News

Otago end Lions' unbeaten run

October 04 2008

Against all odds, Otago ended Wellington's nine-match Air New Zealand Cup winning streak with a 36-21 victory at Carisbrook on Saturday.

Down 3-14 at half-time, Otago scored five tries in the second spell, two each by returning All Black loose forward Adam Thomson and hard-running winger Karne Hesketh.

The result means the Lions miss out on the opportunity to finish this year's regular season unbeaten as they head into next Saturday's home quarter-final match at Westpac Stadium.

But they were up against an extremely spirited and passionate Otago side, that left it to the last game of their season to play their best rugby and regain the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy.

Led by their inspirational captain Craig Newby - playing his last game for Otago before jetting off to join Leceister Tigers in the UK - the home team maintained a high level of intensity throughout.

But it was the Lions who scored first up the left hand touchline through Tu Umaga-Marshall, who showed good skills to scoop up an awkward pass off the ground and run around Hesketh for the try.

Wellington kept pressing hard and on several occasions threatened to add to Umaga-Marshall's try, the closest of these opportunities being a long-range turnover and a kick and chase into the Otago's goalline by Michael Hobbs.

However the Lions centre was just beaten to the loose ball by a flying Newby.

A break by scrum-half Alby Mathewson from 40 metres out and carried on by bloodbin replacement Fa'atonu Fili and number eight Thomas Waldrom was only undone by the good defensive work of Otago's last line of defence in full-back Chris Noakes.

But the visitors' second try came soon after following separate lunges at the line by blindside flanker Api Naikatini and Umaga-Marshall. The Lions spun the ball wide across Otago's posts through the fast hands of Fili and full-back Buxton Popoalii with flanker Scott Fuglistaller waiting at the end of he chain to score in his first Air New Zealand Cup start.

Otago struck three minutes into the second spell, hooker Peter Mirrielees passing to Hesketh on halfway and the winger beat two tackles and raced 50 metres for a fine try.

Noakes converted and Otago were right back in the game at 14-10.

Five minutes later Hesketh was in again after Sean Romans took a quick tap and broke the Lions' defence ending in his team-mate sprinting 35 metres to his seventh try of the season.

Noakes' conversion struck the upright but Otago were ahead 15-14.

Otago extended their lead after 20 minutes when, from another quick tap penalty, Thomson wrong-footed the defence and raced 22 metres to the posts.

Noakes converted and Otago had increased their lead to 22-14.

The momentum was with Otago and Daniel Kirkpatrick missed a handy penalty attempt which would have brought Wellington back within range.

Otago struck a damaging blow sixteen minutes from the end when left wing Alipate Fatefihi intercepted a wayward pass and raced 40 metres to a try under the posts which Noakes dually converted.

When Wellington replacement Ma'a Nonu bashed over for his side's third try eight minutes from the end and Kirkpatrick converted to make it 29-21, a comeback victory looked on the cards.

However Thomson made the game safe for Otago when he latched on to a wayward Wellington pass and sprinted clear to the posts for the match-winning try. The departing Newby converted to make it 36-21.

Wellington finish the round robin top on 44 points while Otago increased their tally to 22, but miss out on a place in the play-offs.

The bonus-point victory was never going to be enough to prolong Otago's otherwise dismal campaign into the quarter-finals, but they at least finished on a high note.

The scorers:

For Otago:

Tries: Hesketh 2, Thomson 2, Setephano

Cons: Noakes 3, Newby

Pen: Noakes

For Wellington:

Tries: Umaga-Marshall, Fuglistaller, Nonu

Cons: F Fili, Kirkpatrick

Otago: 15 Chris Noakes, 14 Karne Hesketh, 13 Brett Mather, 12 Dan Snee, 11 Andrew Parata, 10 Daniel Bowden, 9 Sean Romans, 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Adam Thomson, 6 Craig Newby (c), 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Ross Kennedy, 3 Ben Nolan, 2 Peter Mirrielees, 1 Keith Cameron.

Replacements: 16 Jason Macdonald, 17 Jed Vercoe, 18 Uili Kolo'ofai, 19 Eben Joubert, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Alipate Fatefehi, 22 Glen Dickson.

Wellington: 15 Buxton Popoalii, 14 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 13 Tane Tu'ipulotu, 12 Michael Hobbs, 11 Joe Hill, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Scott Fuglistaller, 6 Chris Masoe (c), 5 Ross Filipo, 4 Api Naikatini, 3 John Schwalger, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 Neemia Tialata.

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Tim Fairbrother, 18 Jeremy Thrush, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Tomasi Palu, 21 Fa'atonu Fili, 22 Ma'a Nonu.

Referee: Garratt Williamson

TMO: Josh Noonan