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Otago win southern derby thriller

Saturday 02nd August 2008

Try time: MacDonald got one of Otago's three tries

Otago got the better of southern rivals Southland in a thrilling 25-23 Air New Zealand Cup derby win in Invercargil on Saturday.

Southland ended a 30-year winless drought against Otago in Dunedin last winter but the visitors prevailed in what was the 229th meeting between the provinces since 1887.

They were made to earn the result, though, after what began as an unadventurous affair burst to life in the second half.

Otago rookie fly-half Chris Noakes kept his nerve and kicked a long-range penalty in injury time to snatch victory for the visitors.

The hosts deserved the win too, after scoring three tries to one, but an 18-point haul from his Southland pivot Blair Stewart seemed destined to deny Otago.

Stewart kicked off in front of a large crowd and, within a minute, he had put Southland ahead with a penalty from 22 metres.

Otago scored the first try after 16 minutes when Toby Morland and Aaron Bancroft probed at the line from a set scrum and, from the ensuing ruck, the home side worked play to the left where hooker Jason Macdonald crashed over in the corner.

Noakes converted splendidly to make it 7-3, and was on hand to add a penalty soon after.

Stewart kept Southland in touch with another two penalties of his own, each awarded on the few occasions that the home side broke out of their own territory.

Otago went to the break with a 10-9 lead, but Southland edged in front 12 minutes into the second spell when quick ruck ball was swiftly ferried left where young lock Daniel Ramsay crashed over in the corner.

Stewart missed the conversion but Southland was ahead, 14-10.

Southland almost immediately surged back on to attack from the kickoff as the game quickened in pace but it was Otago who scored next after lock Tom Donnelly effected a turnover at a midfield ruck.

Donnelly snapped the ball up before sharp handling by the Otago backs gave wing Lucky Mulipola the space he needed to score down the right-hand touchline.

Noakes again converted from the sideline to give his team a three-point lead which was cancelled out three minutes later when Stewart landed a drop-goal to level the scores at 17-17.

The pace of the match continued and centre Brett Mather chopped off his left foot to score a fine try after quick hands by Bancroft.

Noakes missed the conversion but Otago led 22-17.

But Southland struck back almost immediately, Stewart kicking a wide-angled penalty from more than 40 metres to bring Southland back within two points.

Play was fast and furious in the final stages, with the Stags' backs combining in a thrilling breakout four minutes from the end.

Stewart struck again with another penalty with just four minutes left in the match after Otago were caught offside at a ruck. 23-22 to Southland and Otago were staring down the barrell of yet another defeat to their South Island neighbours.

But there was one last twist in the game, with just 11 seconds of normal time on the clock, referee Chris Pollock penalised Southland for offside play as they trailed back to regather a kick.

Up stepped Noakes, who nervelessly delivered for his team - the ball just dropped over the bar to give Otago a thrilling victory.

The scorers:

For Southland:
Try: Ramsay
Pens: Stewart 5
Drop goal: Stewart.

For Otago:
Tries: Macdonald, Mulipola, Mather
Cons: Noakes 2
Pens: Noakes 2

Southland: 15 Mark Wells, 14 Matt Saunders, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Jason Kawau (c), 11 Pehi Te Whare, 10 Blair Stewart, 9 Dane Shelford, 8 Noa Soqeta, 7 Tim Boys, 6 Hoani Macdonald, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Chris King, 2 Matt Holloway, 1 Fai Mika.
Replacements: 16 Jason Rutledge, 17 Michael Peterson, 18 Dion Bates, 19 Hua Tamariki/John Hardie, 20 Scott Cowan, 21 Willie Rickards, 22 Robbie Robinson.

Otago: 15 Glen Horton, 14 Karne Hesketh/Ben Smith, 13 Brett Mather, 12 Aaron Bancroft, 11 Lucky Mulipola, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Toby Morland, 8 Paul Grant, 7 Craig Newby (c), 6 Seko Qaraniqio, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Ross Kennedy, 3 Jed Vercoe, 2 Jason Macdonald, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements: 16 Peter Mirrielees, 17 Jeremy Aldworth, 18 Uili Koloofai, 19 Hoani Matenga, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Dan Snee, 22 Ben Smith/Casey Stone.

Referee: Chris Pollock
TMO: Shane McDermott