Taranaki 26 Waikato 20
Taranaki turned on a fine defensive effort to upset last year's first division finalists Waikato at Waikato Stadium.
It was a decisive victory in the end for Taranaki, who scored four tries to one despite surviving off minimal possession in a poor game marred by excessive and inaccurate
kicking, plus a host of turnovers.
Waikato snatched a consolation bonus point, three minutes into injury time and with the final siren having sounded, when teenage replacement wing Dwayne Sweeney kicked a penalty.
The player he replaced, Loki Crichton, scored all of Waikato's other points, with their only try seven minutes into the game and four penalties.
Crichton's try came after Taranaki openside flanker Richard Bryant opened the match with a fine try behind the posts, running a clever angle off a short pop pass from first five-eighth Mark Urwin.
Crichton gave Waikato the lead for the only time in the match in the 19th minute with a short-range penalty to make it 8-7, but two minutes later lock Keith Robinson, a former Taranaki representative, turned the ball over at the restart and Taranaki fullback Darryl Lilley scored off an overlap in the corner before adding his second conversion to make it 14-8.
Another Crichton penalty cut Taranaki's halftime lead to 14-11 and 11 minutes into the second spell he levelled the scores at 14-14 before the visitors constructed a fine try to second five-eighth Bryce Robins, which Lilley also converted to make it 21-14.
Waikato kept either aimlessly kicking away possession or turning it over in the tackle, surviving only on Crichton's goalkicking.
Taranaki scored their bonus-point try in the 34th minute, which was just reward for the scorer, blindside flanker Brent Thompson, whose bone-jarring tackles led Taranaki's defence.
It came from a tricky short throw to the front of the lineout that caught Waikato napping.
Earlier, Taranaki struggled in the lineouts, failing to secure a single possession from that phase of play in the first half, Waikato winning a total of seven Taranaki throws while also scrummaging strongly against a solid visiting pack.
- NZPA
