[STREAMING##] Counties Manukau - Taranaki live match 4 August 2023
Cama then produced the try of the night. The ball was freed to him after another forward surge and he threaded the ball through the defence with a neat kick before pouncing on the off-breaking ball to dot down with Maitland going the wrong way. A Shannon Paku midfield burst broke the Canterbury defence and Casey Stone took his offload at speed and comfortably beat the cover for a bonus-point. Canterbury recovered their poise to run in two scrappy tries to centre Robbie Fruean and another to wing Telusa Veainu, putting their challenge back on track after opening with a 23-23 draw against Hawke's Bay. Elsewhere on Saturday, Southland provided the precision and challengers Otago the passion as the former retained rugby's Ranfurly Shield 16-12 in Invercargill.
Waikato snatched a stunning 21-18 win over Auckland 50 seconds after the final siren on Saturday. Waikato kept their composure and discipline in the final minutes, their forwards earning field position deep in the Auckland 22 before the ball was flung wide for hard-working wing Dwayne Sweeney to score in the left-hand corner at Eden Park in Auckland.
It had looked so promising for Manawatu. Playing with organisation and flair, they had made the defending champions look like a rabble as they rammed four tries home in the first 44 minutes. First five-eighth Tomasi Cama was Manawatu's star, pulling the strings in midfield to set up the opening try for fellow New Zealand Sevens star Lote Raikabula after just six minutes and later scoring one himself. Canterbury replied quickly through fullback Sean Maitland but a Manawatu pack ably led by skipper Nick Croswell then put an armlock on the forwards battle to crack an opening for Raikabula to surge through and grab his second try.
Renata and opposing fly-half Mathew Berquist traded penalties before Waikato went ahead in the 24th minute when fullback Sosene Anesi capped a counter-attack launched by Sweeney back on his 22. Renata's conversion gave Waikato a seven-point buffer but that was erased in the 33rd minute when Auckland flanker Onosa'i Auva'a scored in the left-hand corner after Berquist broke into the 22 then positioned himself for the recycled ball to provide the last pass to Auva'a. On Thursday, reigning champions Canterbury notched their first win of the ITM Cup season in Palmerston North on Thursday, but in truth they robbed a feisty Manawatu side of the spoils by sneaking one 27-26.
Counties Manukau make it two from twoESPN StaffAug 8, 2010, 07:33 AMCounties-Manukau showed last week's upset win over Otago in the ITM Cup was no fluke by dominating Wellington for a 31-25 win in the capital on Sunday. Counties-Manukau took the game to a peculiarly listless Wellington in the first spell, playing with real intensity to totally dominate the home team and lead 23-3 at half-time. Although Wellington came out in the second spell with more focus, Counties-Manukau proved equal to the task and held off a late Wellington surge to record their second win in as many games. With Counties-Manukau player-coach Tana Umaga standing down ahead of next weekend's Ranfurly Shield challenge against Southland, Reynold Lee-Lo pulled on the No.
Treeby himself crossed two minutes later to further narrow the gap, but Tuala redeemed himself for an earlier knock-on with a try after Counties-Manukau moved the ball wide from a turnover. Wellington had the last say with two minutes to go, Charlie Ngatai crashing over and the conversion secured Wellington a bonus point.
Little separated the teams on the scoreboard or the field in rainy conditions. It appeared Auckland had done enough for victory once No. 8 Peter Saili found space to score a try four minutes after halftime on the back of a 30-phase build-up to give Auckland an 18-13 advantage, but a Trent Renata penalty narrowed the margin before Sweeney's match-winner. Waikato had to wait all of 28 seconds for their first points, courtesy of a Renata penalty after the hosts coughed up possession from the kick-off then infringed at a ruck.
Taranaki vs Counties Manukau Prediction & Betting Tips