Hail Harbour's heroes

By WYNNE GRAY

North Harbour 20 Canterbury 9

North Harbour continued to rock the NPC last night when they dealt to previous leaders Canterbury and maintained a two-year unbeaten home record.

With a weight of possession, Canterbury had every chance to take the match at Albany, but Harbour showed a steely defiance which has not always been their companion.

Conditions were slippery, although not as atrocious as a week ago against Auckland, and while Harbour were always searching for some decent ball, they defended with the determination of a team building their self-belief.

They trusted each other on defence, they did not panic in the furious final minutes as Canterbury looked for some counter-attacking miracle, and earned a memorable victory.

Even the most fervent supporters in the smallish crowd went away delighted, but scratching their heads about the new Harbour heroics.

A Canterbury error when they dropkicked out on the full gave Harbour the chance for the fateful strike late in the third quarter. They did not miss from a planned scrum move. Skipper Mark Robinson ran blind, looped again with Willie Walker, who fed national sevens captain Karl Te Nana.

The wing had about 18m to the tryline and a corridor of about a metre in which to work. He ducked under two high tackles and evaded a desperate clutching grab from the covering Reuben Thorne to be awarded the try.

There was some doubt: there was a hint that Te Nana had trailed his leg over the touchline, but with video referees not being used until the playoffs, referee Lyndon Bray gave Harbour the benefit of the doubt.

Straight away Harbour looked to have coughed up that advantage when they knocked on and Marika Vunibaka headed for the corner, but flanker Craig Newby got across in cover and did not miss his man.

As Canterbury increased the momentum, Harbour coach Wayne Shelford responded with a variety of substitutions. One of them, the veteran five-eighths Frano Botica, kicked a penalty eight minutes from time which clinched the victory.

It was a kick from 36m which just scraped over the bar and one which Canterbury, had they been playing with their best attention, would have hoisted a jumper and repelled.

After a decent scrap between Justin Marshall and Matua Parkinson saw the pair yellow-carded, Botica goaled again and the historic win was completed.

Harbour had hung in during the first half. They were down on possession and territory, but high on tenacity, knocking over every Canterbury attack and staying even in the tactical kicking game.

The visitors looked unsettled, and their frustration would have been even greater when they looked at the halftime scoreboard which showed them trailing 9-6 in the penalty shootout. Willie Walker kicked all three of his attempts while Ben Blair kicked two from three for Canterbury.

Try-scoring chances were slim. Harbour almost created a try when they pounced on a turnover from a loose Marshall pass and Canterbury gave speedster Vunibaka one sniff of an outside gap before Parkinson cut him down.

North Harbour 20 (K. Te Nana try; W. Walker 3 pen, F Botica, 2 pen) Canterbury 9 (B. Blair 3 pen) Halftime: 9-6.