Rugby: Stirring second half lifts Maori

Elliot Dixon scored a late try to help the Maori All Blacks notch a 19th straight win. Photo / Getty

Fiji 26
Maori All Blacks 27

Elliot Dixon's week just keeps getting better.

Seven days after scoring a decisive try to secure man-of-the-match honours in the Super Rugby final, Dixon completed a rousing second-half revival as the Maori All Blacks maintained their impressive unbeaten streak.

The Highlanders flanker again showed his power to cross from close range with 13 minutes to play, helping the Maori overturn a 16-point halftime deficit that left them facing defeat for the first time in 19 internationals.

"Elliot's class, isn't he?" said coach Colin Cooper. "After coaching him for three years and watching him in the Super, he's just gotten better and better. He was a bit banged up from the final, as you would expect, and he came in late with us to give him recovery time. I certainly would have loved to have started him but it was better for him to come off the bench and bring that experience."

Dixon's late assistance helped the Maori prolong an unbeaten run against Fiji that stretches to 1957, a streak the home side threatened to snap as they ran in three first-half tries in Suva.

But 17 unanswered points after the break, capped by Otere Black's composed conversion, gave Cooper's side a big boost heading into next Saturday's clash with the New Zealand Barbarians. And judging by the level of improvement made across 80 minutes today, the Maori will likely prove tough to top at Eden Park.

As fast as Fiji started on a wet afternoon, the Maori were inflicting plenty of damage on themselves. Patient build-up play was being squandered by errors and rapid counter-attacks were ruined by penalties as the visitors struggled to find a foothold in the game.

Fiji, on the other hand, were a constant threat with ball in hand, easily unlocking the defence for fullback Kini Murimurivalu's try in the opening minutes and continuing to prove elusive while switching play from one flank to the other.

The Maori finally began to discover some fluency midway through the half and their first sustained spell of possession in the opposition 22 ended with Rieko Ioane easily slipping through a hole to celebrate his debut with a try.

But, after the teams traded yellow cards late in the half, Fiji again seized control. Nemani Nadolo, again displaying the finishing ability that had been prevalent all season with the Crusaders, scored Fiji's second as part of a personal 14-point haul in the half, before captain Akapusi Qera illustrated Fiji's dominance up front by grabbing a third.

"I was pretty nervous," Cooper said. "You could tell in that first half that they were rampant. We made mistakes and we made tactical errors but we were confident, with the ability we had, that we could come back.

"There's a core of players who I know will dig deep for New Zealand rugby and New Zealand Maori, so we were quietly confident that we could come back."

That comeback ticked into gear as the Maori slowly but surely began to employ a cohesive edge after the break, with Damian McKenzie's try capping his side's best spell of the match.

The defence had also been amended - aided undoubtedly by Nadolo's withdrawal through injury - and the set piece continued to enjoy supremacy. And it was from a stable scrum base that the match-winning try eventually arrived, with Dixon helping the Maori notch a 19th straight international victory.

"It's about them making a stand and being part of the legacy," Cooper said of the streak. "That comes in handy, when you have a short turnaround, to get everyone engaged and on the same waka."

Fiji 26 (K. Murimurivalu, N. Nadolo, A. Qera tries; N. Nadolo 3 pens, con)
Maori All Blacks 27 (R. Ioane, D. McKenzie, E. Dixon tries; M. McKenzie 2 pens, 2 cons, O. Black con)
HT: 26-10