A southern tempest nearly quelled

By WYNNE GRAY

CANTERBURY 18 AUCKLAND 11

It was a helluva night and in the end a helluva game as Canterbury rediscovered much of their clinical attitude to outlast a gallant and inspired Auckland.

This was an NPC match with plenty of passion and personal heroics, a huge tussle of mind and body which deserved better weather than the monsoon-like conditions.

It was a slugfest where team honour and tight-knit defence became far more important and eye-catching than any matchups about potential All Blacks.

The day began with thunderstorms and Eden Park was saturated by match time. But both sides decided they would still run most of their possession.

Auckland had all the early ball and made inroads, Xavier Rush, Bradley Mika and Eroni Clarke surging hard into the defence which just managed to hold. It was a tough start for the visitors but they soaked up the pressure and began to show the sort of bloody-minded attitude which the side have worn in their alternate campaigns with the Crusaders and All Blacks.

They reproduced the gang-tackling which they had pioneered in New Zealand rugby, they had Richard McCaw, Scott Robertson and Norm Maxwell anticipating Auckland patterns and lining up the second wave of support.

It was a fascinating half of thrust and counter. When Canterbury forced some turnovers they threatened to score after long runs from Joe Maddock and Justin Marshall but Auckland did not ignore that facet of their game.

But the penalty count started to tell.

In this game it was not so much the number but the fact that Auckland infringed deep in their own territory. It was target practice for Andrew Mehrtens. He whacked over dual penalties from 35m either side of the park to give Canterbury an early lead.

There was a lull until Mehrtens varied the script with a drop goal before Carlos Spencer goaled a close-range penalty for Auckland's only points of the half.

The margin looked as though it would stay at 9-3 until Auckland conceded a freekick from a lineout and Mehrtens dropped his second goal.

It was calculated ruthlessness, something Auckland should have considered soon after the break when they twice chose to go for lineout plays from penalties instead of asking Spencer to kick for goal.

Neither play produced any reward.

It led to the most controversial incident in the match when referee Steve Walsh ignored Canterbury pleas for a penalty try when Mils Muliaina tripped Ben Blair.

It seemed a clear breach by the Auckland wing. Blair had charged a poor kick down near Auckland's 22, hacked ahead and was well ahead of Muliaina in the in-goal when he was tipped up.

Instead Canterbury had to accept another Mehrtens penalty and a Marshall drop goal as his side had an advantage. It was another sign of the visitors' ruthlessness.

They led 18-3 with one quarter to run. Then Auckland hooker Keven Mealamu, making another of his ferreting runs, got past Marshall and sent Muliaina to the line.

And when Spencer goaled a penalty seven minutes from time, underlining Auckland's naive decision not to take earlier kicks, it was game on.

But Canterbury held on, their courage and commitment indefatigable as they reignited their surge to the semis.

Canterbury 18 (A. Mehrtens 3 pen, 2 drop goals, J. Marshall drop goal).

Auckland 11(M. Muliaina try, C Spencer 2 pen). Halftime 12-3.