Recovering stars Timana Tahu and Hugh McMeniman produced powerhouse performances, but couldn’t prevent Australia A suffering a heartbreaking 21-18 loss to New Zealand Maori in their Pacific Nations Cup rugby decider at Sydney Football Stadium.
The Australians came agonisingly close to securing the draw which would have earned them their first PNC title but Mark Gerrard’s last-minute, 45-metre penalty dipped under the crossbar.
The Maori grabbed the win and the title when flanker Thomas Waldrom crossed the line with less then three minutes remaining and completed a hat-trick of tries from the visitors back row.
Inside centre Tahu and reserve backrower McMeniman each enhanced their Tri Nations selection prospects.
Tahu, who missed much of the Waratahs Super campaign scored both of Australia’s tries and frequently tested the Maori defence with his dazzling footwork.
Reds forward McMeniman, who also missed a large chunk of the Super tournament, followed up his cameo in last night’s Test against France, with a eye catching second half performance off the bench today.
Australia led 7-0 early through Tahu’s first try, but Maori held a 14-7 advantage at the break after converted tries to flanker Tanerau Latimer and number eight and captain Liam Messam.
Gerrard kicked two penalties to bring the Australians within one point and Tahu gave them the lead on the hour, when he squeezed through two defenders.
“Tahu described his toughest representative rugby game yet as a `tester’,” Tahu said.
“They were rushing out of a line and I think they just didn’t really care whether I got the ball and tried to do something, they were just out to try and bash me.
“Playing with that sort of pressure, it was actually good.”
Injury prone McMeniman said he had never played games on successive days before and his fitness and confidence had been boosted by his three A team appearances.
“You build confidence and of course your fitness. Usually it takes me about three Super 14 games to be right in the swing of things, so with three A games, I’m definitely on the way,” McMeniman said.
McMeniman and Tahu each earned praise from A coach Phil Mooney who described the dramatic defeat as “a game of lost opportunities”.
“We really gifted them 14 points at the back end of the (first) half and worked really well in the second half to get ourselves into a position from where we probably should have shut the game out,” Mooney said.
“But in the end we just weren’t quite good enough.”
Maori coach Donny Stevenson described his team’s tournament victory as `huge’.
“This is a new rivalry with Australia and its one that’s not going to go away,” Stevenson said.
“We got out to a bit of a lead and I never got complacent because we were putting ourself under so much pressure in terms of retaining the ball and you do that against a team like Australia A and you are going to get punished and we very nearly did.”
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mudskipper said | July 7th 2008 @ 10:07am | Report comment
Mark Gerrard had a great game and got involved as play maker on numerous occasions. He could have been the hero in the last 10 minutes when he nearly juggled an intercept pass with no NZ Maori full back at home. Then last minute penalty kick from 45 out dripped just short of cross bar and winning the cup…Sam Norton-Knight should have been flyhalf all game not just the second half. The Ref blew more whistles than a stream train…
Unfortunately Morgan Turinui’s defence was lacking and two tries were scored through his defensive zone… Enjoyed the match at SFS with my young son…Congratulations to the NZ Maori…
The Riddler said | July 7th 2008 @ 11:12am | Report comment
How was McMeniman able to back up from a test match and play another 40 minutes of international rugby the next day?
If he had given his all on Saturday night (and I’m not suggesting he didnt), then surely he would have been suffering physically on Sunday, not to mention a depleted fuel tank. I am assuming that the Wallabies had a specific recovery session on Sunday morning – maybe McMeniman undertook a different session and then hopped onto a flight down to Sydney and then went through a warm-up session ready for the Maori match.
All seem very bizarre in this day and age when conditioning is so micro-managed.
mudskipper said | July 7th 2008 @ 11:32am | Report comment
McMeniman only played one full game this past weekend, albeit half against the French in Brisbane and the other half 18 hour later against the NZ Maori in Sydney. However Kimlin and Campbell did the bulk of the days work. McMeniman will do well in the Wallabies, and with Rocky going he has a great opportunity to fight for a starting spot.
