Counties Manukau have successfully defended the Ranfurly Shield, repelling challengers Hawke’s Bay 12-7 in Pukekohe.<\/p>\n
Their late season resurgence, which saw them claim the shield from Northland last weekend, was capped by this gutsy victory, after they held out repeated attacks from Hawke’s Bay.<\/p>\n
Counties Manukau led 12-0 at halftime, after tries from back-rower Adam Brash and Melani Matavao. They looked to have scored a third, before the video official spotted a knock-in the lead-up.<\/p>\n
That score reflected their dominance at the breakdown, but things changed in the second half, with the Magpies starting to dominate possession and mounting repeated phase attacks.<\/p>\n
Handling mistakes let them down until the 60th minute, when repeated phases took their toll on the Steelers defence. In the end, a dummy pass from halfback Folau Fakatava fooled them and he fed winger Darby Lancaster, who charged over for the try.<\/p>\n
It was frantic from then on, as Hawke’s Bay tried to repeat the effort, but the determination of the Counties side was all-too-evident, as they hustled and harried the Magpies into more errors.<\/p>\n
In the end, that determination paid off and the shield will stay in Pukekohe over the summer.<\/p>\n
The Counties side had to cling on, despite losing influential captain Jimmy Tupou to injury in the 53rd minute.<\/p>\n
Tupou was proud of his teammates’ efforts.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think we could have won that game any better way,” he told Sky Sport. “Some of those defensive sets I am so proud of.”<\/p>\n
Tupou said the reaction of fans who mobbed the players after the final whistle showed how much the shield meant to people.<\/p>\n
“I think every little inch of Counties has got the shield too.”<\/p>\n
The result leaves Hawke’s Bay in fifth place on the NPC table, which means they miss out on hosting a quarterfinal, when the playoffs start next weekend. Their opponents will be known after tomorrow’s final two regular season matches.<\/p>\n
Counties Manukau’s season has ended on a high note. They were having a dismal season on form, before winning the shield last weekend, but now finish with with four wins and 12th place out of 14 teams.<\/p>\n