Otago finished their bitterly disappointing campaign with an impressive 38-22 win against Counties-Manukau at Forsyth Barr Stadium today.
Their final act was a bittersweet moment.
Finn Hurley hit the line with pace and ran through the gap he spotted from at least 10m back. He bounced free from the cover defence and got away an offload which was shovelled wide to Jeremiah Asi, who scampered to the corner to score an utterly brilliant try.
It was a glimpse of an Otago team their fans had been hoping to see a lot more of.
Having stuttered their way through a decidedly average season, it was quite a final 40 minutes from the home team.
What did we learn from it?
That Nathan Hastie is the best halfback in the province and should have played more.
Rookie Josh Whaanga has a very bright future ahead. He carried strongly again and reached out to score one of the four tries Otago posted in the second spell.
Sam Gilbert impressed at second five where he was able to get the best out of his imposing physical presence.
Will Stodart’s charge from the back of a 5m scrum to score was another nice moment.
But none of it matters a jot, really. The game was a dead rubber for both sides.
The playoff berths had already been claimed.
Otago did climb one spot to 11th place, with three wins from 10 games.
But, if anything, the win against Counties-Manukau only highlighted how much the side underperformed this season.
The opening 20 minutes did not generate a lot of excitement.
The small crowd of perhaps 500 got jolted awake when Counties worked a move from the back of the lineout and got a lovely inside ball to winger Josh Gray, who smashed through Henry Bell’s tackle to score.
Gilbert led the fight back. He got a flat pass to Hurley, who had ran a nice line between two defenders and sprinted in Otago’s first try.
Counties fullback Etene Nanai-Seturo helped his side recapture the lead. He got the ball out wide, beat Hurley with a big left-foot step and jigged his way around another couple on his way to the line.
But Otago got back in front before the break.
Lock Fabian Holland ran through a gap. He got chopped down but Otago swung the ball right and winger John Tapueluelu crossed.
Gilbert opened the scoring in the second half when he hit the ball hard and barged over with the help of his team-mates. That set the tone for an impressive half from the home side.
It was a nice way for lock Josh Dickson to sign off on a 79-game Otago career.
- The Ranfurly Shield changed hands on Saturday.
Hawke’s Bay upset Wellington 20-18 to end their unbeaten run and snaffled the trophy.
Replacement loose forward Sam Smith crashed over from close range with a minute remaining to level the score, and Lincoln McClutchie kicked the conversion from in front to seal the win.
But photographs emerged yesterday of the Log o’Wood in two pieces.
Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union chief executive said the damage occurred when a player accidentally dropped it on a concrete floor.
Despite the loss, Wellington finished the round-robin at the top of the table and will host Waikato in a quarterfinal.
Waikato had sealed their playoff spot with a narrow 37-35 against Canterbury in Hamilton, while Taranaki dispatched North Harbour 54-21 in New Plymouth to secure second place and will play Tasman, who lost their final round-robin game to Bay of Plenty 41-12 in Tauranga.
The Steamers’ win saw them edge ahead of Hawke’s Bay in the standings and secure a home quarterfinal against their neighbours.
Canterbury will host Auckland in the other quarterfinal.
Southland rounded out their campaign with a 37-12 win against Manawatū in Palmerston North.
It was the Stags’ first win in more than a year, and first win away from Invercargill since 2015.
NPC
The scores
Otago 38
Finn Hurley, John Tapueluelu, Sam Gilbert, Josh Whaanga, Will Stodart, Jeremiah Asi tries; Gilbert 4 con
Counties-Manukau 22
Josh Gray, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Ioane Moananu, Blake Makiri tries; Riley Hohepa con.
Halftime: 14-12
