Tasman Makos: News

Errors make the difference
26-Oct-2009

Wayne Martin - Nelson Mail
It wasn't the win they so desperately wanted but at least the Tasman Makos finally revealed something of their true character with a spirited showing in Blenheim last night.

Tasman ended their Air New Zealand Cup rugby season with a 22-14 loss to Wellington at Lansdowne Park to put the seal on a campaign that ultimately failed to deliver on its early promise.

Nevertheless, Tasman showed what a little heart and enterprise can achieve as they tore into the Wellingtonians from the outset to almost upset another of the country's traditional heavyweights. Wellington's win assured them of a home semifinal next weekend while leaving Tasman to ruminate on another chapter of missed opportunities.

It was of little consolation to Tasman that they outscored Wellington by two tries to one. Instead, moments of ill-discipline and a frustrating spate of handling errors continued to haunt Tasman as they resurrected their expansive game to cause Wellington some genuine moments of anxiety.

Crucially, though, Tasman committed 13 handling errors to eight and copped a 13-7 penalty count from referee Matt Stanish. Wellington's goalkickers Fa'atonu Fili and eventually Piri Weepu simply obliged by landing five penalties between them, with Weepu's three successes in the final 15 minutes putting the game beyond Tasman's reach.

Mobile lock Daniel Ramsey opened the scoring for Wellington in the 15th minute by finding himself at the end of an expansive back movement.

Tasman took just three minutes to reply – and score their first points since Andrew Goodman's dropped goal against Northland three weeks ago. Captain Goodman was again the provider, pivot James Marshall chasing down his pinpoint grubber kick to score.

Wellington led 13-7 at halftime, with the first of Weepu's penalties pushing them out to 16-7. Tasman's late rally was sparked by a superb try to reserve hooker Dan Perrin who was driven across from a controlled maul after a Glen Gregory lineout win. But Weepu's boot delivered the telling blows to deny Tasman even a solitary bonus point.

Despite the loss, Tasman's effort was a marked improvement on their two previous losses to Southland and Otago.

The intensity was back as Tasman's forwards matched Wellington in all areas, particularly in the scrums, where Tasman created real pressure, and at the breakdowns. And with the likes of centre Kade Poki, fullback Robbie Malneek and winger Afeleki Pelenise providing penetration further out, Wellington were often at full stretch to produce defensive counters.

While frustrated at his players' inability to ultimately deliver the killer punch, Tasman co-coach Bevan Cadwallader was still pleased with his team's overall performance.

Ad Feedback "It was a good effort," he said. "I'm really proud of the guys and it's a real shame to fall short really because we got within a whisker and just a couple of errors and a couple of little moments of ill-discipline in either half cost us.

"They showed a lot of character and we're building. The last thing I want is to have someone take that away from us for whatever reason. It's a bit of a tough pill to swallow, really."

He said it was galling to consider that four years of hard work might now be undone.

"We've had a pretty good season and we're competitive. We've been through all the hard stuff and now we're finally competitive and running the race and someone's trying to pull the rug from under us.

"The NZRU need to realise that they run rugby for us, not the other way round."

Goodman was also relieved to put the last two weeks behind him, despite the frustration of another near miss.

"It was pretty gutting really," he said. "The game was there for us to win. I'm really proud of the boys and what they did out there today. We played some pretty good rugby in phases but I suppose a few discipline things and a couple of calls didn't go our way."

He said the players had responded positively to some public displays of support for the team.

"The boys had been flat the last two weeks, but coming back home and with the support we've had over the week with the rallies and the people wishing us the best, we've really appreciated the support we've had from the Nelson-Marlborough region."

There's nothing more the players can do. So now we wait.

THE SCORERS

Wellington 22 (Daniel Ramsey try, Fa'atonu Fili 2 pens, con, Piri Weepu 3 pens) Tasman 14 (James Marshall, Daniel Perrin tries, Andrew Goodman 2 cons) Ht 13-7.