Horowhenua Rugby: Shannon slips past Foxton in the closing stages

Foxton captain Jackson Scully hands over the Hauffman Trophy to Shannon captain Logan Broughton. Photo / Bruce Falloon Photo / Bruce Falloon

Under slightly humid conditions, after the rain had eased, the Battle of the Bridge between Foxton and Shannon took place at Easton Park in Foxton on Saturday.

The best way to describe the game would be to compare it to going eeling. Foxton had the game in their grasp but let it slip away in the closing stages with Shannon winning by a fine margin.

Foxton half back Illi Soni Rauhihi moves in to tackle a Shannon player. Photo / Bruce Falloon

Foxton opened the ledger on the scoreboard with an early penalty, followed by a quick try to take an early lead: 10-nil. Shannon clawed their way back with a penalty and a try of their own with Foxton leading 15-8 at halftime.

Local coach Nick McVeigh told his men, "Keep it simple, they have nothing out wide. We're attacking them in midfield and turning them around straight away.

"When we're carrying the ball, we are going forward and everyone is making yards. We're chewing them up and they're living off our mistakes. Make sure that you hold on to the ball and don't give them any scraps," McVeigh said.

Foxton tight head prop Sebastian Lomax-Jensen on the charge. Photo / Bruce Falloon

At the same time Shannon coach Nathan Beuck said, "Just control the ball, we had a couple of opportunities in the first half, but lost the way a little bit, in the process.

"With a little gentle breeze behind us we'll be looking to keep it down Foxton's end of the field in this half of the game," Beuck said.

In response, Foxton took control of the game after the break and nudged further ahead on the scoreboard to lead 20-8 thanks to some clever play from prop Sebastian Lomax-Jensen and lock Kale Erikson.

Foxton captain Jackson Scully secures the ball in a linelout. Photo / Bruce Falloon

However, Shannon wasn't done yet and took the game by the scruff of the neck to edge closer to be at 20-15. They made ground with excellent kicking from their first five eight Araan Murphy.

With 12 minutes of game time left, a Foxton player yellow was carded and Shannon took advantage of this to score a late try and take the lead.

And with time almost up on the clock, Foxton was awarded a penalty. With the bounce of the ball not going Foxton's way, Shannon won the game by 22-20 in a thriller at Easton Park.

Foxton lock Kale Erikson tries to fend off a Shannon player. Photo / Bruce Falloon