Canterbury intelligence won the argument and their class won the match as they beat Wellington 40-27 in the NPC first division rugby final on Saturday night. The game was surprisingly one-sided in Canterbury's favour and only late consolation tries to Tana Umaga and Sireli Bobo provided respectability for Wellington. Canterbury, who led20-13 at halftime, extended their advantage to 40-13 with nine minutes remaining after a consummate performance in the showpiece of New Zealand domestic rugby. Stacked full of All Blacks, Canterbury produced a poised and polished team performance as distinct to Wellington, who played more as a team of individuals. Wellington offered their home fans early encouragement when lock Luke Andrews scored a try in the 22nd minute following 12 phases of play. Piri Weepu's conversion saw Wellington lead 13-6 after he and Daniel Carter had earlier traded penalties, but from there Wellington were made to wait another 52 minutes before they again troubled the scorers. In between it was all Canterbury as they powered towards their fifth NPC crown on the back of an industrious and clinical forward pack, who provided staunch defence around the fringes to block Wellington's alleyway of attack. Canterbury's backs were also a cut above their opposition, with the inside pairing of Justin Marshall, who scored two tries, and Andrew Mehrtens directing play expertly while fullback Carter slotted eight of nine shots at goal for a personal haul of 20 points. Wellington looked vulnerable in the midfield throughout the game, with centre Conrad Smith, in particular, being targeted by Canterbury. Billed by many as a future All Blacks centre, Smith fell off a number of tackles and it was of no surprise when he was taken off during the second half. The contest was effectively decided immediately before and after halftime when Canterbury scored tries to second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, Marshall and skipper Richie McCaw to skip out from 13-13 to a 37-13 advantage.?NZPA
