Taranaki moved to the top of the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership table after claiming a 40-26 victory over Tasman in New Plymouth on Thursday.
The ‘Naki were full value for their win as they dominated for large periods and eventually outscored the Makos six tries to four with Sean Wainui leading the way with a deserved brace.
Tasman were dealt an early blow when Viliami Lolohea was yellow carded for a for an illegal aerial challenge on Seta Tamanivalu. Taranaki capitalised on their numerical advantage as shortly afterwards Wainui crossed for the opening try which Marty McKenzie converted.
Despite being a man down, Tasman were still competitive and they were rewarded in the 10th minute when Andrew Makalio scored their first try.
The rest of the half was a nightmare for the visitors, however. First, Lolohea was red carded in the 24th minute after he committed his second aerial foul on Tamanivalu.
With a man down for the rest of the match, the home side took full advantage and were rewarded when Lachlan Boshier and Pita Sowakula crossed the whitewash in quick succession.
Alex Nankivell scored a converted try for Tasman on the stroke of half-time which meant the ‘Naki led 28-12 at the interval. A Toa Halafihi try shortly after the restart extended Taranaki’s lead but the Makos struck back via a five-pointer from Alex Ainley in the 46th minute.
Tasman suffered another setback in the 52nd minute when Will Jordan was also sent to the sin bin for a cynical foul on defence close to his try-line. Shortly afterwards, Wainui crossed for his second try before Mitchell Hunt scored a late five-pointer which earned Tasman a bonus point for scoring four tries.
The scorers:
For Taranaki:
Tries: Wainui 2, Fa’auli, Boshier, Sowakula, Halafihi
Cons: McKenzie 5
For Tasman:
Tries: Makalio, Nankivell, Ainley, Hunt
Cons: Guyton 2, Hunt
Yellow cards: Lolohea, Jordan
Red Card: Lolohea (two yellow cards)
Taranaki: 15 Marty McKenzie, 14 Declan O’Donnell, 13 Sean Wainui, 12 Johnny Fa’auli, 11 Seta Tamanivalu, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8 Toa Halafihi, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Pita Sowakula, 5 Leon Power, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Ricky Riccitelli, 1 Mitchell Graham
Replacements: 16 Donald Maka, 17 Jared Proffit, 18 Mike Kainga, 19 Fin Hoeata, 20 Adrian Wyrill, 21 Logan Crowley, 22 Ciarahn Matoe, 23 Manasa Mataele
Tasman: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Viliami Lolohea, 13 Trael Joass, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 James Lowe, 10 Mitchell Hunt, 9 Billy Guyton, 8 Jordan Taufua, 7 Vernon Fredericks, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Alex Ainley, 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Siosiua Halanukonuka, 2 Andrew Makalio, 1 Tim Perry
Replacements: 16 Ti’i Paulo, 17 Tom Hill, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Shannon Frizell, 20 Peter Samu, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Timothy O’Malley, 23 Robbie Malneek
Referee: Angus Mabey
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