Canterbury 25 Tasman 21
Canterbury finally cracked a tough Tasman nut with a 25-21 win which firmed their hold on second place in the Air NZ Cup rugby championship.
In a tense Crusaders derby between the teams who came to Christchurch commanding positions two and three on the table, Canterbury clung to a narrow lead throughout the second half to record a third successive win.
Missing the majestic playmaking skills of Daniel Carter for the first time this season, Canterbury's standards of recent weeks dropped.
First five-eighth Stephen Brett produced some sporadic moments of brilliance in his place, including a classy 30m try in the 20th minute that pushed the hosts 17-6 clear.
However, they spent much of the rest of the match holding out a spirited Tasman.
The visitors had the wood on a raw Canterbury pack, often bettering their scrum and disrupting lineout ball.
A powerful scrum on the half hour created the first of their two tries to impressive halfback Kahn Fotuali'i.
When James Kamana crossed with half an hour remaining - when missed tackles from Crusaders backs Tim Bateman and Colin Slade were ruthlessly exposed - an upset was in the offing.
However, the match nosedived into a scrappy affair and neither team scored again.
Tasman had the consolation of snaring a bonus point and denying one to Canterbury, with the scoreline the closest they have come to an upset in the teams' four meetings.
The difference proved to be opportunist tries in the first half to Canterbury wingers Sean Maitland and Tu Umaga-Marshall.
Maitland chipped ahead from 70m out and towed ahead twice on the way to a memorable score while former Wellingtonian Umaga-Marshall impressed in his first start for his new province, shrugging off a weak tackle from hooker Daniel Perrin in a 50m dash.
The match marked a return to first-class rugby for two Canterbury All Blacks - halfback Andy Ellis and hooker Corey Flynn - who were both injured in the Super 14.
They produced solid outings off the reserves bench over the last half hour.
Canterbury 25 (Sean Maitland, Stephen Brett, Tu Umaga-Marshall tries; Colin Slade 2 pen, 2 con) Tasman 21 (James Kamana, Kahn Fotuali'i try; Andrew Goodman 3 pen, con). Halftime: 22-16.
- NZPA
