys could get used to the intensity right from the word go that they've be really competitive," coach Rob Penney said tonight.

Canterbury support work was at times outstanding, and they had influential figures dotted about the park, notably No 8 Nasi Manu and centre Ryan Crotty.

Manu was a bullocking, belligerent presence, one fierce charge ending Benson Stanley's afternoon with a head knock, which is expected to sideline him for a couple of weeks.

Crotty showed his slick footwork, slicing holes in the Auckland midfield defence, scoring one try himself and setting up debutant fullback Johnny McNicholl for another.

Both wings Patrick Osbourne and Telusa Veainu had their moments, and while it would be a stretch to suggest the introduction midway through the first half of former All Blacks skipper Reuben Thorne prompted a standing ovation, he got a generous hand.

Canterbury were out to 31-16 early in the second half and it seemed Auckland were heading down a slippery slope.

They got back into the contest with two tries in a couple of minutes, one a penalty try, the other a typical halfback's dart, duck and dive close to the Canterbury line by Alby Mathewson. But they weren't good enough to keep the momentum going and young Taylor had the final say.

When referee Chris Pollock signalled a penalty four minutes from the end, Taylor's legs were cramping up. However, he showed a cool head, taking his time and nailing his fourth penalty - for a match haul of 20 points - to lock in the win.

Given Anscombe's kicking proficiency, it was a shame Auckland's deficiencies in other areas let them down.

"I know we're better than that. We didn't play to our potential. The fundamentals hurt us badly," coach Mark Anscombe said.

Auckland have a quick turnaround in this compacted season, playing Otago at Eden Park on Wednesday night.

Fullback Brent Ward has a haematoma, wing Francis Saili's hand was being x-rayed after swelling up. Throw in Stanley's head knock and the coach is preparing for changes.

He was planning to anyway, such is the format this year, and the need to manage players' health. "It's early days. I'm sure the Auckland boys will improve on the back of that, as will all the teams after this weekend," Penney said.

But the day belonged to Canterbury.

"We've got massive self-belief in our group," flanker and captain Ash Parker said.

"We knew if we kept on doing what we'd prepared during the week, eventually we'd get the result."

The names might change, but the resolve remains firmly intact down south.

Canterbury 40 (Brendon O'Connor, Ryan Crotty, Johnny McNicholl, Willie Heinz tries; Tom Taylor 4 pen, 4 con) Auckland 33 (Onosai'i Auva'a, Alby Mathewson tries, penalty try; Gareth Anscombe 4 pen, 3 con). Halftime: 24-16.