Auckland 25
Manuwatu 3
KEY POINTS:
Auckland's celebrations were extremely muted, despite defending the Ranfurly Shield against Manawatu at Eden Park on Saturday by what looked a healthy margin.
But coach Pat Lam and his players were well aware that they were flattered by a scoreline boosted by what Manawatu coach Dave Rennie diplomatically
termed some "interesting calls" by Southland refereeKeith Brown and his assistants.
One was Manawatu prop Grant Polson's trip to the sin bin late in the first spell. Having previously battered away in vain against a brave defence, Auckland took advantage of a 14-man opposition to secure a try by halfback Taniela Moa for a 13-3 half-time lead.
The other, more controversial call, was the awarding of a penalty try for Manawatu's Lote Raikabula batting the ball over the dead-ball line as Auckland centre Ben Atiga was running onto a kick into the in-goal area by Benson Stanley. It was a dangerous part of the ground for Raikabula to offend, but whether a try was probable was perhaps arguable.
Lam, in his last Ranfurly Shield game before going on to his duties as the Blues' new coach, was relieved that the Log was not going to be lost during his watch, but was far from happy with the side's performance. "It was pretty average," he said. "There were a lot of mistakes."
Many of these were basic, such as knocking on kick-offs, persisting with pick-and-drives from the forwards and individuals - taking wrong options. Only late in the match was the ball spread wide and the result was an excellent try by Atiga.
Auckland's next defences are against Southland (September 6) and Wellington (September 20) and obviously there has to be cause for apprehension. Rennie, with his close links with Wellington and having already lost to Southland this year, agreed Auckland would need a considerable improvement to win either game.
That concern is increased by Auckland being without All Blacks Keven Mealamu, John Afoa and Isaia Toeava, with all three having made solid contributions on Saturday. But there is a chance wing Joe Rokocoko will be back from his long injury break and, with David Smith injured on Saturday, he could even start against Waikato in Hamilton this weekend.
But rather than refereeing calls going against his side, Rennie emphasised their own shortcomings in mounting a disappointing challenge. Poor work in the lineouts, either being beaten on their own throw or throwing in crookedly, had caused most of Manawatu's problems. "And when we did get the ball we didn't treasure it," he said.
Disappointing, too, for those who recall the Shield's glory days and the role it has played in moulding New Zealand's rugby heritage was the attendance of 7500. There was, alas, little of the fervour of old.