Shield defended.
Counties Manukau showed they were worthy holders of the Log o’ Wood with a dominant performance over a Hawke’s Bay team in a slump.
The Magpies aren’t playing like a team who had been top of the table a few weeks ago and played to their form with a fourth straight defeat.
The home side were fast and furious throughout, forcing traffic to move in their direction for most of the first half.
Wet and greasy conditions didn’t help either side, but Counties were able to capitalise on the opportunities they made for themselves.
Adam Brash opened the scoring after 11 minutes, crossing from a cheeky pop back inside from AJ Alatimu, but highly physical running by the Steelers forward pack from the base of the ruck kept pushing Hawke’s Bay back, a tactic that would help them throughout the first half.
The defensive effort from Counties was strong throughout, with excellent line speed to drive their opponents back.
Flanker Sam Smith did make an excellent line break deep inside the opposition 22, but a fumble after he was tackled put Counties back in charge of the ball.
Errors like this allowed AJ Alatimu to put the ball on boot and march his team down the field with a near impeccable effort in this facet of the game.
His tee kicking did leave much to be desired, missing the conversion for his team’s opening try and a penalty almost straight in front.
Hawke’s Bay would do anything but punish these mistakes and continued to hand the ball back to Counties in dangerous positions.
The Steelers’ lineouts were of particular concern in the first half and around the 25-minute mark, a line break off a well-worked move set the Counties forwards up with the ball to pummel their way as close to the try line as possible before Melani Matavao sniped over for the five-pointer.
Alatimu converted the try this time and took his side into the sheds with a healthy 12-point lead.
Hawke’s Bay were fierce to start the second half, penning the home side deep in their 22, but the handling errors and silly mistakes continued to crop up when the Magpies were in scoring positions.
They came close to putting points on the board after stringing together 16 phases before being held up on the line, but multiple offside penalties kept the visitors within touching distance of the white line.
The pressure was finally relieved after Jacob Devery spilled the ball from a quick tap, allowing reinforcements to refresh the home team’s pack.
Points finally arrived for Hawke’s Bay in the 60th minute as Darby Lancaster used his pace on the left wing to take his team deep inside the Steelers’ half.
Lancaster was able to finish the attack off by darting through a gap formed after dangerous runs by the Magpies’ forwards.
No matter how much pressure the Magpies would build, their handling would let them down.
It was the same as the siren sounded, when Counties gave a penalty away to set Hawke’s Bay up with a lineout in a great position but another spill allowed the Steelers to regain the ball, boot it into the stands and see Pukekohe erupt.
Counties Manukau finish their NPC campaign in 12th place, but a strong end to the season means they keep the Ranfurly Shield all summer.
Counties Manukau 12 (Adam Brash, Melani Matavao tries; AJ Alatimu con)
Hawke’s Bay 7 (Darby Lancaster try; Harry Godfrey con)
HT: 12-0