Canterbury beat Otago for NPC title No 15
- Dave Worsley
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Canterbury reclaimed the Bunnings NPC crown with a 36-28 victory over Otago in Christchurch their 15th national title but first since 2017.
They nput on a attacking display immediately after halftime that saw it score three tries in 10 minutes, left Otago with too much work to do in too little time.
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Otago halfback Dylan Pledger under check, but he made a probing run in the fifth minute, after a pass from No8 Christian Lio-Willie just out from Canterbury's line, where fast ball allowed prop Abraham Pole to slip a perfect pass to homas Umaga-Jensen, who scored.
That stirred the home side in front of a passionate crowd. Lock Jamie Hannah made a scything run to the goalmouth, and while Otago's defensive line held initially, second five-eighths Dallas McLeod, who figured earlier in the move, was able to dive over players on the ground to score in the corner in the ninth minute.
In the 18th minute, Otago fed a five-metre scrum in front of the goalposts and Lio-Willie ran from the base, missing the goal-line by millimetres. But the ball was recycled for flanker Luke Casey to enhance his stellar season with a try under the crossbar.
Seven minutes later, Canterbury went to their lineout maul and used it effectively for hooker Brodie McAlister to score.
That saw Otago go to the break four points to the better at 14-10 as the result of first five-eighths Cameron Millar's successful conversion.
Five minutes into the second half, Otago's failure to hold the ball in a lineout saw Canterbury pounce. Moving the ball quickly, it reached centre Braydon Ennor, who in-passed to McLeod, who then threw a long pass to Manasa Mataele out on the wing, and he had too much speed for Otago fullback Sam Gilbert to get a decent tackle on him.
Holding their momentum, Canterbury were soon back on the attack, with their pack dominating the breakdowns. Ennor had a chance but was well tackled. However, he got back on his feet and running back into position on the outside, he took a pass and made no mistake with his second chance to extend the lead.
Relishing the perfect conditions, Canterbury launched an assault from halfway with Mataele charging down the sideline. When challenged, he passed inside where first five-eighths Andrew Knewstubb was running a support line. He then fed halfback Louie Chapman over for a deserved try to reward his effort at the base of the pack.
Down 14-31, Otago responded when replacement fullback Finn Hurley ran onto wing Jona Nareki's short pass after taking a clearing kick.O
Otago ran the ball across the field, and then back to midfield, where Hurley put fellow replacement Josh Whaanga into space. He was tackled by fullback Chay Fihaki short of the line, but quick support saw replacement prop Benjamin Lopas drive over to close the gap.
However, 12 minutes from the end, some punishing low driving play from the Canterbury forwards whittled down Otago's defence, and it was replacement prop Gus Brown who scored the try too far for Otago.
Not that the southerners were giving up, and two minutes from the end, Umaga-Jensen put Nareki over out wide, but moments later, skipper Tom Christie had the honour of kicking the ball into touch for the win to be secured.
Canterbury 36 (Dallas McLeod, Brodie McAlister, Manasa Mataele, Braydon Ennor, Louie Chapman, Gus Brown tries; Chay Fihaki 3 con) Otago 28 (Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Luke Casey, Benjamin Lopas, Jona Nareki tries; Cameron Millar 3 con; Finn Hurley con). HT: 10-14