Farah Palmer Cup: Tui hat-trick heroics, and match-saving tryline tackle dent Wellington pride

Tailah Ferguson added three more tries for the Tui this season in the 33-22 Sunday afternoon Farah Palmer Cup premiership Round 4 win over Wellington Pride in Lower Hutt. Photo / NZME

The Hawke’s Bay Tui are in with a chance of adding the Farah Palmer Cup premiership to the championship title they won last year, after a dramatic 33-22 win over Wellington Pride in Lower Hutt.

Veteran first five-eighths Krysten Cottrell was the hero of Sunday’s game as she pulled off a match-saving tackle to deny Wellington wing and former Hawke’s Bay teammate Harmony Kautai a second and match-winning try.

She then made a match-sealing break to set up a try for substitute Jaimee Robin, with Cottrell landing her fourth conversion for the final say.

The Bay scored five tries in all - a hat-trick of them to centre Teilah Ferguson.

Hawke’s Bay scored first with a try to halfback Raedeen Blake. With Ferguson’s first try, and two conversions to co-captain Cottrell, they led 14-8 at halftime.

Stung by a converted try to former Hastings Girls’ High School pupil Kautai, which put Wellington up 15-14 seven minutes into the second half, Hawke’s Bay took control with two more tries to Ferguson to open up an 11-point gap with 18 minutes to go.

Pressed deep into their own territory, Wellington struck back with a try to lock and Black Fern Joanah Ngan-Woo to cut the margin to four points with six minutes remaining.

They looked to have snatched victory when Kautai went over - tackled by Cottrell in the corner - only for an on-the-spot touch judge to detect a knock-on.

It was only the third time in 13 matches that Hawke’s Bay have beaten Wellington, and the first time in nine games that the Tui have won in the unions’ clashes in Wellington.

In other Farah Palmer Cup premiership games over the weekend, Auckland Storm beat Bay of Plenty 61-19 and Waikato beat Counties-Manukau 13-10.

With a historic win over Auckland Storm in the opening game, a four-point loss to Waikato, and five points from the win over Wellington, the Tui and Auckland are equal-third with 11 points. They are just a point behind second-placed Canterbury, setting up a crucial Hawke’s Bay-Canterbury match at the Regional Sports Park in Hastings next Saturday.

In another match on Saturday, the Hawke’s Bay Tui Development team was beaten 36-31 by King Country in Taupō.

Result:

Hawke’s Bay Tui 33 (Teilah Ferguson 3, Raedeen Blake, Jaimee Robin tries; Krysten Cottrell 4 conversions) Wellington Pride 22 (Jackie Patea-Fereti, Harmony Kautai, Joanah Ngan-Woo tries; Tamara Ruaporo penalty, 2 conversions) Halftime: Hawke’s Bay 14 Wellington 8.