Rugby: Harbour stay in basement

Sam Giddens of Hawkes Bay. Photo / Getty Images

North Harbour 17
Hawke's Bay 34

The uncomfortable prospect of having to celebrate their 25th anniversary year in the next season's new first division competition loomed for North Harbour after their sixth consecutive loss in the Air New Zealand Cup yesterday left them stuck at the bottom of the competition ladder.

Hawke's Bay were too good for Harbour all over the park and with a five-tries-to-three, 34-17, victory collected an invaluable five points.

After the match Harbour's coach Craig Dowd was at a loss to find any positives in the Harbour performance, apart from the return from injury of All Blacks Anthony Boric and Anthony Tuitavake. He agreed it was understandable that if four teams were to be relegated from the top division for next season fingers would now be pointed in Harbour's direction.

"We lost that one badly," he said. "And we lost it through our own inaccuracies and falling off tackles."

While Harbour as a union may have concentrated on meeting all the other criteria the New Zealand Rugby Union has sent for the reduced premiership, fielding a strong, experienced side may have been overlooked.

The lack of seasoned campaigners was clearly a factor in yesterday's loss and it has been perhaps a pity that for whatever reasons the former Blues and New Zealand Maori loose forward Blair Urlich could not have been at least a member of this year's squad, if only as a bench player. In a mentoring role he could have been an asset.

Though it was a scrappy game and far from a vintageperformance, Bay coach Peter Russell was obviously delighted his side emerged well from a recent slump. The pack effort was solid, hooker Hika Elliot was in sparkling form as was halfback Chris Eaton and second five-eighth Sam Giddens.

Harbour, having been given first use of the stiff north-easterly wind, failed to capitalise on that advantage and at half-time trailed 10-5.

It could have been an even bigger Hawke's Bay lead, but for what appeared to be a mistaken call by referee Mike Fraser and his touch-judges in not awarding what looked a clear try from a charge-down by first five-eighth Andrew Horrell.

Having scored earlier when impressive wing Zac Guildford got the first of his two tries by outstripping the Harbour defenders from one of the side's many turnovers, the Magpies would have had a lead of 14-0.

As Dowd observed, Guildford's opening try, coming against the run of play, set the pattern for the rest of the match. "If you do that against a side like Hawke's Bay they will sting you and we were playing catch-up from then on," he said.

A try from Tuitavake, from yet another charge-down, just on the break kept Harbour in the game. But the Magpies quickly restored their edge early in the second spell when from an attacking lineout Horrell exposed some flimsy Harbour defence for Giddens to score.

Replacement wing Josh York scored for Harbour soon after, but midway through the half Guildford had his second try after right wing Jason Kupa had made a powerful run, and then near fulltime the Bay had their bonus point when from an attacking lineout lock Matt Egan was driven over.

Though without any chance of a win, Harbour gave themselves a slim chance of a bonus point when centre George Pisi ran onto a neat stab kick from young Ben Botica.

But the game ended somewhat farcically for Harbour when in the dying minute the side conceded the sort of soft try all too typical of a sub-standard display. When wing Ken Pisi botched the Magpies' kickoff, replacement loose forward Hugh Reed was gifted a try.

Though they were plainly short of a gallop after their lay-offs, Boric and Tuitavake showed enough to suggest they could help lift Harbour in what could be a difficult second half of the season, starting with next weekend's Battle of the Bridge at Eden Park.

Their return, though, was off-set by a leg injury yesterday to another of the side's All Blacks, Rudi Wulf.

North Harbour 17 (A Tuitavake, J York, G Pisi tries; B Botica con), Hawke's Bay 34 (Z Guildford 2, S Giddens, M Egan, H Reed tries; Giddens 3 con, pen). Halftime: 5-10.