Manawatu maintained their unbeaten home record with a bonus-try 32-21 win over North Harbour in Palmerston North tonight.
The win was their third from five starts, and moves them to the top of the championship table after Hawke's Bay's loss to Tasman earlier in the evening.
Perhaps the only real positive for Harbour came with the return of All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock after being sidelined for three months with foot ligament damage.
The 74-test veteran came through a solid first half unscathed, and will have pleased the All Blacks management with his form in the opening 40 minutes.
Willie Walker traded penalties with Manawatu counterpart Aaron Cruden early on, but Harbour's narrow 6-3 lead disappeared as the half-hour mark approached. Manawatu's 20-year-old fullback Nehe Milne-Skudder, who had shown pace and deception with the ball in hand, dived over in the corner after quick work from a short lineout inside the Harbour 22.
Manawatu led 8-6 until another Walker penalty edged Harbour back in front 9-8 with less than two minutes remaining.
North Harbour had conceded 17 tries in four games going into today's match and once again looked half a pace too slow on defence.
There was nothing wrong with their attack, however, and a superb team try right on the halftime whistle to winger David Raikuna gave them a 14-8 lead at the break.
Started by winger Nafi Tuitavake, and boosted with a mazy run from captain and halfback Chris Smylie, sublime handling at speed led to a precision finish from Raikuna.
Manawatu worked their way back into the game, reclaiming the lead 15-14 with just on 20 minutes to go.
They built pressure phase after phase, finally spinning the ball wide to winger Tomasi Cama, with quick hands from Milne-Skudder at the final pass sending the sevens star over in the corner 14 minutes into the second half.
Cama underlined his versatility with a dropped goal seven minutes later to give Manawatu a four-point lead.
Harbour's fragile defence was again exposed in the 67th minute as Cama's initial break was finished clinically by halfback Aaron Smith. Cruden's conversion gave the home team a 25-14 lead, and Harbour looked out of ideas.
However, with 10 minutes left Walker pulled one back for Harbour after a strong burst through the midfield from replacement loose forward Irwin Finau.
No 8 Matt Luamanu came close before Walker scooped up the loose ball to dive over. Ben Botica sank the conversion to narrow Manawatu's lead to four, but the visitors never really threatened the line again.
And another Harbour defensive muddle in injury time gifted Manawatu the bonus try, an opportunistic effort from Cruden which he then converted.
- NZPA