Forward power triumphs in Wellington-Taranaki clash

WELLINGTON 46 TARANAKI 17

The smile on Wellington captain Shane Carter's face said it all.

Wellington had just given Hurricanes neighbours Taranaki a good old-fashioned NPC first division hiding and the 46-17 win at WestpacTrust Stadium yesterday must have set off alarm bells for Taranaki and Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper.

It was exactly that which pleased Carter, the Wellington hooker, because his pack had outplayed a Taranaki eight which included an all-Hurricanes front row.

They even managed to embarrass Taranaki by pushing the visitors off their own scrum feed late in the first half.

"People rate their forward pack but we are starting to dominate and it's come through hard work and determination," Carter said.

He also lauded the back-to-basics approach from forwards coach Ellis Meachen.

It was paying dividends as Wellington put a stranglehold on possession and turned over any ball Taranaki managed to get.

It showed on the scoreboard as Wellington scored through halfback Jason Spice, second five-eighth Pita Alatini and wing Lome Fa'atau to lead 25-0 at halftime.

It also showed on the statistics sheet. The home team conceded only three penalties in that time - the first coming in the 35th minute - and dominated possession and territory so completely that Taranaki won only one lineout in the first half.

The dominance continued in the second half when fullback Christian Cullen - in his best game of the year - and centre Tana Umaga scored tries.

Spice bagged his second in bizarre circumstances when the ball popped out of a ruck on Taranaki's line and bounced off prop Gordon Slater's foot.

He chased it into the in-goal, but stood and looked at the ball, rather than fall on it. Spice did not make the same mistake.

"That summed up the game for us," a disappointed Cooper said.

"Everything seemed to go Wellington's way. It was certainly their day."

Carter said the Super 12 connotations that went with a Wellington-Taranaki game were not discussed during the week, but had been in the back of the players' minds.

Carter said: "It's happy days, but we have to keep trucking.

"We all want to be a part of the Super 12 and we just have to keep being consistent."

Wellington's win leaves them tied with defending champions Canterbury on 20 points, but ahead on points differential.

With three rounds to go, the race for the playoffs is wide open as most of the top five teams still have to play each other.

Wellington face an Otago team in Dunedin on Friday night who will be brimming with confidence after their 35-20 win against the previously unbeaten Waikato. After that, Wellington play Bay of Plenty in Tauranga and Auckland in Wellington.

They need to win at least two of those three games to reach the semifinals.

- NZPA