News

Preview: Air NZ Cup, Part One

Wednesday 03rd September 2008

Hawke's Bay: Hunting a hat-trick of wins

It's Round Six of the Air New Zealand Cup and Taranaki's quest has slipped under the radar during the past couple of days with the All Blacks in town.

But Taranaki would happily slip quietly into Napier on a hit-and-run mission and shoot down one of the competition's high flyers when they face Hawke's Bay on Thursday.

On Friday, Wellington will be out to secure a home quarter-final when they take on Manawatu, while Bay of Plenty and Otago will be looking to make amends for their respective losses last weekend with a win on the half-way mark of the thirteen-week tournament.

We preview the action!

Hawke's Bay v Taranaki

Hawke's Bay are starting to look as good as they were a year ago and will be eyeing a third straight win when they take on Taranaki at McLean Park in Napier on Thursday.

The Magpies got back into the sort of form their die-hard fans witnessed twelve months ago, collecting a big win at Blenheim two weeks back and securing the province's first victory over Otago for 24 years in Dunedin last Friday.

This season didn't start so well for last year's surprise package, but the two successive wins have seen them come into good form of late.

Taranaki were a lot better against Northland than they had been for some time. Both the bonus point and the five tries were well deserved.

The win lifted Taranaki from the bottom to mid-table on nine points, just one outside the competition's top eight.

However their victory came at a cost and the Amber-and-Blacks will be without winger Paul Perez, who rolled his ankle soon after scoring a try in last Friday's 39-21 win in New Plymouth.

His replacement for the Air New Zealand Cup match is Nathan Hohaia, who hasn't played since limping off with an ankle injury in the Ranfurly Shield match against Auckland on August 10.

The other change from the side that beat Northland is on the blindside flank, where specialist openside flanker Chris Walker replaces Nemia Soqeta. It's a sign Taranaki are looking for more speed in the loose, with Soqeta to be used from the bench.

Despite two of the Magpies' players leaving the field injured last week - captain Danny Lee suffering from a head knock and prop Faka'anaua Taumalolo damaging a shoulder - Hawke's Bay have named an unchanged starting XV.

"They will be tough, but there's no reason why we can't knock them off. We're the underdogs, and rightly so, but we're going over on a mission," Taranaki coach Adrian Kennedy said.

"Hawke's Bay is a very structured side, very mobile and very adept at stealing ball. But we've picked up a lot of confidence from the win over Northland and we're in with a chance."

Prediction: This match is traditionally tight and low-scoring, with two rugged packs battling away for supremacy and tough defensive lines giving nothing away. On 2008 form, it might be more of the same at Napier this Thursday. But we think the Magpies' defence might be a bit tough for Taranaki to break down this time round. Hawke's Bay to win by eight points.

The teams:

Hawke's Bay: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Jason Kupa, 13 Jason Shoemark, 12 Sam Giddens, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Danny Lee (c), 8 George Naoupu, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Michael Johnson, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Matt Egan, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Hikawera Elliot, 1 Faka'anaua Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Josh Keys, 18 Johan Snyman, 19 Adam Bradey, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Daniel Waenga, 22 Mark Jackman.

Taranaki: 15 Asalemo Malo, 14 Nathan Hohaia, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Shayne Austin, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Brett Goodin, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Chris Walker, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Hamish Mitchell, 2 Laurence Corlett, 1 Tony Penn (c). Replacements: 16 James Annabell, 17 Shane Cleaver, 18 Tom Ryder, 19 Nemia Soqeta, 20 Brendan Haami, 21 Corey Niwa, 22 Jack Cameron.

Venue: McLean Park, Napier
Kick-off: 19:05 (07:05 GMT)
Referee: Chris Pollock
TMO: Kelvin Deaker

Friday, September 5

Bay of Plenty v Otago

Bay of Plenty and Otago go head to head a week after going down to Wellington and Hawke's Bay respectively, therefore the outcome of this match is vital for both sides as they seek to maintain their top eight runs.

The Steamers - who until last weekend, were one of two teams unbeaten - came back down hard last week as Wellington ran all over them.

But Otago possibly did it even harder, dropping a home match to Hawke's Bay for the first time in 24 years. The Dark Blues also found Hawke's Bay's defence to be a nearly impenetrable wall last week, only breaching it once - and that was in the match's dying stages.

Bay of Plenty will look to the forwards to get this one rolling, with the tight five required to match a good Otago unit and free the ball-players in the loose trio.

The hosts also will want to send departing scrum-half Jamie Nutbrown off on a winning note as after this match, he has been given an early (paid for) release to join the Ospreys in Wales.

"The strengths of the Steamers this season, are the players' resolves to step up when it counts, and to take ownership of their own individual performances," said Steamers Manager Sean Horan, who is confident his team will bounce back from their thumping last week.

