RugbyFirst

[kiwilinzi]

Canterbury have run out winners of the Air New Zealand Cup against Wellington who cannot seem to come up with the goods to win one of these comps after again ending up as the bridesmaid .

Don;t think they can blame the ref this time though .. More to do with their own dumb Game plan in the first half where they did not want to play rugby at all and just persisted in booting the ball down to the Canterbury back three who duly obliged by just running it back right through the Lions to dot down

Good match , great rugby played overall and Canterbury deserved the win ..

Colin Slade and Sean Maitland are a cut above the rest .. I know both S C and myself have pointed to both these players on a number of occasions suggesting they are the real deal . Both showed in this match that they certainly are and both in my opinion will be serious contenders at All Black selection time sooner rather than later .. The NZRU would be well advised to lock these two up long term right now ..

Canterbury retain Air NZ Cup title

07th November 2009 08:17

Canterbury survived a late fightback from Wellington to defend their Air New Zealand Cup crown with a thrilling 28-20 win in Christchurch on Saturday.

It was a deserving win for the defending champions and a brave effort from the Lions, whose dismal record in their search for that elusive title continued after losing their fourth final in a row.

It was always going to be a daunting case of playing catch-up rugby for the visitors after the hosts stormed into an unassailable 18-3 lead at half-time, thanks to a brace of tries to full-back Colin Slade.

With fly-half Stepehn Brett - in good form with the boot - converting one and slotting two penalties, a lethargic Wellington were left with a mountain to climb.

The match seemed destined for a repeat of last week's semi-final between Canterbury and Hawke's Bay (won 20-3 by the red and blacks), as Wellington - like the Magpies - were left hanging on the ropes at the break.

But an intercept try to centre Alapati Leuia midway through the second half and a late touchdown to replacement Scott Fuglistaller brought the Lions back into the match, setting up a nail-biting finish that so nearly ended in Wellington's favour.

However the damage was already done thanks to that man Slade who may have made New Zealand coach Graham Henry regret the decision to leave him behind on the All Blacks end-of-year tour.

Slade was outstanding in the first half -- he took every high bomb Wellington sent in his direction and was always an option for the man with the ball in free play.

His first try came when a promising Wellington attack sparked by wing David Smith was snuffed out in a turnover and lock Sam Whitelock found the full-back at his shoulder.

Slade easily galloped 60 metres unchallenged for the opening score.

The second try came when the ball sped across the backline from a line-out and hit Slade as he chimed in at pace to beat the defence from close range.

Weepu, with two inexperienced midfielders in Shaun Treeby and Alapati Leuia, outside him was unable to find any gaps to exploit and the ball rarely reached his wings. Smith was busy, but Hosea Gear never got into the game.

With an ample supply of ammunition, Canterbury's backs - celebrating centre Casey Laulala's final match before joining Cardiff Blues in Wales - ran with panache throughout the game.

Wellington came out with more intensity for the second half as they chased the scoreboard.

Wellington coach Jamie Joseph sent on hard running Dane Coles for hooker Ged Robinson, Fa'atonu Fili for full-back Apoua Stewart and Fuglistaller for number eight Mathew Luamanu early in the second half.

The trio added some much needed spark as Wellington abandoned the kicking game and proved more of a threat with ball in hand. When Leuia ghosted into the Canterbury backline for an intercept try in the 54th minute, it gave the Lions a much-needed lift.

But Canterbury's reply was eloquently delivered by wing Sean Maitland in the 60th minute, finishing off an elegant 40 metre run that left three tacklers for dead for an unconverted try.

Aided by the sin-binning of Slade in the 66th minute after killing the ball on the ground, Wellington scored a penalty off Weepu and then a converted try by Fuglistaller.

But the Canterbury defence held a desperate Wellington out as the time ticked down and Brett sealed the triumph with a 77th minute penalty.

The scorers:

For Canterbury:
Tries: Slade 2, Maitland
Cons: Brett 2
Pens: Brett 3

For Wellington:
Tries: Leuia, Fuglistaller
Cons: Weepu 2
Pens: Weepu 2

Yellow card: Slade (Canterbury, 66min)

Canterbury: 15 Colin Slade, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Tu Umaga-Marshall, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Nasi Manu, 7 George Whitelock (c), 6 Michael Paterson, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Peter Borlase, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Andrew Olorenshaw.
Replacements: 16 Steve Fualau, 17 Rodney Ah You, 18 Ash Parker, 19 Matt Todd, 20 Willi Heinz, 21 Ryan Crotty, 22 James Paterson

Wellington: 15 Apoua Stewart, 14 David Smith, 13 Alapati Leuia, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Piri Weepu, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Mathew Luamanu, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Daniel Ramsay, 4 Jacob Ellison (c), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Ged Robinson, 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Arden David-Perrot, 18 Mark Reddish, 19 Scott Fuglistaller, 20 Fa'atonu Fili, 21 Robert Fruean, 22 Daniel Kirkpatrick.

Date: Saturday, November 7
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19:35 (06:35 GMT)
Referee: Vinny Munro
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock, Jonathon White
TMO: Keith Brown

[smartcooky]

No doubt at all Linzi.

Colin Slade, Sean Maitland and to a lesser extent Ryan Crotty are class players. The NZRU needs to get these guys signed up to play Super 14, although I think Slade and Crotty already have captured eligibility for NZ by virtue of having played for the Junior All Blacks in the 2009 PNC. However Sean Maitland hasn't, and we need to get this guy signed up so that he doesn't turn up playing against us in Wallaby jumper.

These three I see as being part of the future AB backline, along with Israel Dagg, Zac Guildford and Cory Jane.

[kiwilinzi]

Shoooosh S C ..

Don't go alerting the Aussies to these players , Particularly Dingo Deans .. He is the one person who knows exactly how good Maitland is ..

He personally came up to Hamilton and signed him up right under our noses and took him back to the Crusaders as an 18 year old . He spotted him as I once said before playing in the N Z School Boy final for Hamilton Boys High against Rotorua Boys high and came up the next year and grabbed him .. He had no problems tossing him in the Super 14 Final either as an 18 year old which the Crusaders won ..

All Those you mentioned have Current Super 14 contracts with the Crusaders so no worries there ..
You are right about Crotty and Slade , They are captured and I think Maitland might be as well .. I know he was not available for the original Junior A B selection this season as he was injured , but I seem to remember he was called in late as a replacement for one of the Wingers that was drafted in as A B squad cover .Might have been for Gear or Masaga I think ..

I would have to check that ..

Anyway .. We don't want Deans pinching any New Zealand talent .. He has 5 New Zealand Born Players now in his current Wallaby Touring side

Richard Kingi , Digby Iaone , Quade Cooper , James O'Connor and Dean Mumm are all New Zealand Born talent pinched by those Aussies ..