South Canterbury comeback sinks Coast in Meads Cup semi

The Sky Blues were poised to upend the most dominant team in the history of the  Heartland Championship’s Meads Cup.

But the Kahu Tamatea-coached Ngāti Porou East Coast Kaupoi — who led two-time defending champions South Canterbury 17-3 after 44 minutes of their 1 v 4 semifinal — couldn’t hold on at Pleasant Point Domain near Timaru on Saturday.

The southerners, helped by yellow cards to two Coast players, scored 31 unanswered points to win 34-17 in front of a crowd of 1700 and extend their record winning run in provincial rugby to 30 games.

Tamatea, in his first season as head coach of the Sky Blues, has continued the great work of the union’s director of rugby Hosea Gear.

Under their fearless and defiant captain, halfback Sam Parkes, the Coast won five of nine Heartland games, and successfully defended the Bill Osborne Taonga four times.

“Every member of the squad stayed true to our cause . . . we threw everything at them,” Tamatea said.

Parkes concurred.

“We played outstanding rugby in the first 43 minutes but then South Canterbury turned the screws,” he said. “It was our best performance of the season. Our defence was phenomenal, we built pressure over phases well and we kicked very well. I’m at peace with the result.”

South Canterbury captain and halfback William Wright won the toss and the home team’s first-five Sam Briggs kicked off into a wisp of an easterly breeze.

The southerners won their first three lineouts and in the 17th minute had the first try-scoring opportunity. Massive blindside flanker Loni Toumohuni’s surge was stopped by NPEC  loosehead prop Hakarangi Tichborne less than half a metre from the goal line under the crossbar.

In the 19th minute, Hawke’s Bay referee Nick Hogan penalised the Coast for offside play and right-footer Briggs landed the penalty.

In the 24th minute, the Sky Blues received a scrum penalty and the boot of first-five Terangi Fraser struck gold to level it 3-3.

The Kaupoi scored the game’s opening try after 37 minutes.

Crosswell won an attacking lineout 5m from the left corner, the forwards drove and went another ruck to the right when Hogan signalled penalty try, and yellow-carded Toumohuni. The penalty try meant an automatic seven-points, so the Coast went to the break 10-3 in front.

The green and blacks began the second half with a six-phase sequence to make heads spin before turning the ball over.

Parkes put boot to ball and pushed them from 22 to 22. Levave won the lineout against the throw and Fraser made a tremendous weaving run. Parkes was brought down within an arm’s length of the goal-line but Levave was able to finish off  8m to the left of the posts in the 42nd minute, and Fraser converted.

The Coast were 17-3 up and on track to end the two-time defending Meads Cup holders’ winning streak at 29.

And they could have hammered home their advantage when winger Tevita Nabura was given a golden intercept chance with no one in front of him only to drop the ball, much to his frustration.

In the 51st minute, following a quick tap-kick from a penalty on the NPEC goal-line, South Canterbury No.8 Siu Kakala was downed by dogged defenders in the left corner but  it resulted in a yellow card to Kaupoi loosehead prop Hakarangi Tichborne.

With the Coast down to 14 men and a key scrummager removed, South Canterbury were quick to take advantage. 

At a 5m scrum in the left corner, hooker Connor Anderson found big lock Anthony Amato at No.3, then joined the drive and scored a great rake’s try in the 56th minute.

Briggs converted to close the gap to 17-10.

In the 58th minute, Hogan handed Levave a yellow card for a heavy tackle on  fullback Linueli Simote and the Coast found themselves  down to 13 men.

South Canterbury made them pay.

In the 65th minute, Kakala scored his 15th try for the season after a lineout 8m from the right corner and  six phases of play.

Briggs’ conversion levelled it  17-all.

That deadlock was broken  four minutes later when Simote scored following two thunderous runs by Fa’avae in the same passage of play. Over three phases, South Canterbury made it from a metre into Coast territory to the goal line which Simote fell over 15m in from the left corner off a dynamite clearing pass from the ruck by reserve halfback Steve Phillips.

Briggs’ conversion made it 24-17 .

In the 76th minute, a scrum penalty inside the Coast 22 saw Briggs  pot the kick to give his side a 10-point advantage.

And in the 80th minute, from a dominant scrum 13m into the Sky Blues’ half, they went five phases before Simote went through a gap close to the line to score his second try and seal victory — iced by another Briggs conversion.

The Coast fought valiantly in the second half. They took the best-performed Heartland Championship team in the history of the competition as far and as deep as can be imagined.

It was a gut-wrenching loss because the Coast were exhausted in their efforts to stem the tide.

South Canterbury and Heartland XV head coach Nigel Walsh paid tribute to both the Kaupoi and his boys.

“They put us under pressure but we didn’t push the panic button — we dug in,” Walsh said. “The Coast taught us a lesson in the first half and that may help us out ahead of the final (against Whanganui, who beat Thames Valley 38-3).”

South Canterbury captain and halfback William Wright also praised the Coast.

“That was an extremely physical game of rugby. They threw everything at us but we managed to get momentum back and take our opportunities in the second half.

“Massive credit to Ngāti Porou. The score doesn’t reflect how close the game was.”