"The feeling within the team is of a very focused unit that are playing with a huge amount of confidence and self-belief."

The teams have met 28 times since 1938 and Otago hold sway with 20 victories - including the biggest margin, a 47-point win (62-15) in 2001.

Prediction: Otago, as ever, will ask the tight five to lay a foundation and the back-line has the ability to create tries. But we feel the home side will run the show this weekend and steal a close encounter. Bay of Plenty to win by five points or less.

Bay of Plenty: 15 Zar Lawrence, 14 Lance MacDonald, 13 Cory Aporo, 12 Nigel Hunt, 11 Jason Hona, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Jamie Nutbrown, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Tanerau Latimer (c), 6 Solomon King, 5 Culum Retallick, 4 John Moore, 3 James McGougan, 2 John Pareanga, 1 Joe Savage.
Replacements: 16 Dean Elmiger, 17 Matt Wallis, 18 Aidan Kuka, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Kelly Haimona, 21 Paula Asaeli, 22 Toby Arnold.

Otago: 15 Glen Horton, 14 Lucky Mulipola, 13 Aaron Bancroft, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11 Ben Smith, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Toby Morland, 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Craig Newby (c), 6 Seko Qaraniqio, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Ross Kennedy, 3 Ben Nolan, 2 Peter Mirrielees, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements: 16 Jason MacDonald, 17 Jed Vercoe, 18 Paul Grant, 19 Eben Joubert, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Dan Snee, 22 Karne Hesketh.

Venue: Bay Park Stadium, Mount Maunganui
Kick-off: 19.35 (07.35 GMT)
Referee: Vinny Munro
TMO: Ben Skeen

Manawatu v Wellington

Manawatu are now firmly caught in a bottom eight fight-off for every competition point that is on offer and their weekend clash against tournament leaders Wellington won't help matters either.

In contrast to the Turbos, Wellington are already top eight qualifiers and are now searching to secure a home quarter-final position.

Manawatu sre probably better than their lowly standing on the ladder suggests, but only by a couple of places.

Wellington are five from five and with a full hand of bonus points for a reason - the Lions are a good team playing good rugby. They can create chances themselves - and do - but will never turn down a gift and have slaughtered teams off turnovers this season.

Anyone wanting to beat them has to play almost error-free rugby for 80 minutes to have a shot at it.

Turbos coach Dave Rennie will be aware that his team has had more than its fair share of opportunities to gather points and that for contrasting reasons the game against Wellington this Friday may hold the key in the local team's fight towards a top eight position in the Air New Zealand Cup.

Rennie wouldn't have liked hearing the news of openside flanker and captain Josh Bradnock still struggling with an Achilles injury and he has been bracketed with youngster Doug Tietjens.

Veteran scrum-half Joggie Viljoen has been dropped for Aaron Good after his late tap penalty in the 20-17 loss to North Harbour cost Manawatu a valuable draw last Saturday.

For Wellington, Michael Hobbs becomes the fourth player to be named to start at fly-half this season as coach Jamie Joseph makes three changes to the team that thumped Bay of Plenty last Saturday.

Hobbs replaces Piri Weepu, who is on All Blacks duty, with lock Jeremy Thrush reclaiming the captaincy and blindside flanker Chris Masoe also coming into the side.

There are two changes on the bench with prop Arden David and utility Tomasi Palu coming in for prop Neemia Tialata, who is with the All Blacks, and Buxton Popoali'i respectively.

David, who has been recalled from Bay of Plenty where he was on loan, is set to achieve a rare feat - representing his province a week after playing against them.

The Lions and Turbos have met 63 times since 1887, with Wellington well ahead on 46 wins - with their 66-point margin (69-3 in 1990) also the biggest win.

Prediction: We can only see a big Wellington win in this one. 20 points or more - and another bonus point for the Lions.

Manawatu: 15 Kurt Bake, 14 Lote Raikabula, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Francis Bryant, 11 Andre Taylor, 10 Matty James, 9 Aaron Good, 8 Hamish Gosling, 7 Josh Bradnock/Doug Tietjens (c), 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 James Goode, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 David Te Moana, 2 Rob Foreman, 1 Grant Polson.
Replacements: 16 Sean O'Connor, 17 Talau Hala, 18 Paul Rodgers, 19 Doug Tietjens/Mitchell Crosswell, 20 Issac Thompson, 21 Aaron James, 22 Francisco Bosch.

Wellington Lions: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Michael Hobbs, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Chris Masoe, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Jeremy Thrush (c), 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Eugene Smith, 17 Arden David, 18 Ross Filipo, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Scott Fuglistaller, 21 Tomasi Palu, 22 Fa'atonu Fili.

Venue: FMG Stadium, Palmerston North
Kick-off: 19:35 (07:35 GMT)
Referee: Steve Walsh
Television match official: Chris Pollock