Ranfurly Shield The scores Canterbury 19 Brodie McAlister 2, Jamie Hannah tries; Richie Mo’unga 2 con Otago 15 Lucas Casey, Ben Lopas tries; Cameron Millar con, pen Halftime: 12-3 Canterbury will take the Ranfurly Shield back home with them to Christchurch. They edged Otago 19-15 in front of 7162 fans at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The home team had a late opportunity to snatch the win and hold on to the Log o’ Wood. Otago reserve prop Ben Lopas crashed over to set up a tense final five minutes. But Canterbury dominated the lineout and scored all three of their tries through drives. Otago’s lineout was wonky and it proved costly. They blew several prime opportunities. Canterbury had an early escape when Jona Nareki was ruled to have knocked the ball on while attempting to regather a chip ahead. The Otago winger went over in the corner. But after multiple replays, the try was ruled out. The home team had all the early ball but were knocked back by some bruising defence. The visitors were able to wriggle their way out of trouble and pounced from their first raid in the 22. Hooker Brodie McAlister flopped over from a lineout drive from 10m out. Big Otago lock Joseva Tamani busted through in the midfield shortly after, but the promising move was snuffed out. Cameron Millar got Otago on the scoreboard with a penalty in the 25th minute. They had played a lot of rugby for just three points. That ambition nearly cost them five points when Dallas McLeod scooped up some loose ball and looked to have slid over. He had lost his grip on the ball just before the line, though. Somehow Nareki emerged with the ball and launched a counterattack. Canterbury searched for a second try late in the half. Millar managed to hold up a determined Dominic Gardiner. Lucas Casey came up with a 50-22 to get his side into a prime attacking spot. But another wonky lineout allowed Canterbury to swing back on to attack. Lock Jamie Hannah crashed over in the corner after peeling off from another lineout drive to make it 12-3 at the break. Otago continued to battle in the lineout and they received ironic applause when they hit the target. Emboldened, they turned down a handy penalty in favour of setting up a 5m lineout moments later. They got the ball back only just. Canterbury reserve hooker Manumaua Letiu picked up a yellow card after his side had repeatedly got offside. That meant the scrums had to go to golden oldies and Canterbury had to lose another player because they had caused the problem. Casey crashed over moments later and the game was briefly back in the balance. But Canterbury went back to their trusty lineout and nabbed a third try. McAlister drove over for a second. It was getting repetitive. Otago finally got into the act. Reserve hooker Nic Souchon got thunderous cheer when he found Will Stodart with a lineout throw 5m from the line. The maul got fractured but Lopas muscled over to set up an exciting finish. In the other NPC games this weekend, Auckland and Bay of Plenty had 34-31 wins against Wellington and Northland respectively, while Hawke’s Bay clobbered Tasman 50-19. Manawatū play Southland in the late game on Sunday.