Perhaps Deans wanted to see more of McMeniman before today’s Wallabies squad announcement for the tri-nations.
chris a said | July 7th 2008 @ 11:44am | Report comment
hi im drew mitchell and i pass the rugby ball to the other team on the fly… Brain Snap!
gezz tahu was strong in that game, every time he got the ball he threatened their line/gave a good offload or made advantage…. and the nz commentators at the start saying it tahu might be australias weak spot.
unfortunatly for carraro his penelty gave NX the chance to win the game, and they did.
it was 4 mins to go winning by 4 points and i thought we had it after winning a tight head on our own 5 metre line. a whole lot better than the 50 point romping last year.
sam said | July 7th 2008 @ 12:21pm | Report comment
Didn’t see the game but I’m not at all surprised to hear that the tries were scored thorugh “Turnstiles Turinui”. How he was ever a wallaby, let alone vice-captain, is beyond me. Lets hope Robbie has a more realistic opinion of Morgan’s skills than his predecessors.
Matt said | July 7th 2008 @ 12:32pm | Report comment
It was a tight game in the end and I felt it would not have done the tournament justice if a draw was the deciding factor (due mainly to the large variation in weather conditions across the various locations).
Tahu looks to be improving rapidly as a Union centre and could well force his way past Barnes by the end of the season. The match was obviously of some importance to the Maori, given the huge celebration that followed Gerrard missed penalty and the subsequent full time whistle. If only the Pacific Island teams could get all their stars back from Europe then the tournament could show a little more spark. The ELV’s will also suit this tournament when they come in ahead of next year.
Just finally, although Donny Stevenson made the comment that this is a new rivalry that “isn’t going to go away” I wouldn’t be surprised if the Junior AB’s are reinstated next year to offer a sterner challange for the silverware. Henry has deplored the lack of real game time for many AB fringe players and many guys have been forced into club rugby to remain match fit.
There were a huge number of talented Kiwi players who were not able to play in this tournament due to the racially based criteria and all would boost the strength of the NZ side greatly.
Blues: Anthony Tuitavake, Isiah Toeava, Nick Williams, Taniala Moa,
Chiefs: Lelia Magasa, Soseni Anesi, Fafili Lavave
Hurricanes: Chris Masoe, John Shwalger, Tane Tuipolotu
Crusaders: Mose Tuiali’i, Casey Laulala,
Highlanders: Fetu Vainakolo, Paul Williams, David Smith,
All of the above contributed well in this years Super 14, but unfortunately all are of Pacific Island descent rather than Maori decent.
There are also a large number of non-PI players who do not have Maori ancestry and therefore cannot play also. Guys like Nick Evans (who I beleive is still here for a few months yet), Wyatt Crocket and Keiran Read.
Roger said | July 7th 2008 @ 12:37pm | Report comment
Never let it be said that Morgan Turnui isnt the best ‘captain coach’ in the game. Coaches often picked him on the fact that he was a great leader, thinker and talker on the field, but was never a good enough ahtlete to make the grade, nor ever possessed the blood lust needed for a rugby player. Embarrassing missed tackles mean a probable end to a rep career for a nice guy, a good footy brain, and a junior rugby star that never blossomed.
Ben C said | July 7th 2008 @ 1:15pm | Report comment
Mudskipper
I was at the game as well and I thought it was one of the most appalling displays by a referee I have seen in ages. The blatant obstructions allowed to go unchecked, the penalties at the breakdown seemingly random but invariably against the t attacking team. The general disruption of any play longer than one or two phases by a technical and (usually) incomprehensible penalty.
Your thoughts?
The Riddler said | July 7th 2008 @ 1:34pm | Report comment
Agreed the ref had an average performance – as did Leroy Houston and Daniel Halengahu. Good subs at half time but wonder why it took so long. One of the funnier sights of the afternoon was the ref standing next to the Maori hooker at a lineout and just about coming waist high – he was a wee little fellow and I think perhaps his man management skills were not optimal for the situation.
Two other comments. Firstly, a great afternoon out at the rugby again and perhaps disappointing there were only 8,000 or so spectators (given the 7,500 at North Sydney a couple of weeks ago).Managed to park on Moore Park Road right outside the stadium for free so saved the exorbitant $20 parking charge. I think the Olympic Hotel missed a trick by not having their bistro going.
Secondly, an announcement was made during the game that all 4 grades of Shute Shield Finals were going to be held on the same day – at Concord Oval! When was that decided? Why no SFS for the final this year? Have I missed something?
True Tah said | July 7th 2008 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
The Riddler,
I was disappointed with the crowd too – I thought it was a pretty good game (a lot better than the Aust-France game) and exciting to boot, and played at the best time. The ARU failed to market the game at all and at $56 a ticket for Cat A seats, it was too pricey for a family, although I thought we got value for money in that the game was worth seeing right till the end.
A few years ago the Waratahs played the Maori and got over 16,000.