KEY POINTS:
Auckland 49
Tasman 7
Auckland could be hunting for a new openside flanker after Daniel Braid and Onosa'i Tololima-Auva'a both suffered injuries in the routine victory over Tasman.
The extent of Braid's shoulder injury and the head knock suffered by Auva'a should be known today.
Auva'a seemed to
be concussed when he put his head on the wrong side attempting to tackle flying Tasman wing Afeleke Pelenise in the opening minutes on Saturday. He spent the rest of the match on the bench but deep into the second half was still being monitored closely by a torch-wielding Auckland team doctor.
The extent of Braid's shoulder injury was not immediately clear but coach Pat Lam said the situation was worrying.
"It is a concern losing two quality opensides," he said. "These next 48 hours are going to be crucial."
The casualty list from an otherwise run-of-the-mill victory was extensive.
Props Chris Heard, Saimone Taumoepeau and Nick White all suffered head wounds, while centre Benson Stanley, who scored the opening try, also pulled up short with a calf injury.
If the game itself lacked the tension of a genuine contest, there was at least some wonderful individual skill to admire.
After two tries and an Isa Nacewa penalty had killed off Tasman inside 11 minutes, Auckland once again lost their way.
"That has been the story of our season so far," lamented fullback Brent Ward, who scored Auckland's second try and added a 60m solo effort in the second half.
"We need to get a good start and then not switch off. That is what we have been working on but it still keeps creeping into our game. We get down into their zone and we start trying to push things when we need to just play the phases and it will eventually open up. But with those two tries early on, I think the boys started getting a bit excited and just dropped off our hard work a little bit."
Just as the tedium was threatening to set in, wing David Smith set Eden Park alight with a 65m burst that will surely rank as a candidate for try of the season.
Smith fielded a kick, clapped on the afterburners to slice through the brittle Tasman line and sealed the deal with a classic goosestep to beat James Foote, Tasman's last defender.
"Every week I keep reminding him that he is a 10 times better player this year than he was last year," said Ward.
"Even though he hasn't scored the tries this year his workrate has lifted tenfold and it was just a matter of time. He showed that if you give him a little bit of space he is dynamic."
Tasman had a single moment of glory when Pelenise finished a nice set move but their captain, Alex Ainley, conceded the game was as good as over after their sluggish start.
"I don't think we woke up for 15-20 minutes and by that time they were 15-20 points up," Ainley said.
"We just didn't get into it. We paid the price for that."
When Ward raced 60m for a bonus point try shortly into the second half it began to look suspiciously as if Auckland were content to let their individual brilliance gloss over an otherwise flawed display.
Not so, said Ward.
"We do an analysis each week and we look at where the holes are. We thought they might be a bit wider out this week. It may look like we are trying to rely on individuals but with the gameplan we brought in we were targeting those areas. We looked at their kick chase and thought there was an area we could attack there."
Jerome Kaino and Brad Mika added tries that came with ominous ease but just when a significant thrashing looked assured, Auckland's injury bug bit again.
Replacement props Taumoepeau and White disappeared in quick succession, leaving Troy Flavell to prop up a golden oldies scrum and captain Sam Tuitupou to try his hand in the forwards for the first time in his career.
Neither move was a staggering success.