Hawkes Bay 32
Taranaki 24
Bet Zac Guildford's mum didn't mind him making this trip.
She may not have much liked the idea of the New Zealand Sevens representative dipping a toe into the troubled waters of Delhi for the Commonwealth Games - but she will have greatly enjoyed the stately tour of what used
to be the Taranaki defence that fullback Guildford and his Magpie mates went on at McLean Park yesterday.
The Bay, supposedly well out of form, had 25 points on the visitors in the first 23 minutes.
Ryan McLeod, the nuggety, stepping second five-eighths, had already set up a try to Jason Shoemark when Guildford ran through the Taranaki defence like, well, a dodgy curry.
That attack ended with McLeod scoring the try and, with winger Richard Buckman knocking over the kicks, Taranaki's fond hopes of making the top four looked about as stable as a Delhi footbridge. When 'Naki prop Michael Bent was yellow-carded, Hawkes Bay responded by driving hooker Hika Elliot over for a try.
At 25-0 ahead, the game seemed well and truly over and, while Taranaki's second-half comeback had merit, the Bay deserved the win for that blistering first 60 minutes performance.
Winger David Smith allowed Taranaki to recover some self-respect with a trademark, sidestepping run, slipping five defenders to score. But if you needed a reason the entertaining Smith will likely not go higher than this level or maybe Super Rugby, it came in the build-up to McLeod's try.
The Magpies forced fullback Scott Ireland and Smith behind their goal line. Smith took a slipped pass and dashed across field, behind his own posts. He was run down in the sprint behind the goal line - by former All Black lock Bryan Evans - before throwing a panic pass.
Taranaki needed to score first in the second half but Guildford took that away from them; scampering through from an inside ball to reduce the defence to tatters again.
In contrast, Hawkes Bay's chasing and defence were almost impeccable for the first hour; tackles raining down on the Taranaki team and prompting errors.
They finally got into gear to post quick tries to replacements Kane Barrett and Kurt Baker before second five Justin Hayward scored a bonus point try to give Taranaki some hope of staying in the hunt for finals football.
However, even with that resurgence and some nervous moments for the Bay, the result was never really in doubt.
Top players included Magpies captain and centre Jason Shoemark, McLeod, Guildford, lock Ross Kennedy, Elliot and first five Kahn Fotuali'i, who directed matters so well you forgot he is really a halfback. Maybe Elliot's aggressive running and work in the contact areas gave him the "man of the match" title but it would have been a close thing.
Hawkes Bay at last found their rhythm. Taranaki are still looking for their defence.
Hawkes Bay 32 (J. Shoemark, R. McLeod, H. Elliot, Z. Guildford tries; R. Buckman 3 con, 2 pen), Taranaki 24 (D. Smith, K. Barrett, K. Baker, J. Hayward tries; W. Ripia con, A. Taylor con). Halftime: 25-7.
