Rugby: Mooloos hold on for hard earned win

Waikato held the lead the whole game, holding off a late Hawkes Bay fightback to secure a 30-22 victory at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton. Photo / Getty Images

Waikato held off a never-say-die Hawke's Bay for their third win of rugby's Air NZ Cup with a 30-22 victory at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton tonight.

Ahead 24-0 midway through the first half, and 24-14 at halftime, Waikato had to work hard right to the final whistle for a bruising victory.

The early running was all Waikato's, Henry Speight crossing after just three minutes as quick hands and smooth running from the backline left the winger with room to spare and pace to burn.

Waikato, languishing near the bottom of the table after six weeks, played with real commitment, well-marshalled by skipper Liam Messam who had an outstanding game.

A Callum Bruce penalty gave Waikato a 10-0 lead after eight minutes, and Save Tokula further compounded Hawke's Bay's misery with a well-taken try at the 18-minute mark.

Bruce capitalised on a turnover just inside the 22, Tokula took his well-timed pass and cut inside to score.

Bruce was also in excellent form with the boot, slotting the conversion, and doing to the same soon after for Waikato's third try in 25 minutes courtesy of the smooth-running Soseni Anesi.

Hawke's Bay struggled early on in the set pieces, and coach Peter Russell made a big call after 25 minutes in replacing prop Sona Taumalolo with Clint Newland.

The move seemed to work, and from the base of a steadier scrum and more consistent line-out, the Magpies began to work their way back into the match.

It took time but Hawke's Bay refused to panic, even at 0-24 down as the half hour mark approached. A cool head and some intelligent tactical kicking from first five-eighth Andrew Horrell paid dividends for speedy winger Zac Guildford, who latched on to a pinpoint nudge ahead and scored between the posts.

Giddens added the extras, Hawke's Bay started to run with more purpose and doubled their score five minutes later after an overcooked Waikato line-out throw fell to Horrell, who backed himself on a jinking run to the line.

Waikato went into the break 24-14 ahead, but the momentum was with Hawke's Bay and they built on that to close the gap further with a Giddens penalty soon after the restart.

Two further penalties from Bruce gave Waikato some breathing space, so although Hawke's Bay closed the gap through a Mark Jackman try with five minutes remaining, the home team win was never really in question.

- NZPA