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A preseason Ranfurly Shield match against Otago in Alexandra on Friday has set Mid Canterbury Hammers up “nicely” for the upcoming Heartland competition and their Meads Cup defence, head coach Matt Winter says.
"They gave it a red hot crack and should be really proud,” he said.
The game, played at Molyneux Park saw Mid Canterbury lose 14-78.
Winter said there were lot of learnings from the outing and, despite facing such formidable opposition, he said no one gave up.
"Every player kept getting off the ground.”
“We obviously won’t get that sort of test again in the competition that we play in, so to be put up against them first up and have a few questions asked of us was a great opportunity.”
Looking forward, Winter said the squad has never been as prepared as they were now for the upcoming competition which starts August 15 against North Otago in Oamaru.
Winter made special mention of Mid Canterbury supporters who made the trip south to back the team.
"Their support was just phenomenal. It was hard to put into words what it meant to see everyone there and hear them make the noise that they did.”
"That is something the boys will have with them forever as that was pretty special,” he said.
At half time, and with his side up 43-0, Otago coach Mark Brown said he had urged his side to keep their standards high at halftime.
“I’ve got mixed feelings, I suppose,’’ he told odt.co.nz when asked how he felt his side performed.
“It was a good scoreline. You can't be too disappointed by that.
“And a lot of our opportunities were created through some good phase play, especially through some good defensive pressure which created turnovers.
“We wanted to come out of the shed (at halftime) with some higher standards and to keep the error rate down.
“But we gave away a few penalties and we gave away some possession.
“So, yeah, a good hit-out but there's still plenty to work on.”
Otago took under a minute to open the scoring. Fullback Finn Hurley, who was on light duties and only played about 20 minutes, got on the end of the chain and scored out wide.
Cameron Miller attempted the conversion without a kicking tee and pushed it wide.
Mid Canterbury did not shrink back into their shell, though.
They gave the ball some air, but the accuracy was not there.
They turned it over. Otago moved the ball out to the left, kicked ahead, and Kieran McClea scooped up the ball after it took a nasty bounce and scored.
Otago had total dominance in the scrum and the game quickly resembled a training run.
Seasoned No 8 Charles Elton, who was a late replacement for Christian Lio-Willie, who was ill, made a strong charge towards the line.
The tries kept coming and the points kept pace with the minutes played.
Ben Lopas rumbled over and Millar ran through a yawning gap.
It was messy, though. The passing, in particular, was loose.
The forward pack had the game under control.
Lock Fabian Holland, in his return to play following a five-month absence, pulled down a lineout and Lucas Casey drove over.
Loose forward Mitch Gibson provided Mid Canterbury fans with a highlight. He wrong-footed a couple of defenders in the midfield, put in a grubber and beat Jona Nareki to the ball.
Nareki got a yellow card for flopping over the top.
Sam Nemec-Vial, who replaced Hurley midway through the half, wriggled over for a sixth try for Otago just before the break. It was the first of three for the impressive Green Island outside back.
Mid Canterbury started the second 40 minutes strongly. They battered away and lock Manasa Samo drove over.
Otago’s defence was pretty solid but finally relented.
Nareki returned from the naughty step and promptly scored.
But the try of the game went to the nippy Otago halfback.
McClea made a dart down the blindside, tip-toed along the touch, sold a dummy and ran in from 50m out.
Mid Canterbury replacement halfback Jordy Gray scored from a quick tap in what was a spirited second spell.
Scores:
Otago 78: Sam Nemec-Vial 3, Kieran McClea 2, Finn Hurley, Charles Elton, Ben Lopas, Cameron Millar, Lucas Casey, Jona Nareki, Harry Irving tries; Millar 7 con, Mackenzie Palmer 2 con.
Mid Canterbury 14: Manasa Samo, Jordy Gray tries; Ben Innes 2 con.
~ Additional reporting Allied Media