Otago - NPC News
	Maximum points give Otago sniff of top 4 By Brent Edwards There is light at the end of the tunnel for Otago's national championship campaign after its 42-10 win over Northland on Saturday improved it from eighth to sixth place. Otago took maximum points for the first time this season in its six tries to two victory in the wet at Carisbrook and, for the first time this season, it has a sniff of the top four. It also has a sniff of a Ranfurly Shield challenge, with competition leaders Canterbury and Waikato set to clash in Hamilton on September 23. Should Canterbury end Waikato's 21-match tenure, Otago would then challenge Canterbury in Christchurch on September 30. But Otago team leaders acknowledged there is a lot of work to be done before possibilities become realities, and before they achieve the standard set by Waikato and Canterbury. Waikato went up a notch and scored four tries to one in repulsing the challenge of North Harbour, 24-11, in Hamilton on Saturday. A few hours later, Canterbury was clinical in dispatching Taranaki 43-9 in New Plymouth, captain Daryl Gibson scoring three of its six tries. Otago plays Taranaki in the Bull Ring next Saturday in another must-win game as it tries to edge out Wellington and North Harbour for a place in the top four. "It was excellent to get maximum points against Northland, but Taranaki will be another step up, especially up there," captain Kelvin Middleton said. "It will be a big battle up front," coach Kevin Gloag said. "They (Taranaki) like protecting their home territory. But we'll take a lot of confidence out of the Northland win. "We played some good rugby. There was a lot of go-forward. The pack did well." Otago should be close to full-strength for New Plymouth. Lock Simon Maling damaged a shoulder joint early in the second spell on Saturday and flanker Josh Kronfeld tweaked an ankle, but neither injury is thought to be long-term. Wellington suffered its second consecutive home loss when it was beaten 24-19 by third-placed Auckland on Friday night while North Harbour had its ninth unsuccessful shield challenge when it was beaten by Waikato. Northland, which has played four of its first five games away and has the same number of points (11) as Otago, is still a chance for the top four but will need to play much better than it did against Otago. "It's make or break time for us now." coach Bryce Woodward said on Saturday. "We've got Auckland at home on Friday night and we have to win. But Auckland's playing pretty good rugby." Points table - page 18 Monday, 11-September 2000 Youngsters to fore in Otago win By Brent Edwards Two of the young chums, Hayden Reid and Tom Willis, showed their mettle in Otago's emphatic 42-10 NPC rugby win over Northland at Carisbrook on Saturday. Otago scored six tries to two and improved from eighth to sixth in the first division as, for the fifth time in as many matches, it was confronted by murky weather and a treacherous surface. It took Otago about 20 minutes to become animated and warm to its work but, once it did, it produced its most convincing display of the season. The side still has a long way to go to achieve the best standards of 1998 but this, at least, was a step in the right direction as it more than doubled its try tally (five) of its previous four games. Reid and Willis, in their different ways, contributed mightily to this Otago win. Reid's strong, incisive running from the wing cut a swathe through the defence and laid on tries for Pita Alatini and Taine Randell. And Reid scored the last try himself, supporting a break by James Jowsey and remaining in touch to take the last pass, from Alatini, and cross in the scoreboard corner. Willis, sandwiched between All Black props Kees Meeuws and Carl Hoeft, was part of a dominant front five, he again threw accurately to the line-outs and his workrate in driving play around the field was most impressive. But while this was a satisfying win, it has to be put into perspective, for Otago scored 22 points while Northland had only 14 players on the field. It scored 15 points when hooker Joe Ross was sin-binned for a dangerous high tackle on Justin Swart after 26 minutes - Ross was fortunate not to have been sent off - and another seven after prop Mike Storey was sent off 13 minutes from the end for stomping on Josh Kronfeld. Northland coach Bryce Woodward described Ross' sin-binning as the turning point of the game. "It's hard enough to play with 15 men." he said. "Otago got their confidence in the period when we were down to 14 players." Byron Kelleher had scored Otago's first try when he sniped around the open side of a ruck, captain Kelvin Middleton smashed over from a line-out drive and Tony Brown raised his 700 points for Otago - he now has 704 - when he skidded over in the corner after strong running from Seilala Mapusua. Otago, with the strong easterly at its back, was precariously placed at 8-5 after 25 minutes but the 15 points scored from then until half-time, and two more tries early in the second spell clinched a handsome victory. "That was our best performance this year," Otago coach Kevin Gloag said. "The forwards worked well as a pack and the backs moved a lot of ball around in difficult conditions." The backs played some ambitious rugby in the conditions but their sometimes faulty alignment meant that too many passes went to land rather than hand. Reid was industrious and exciting, Alatini revelled in the space to show his skills and acceleration but, while Brown and Kelleher played well individually, their combination was not always smooth. The tight five set an admirable platform, with Meeuws, Hoeft, Willis and John Blaikie all getting involved much more around the field, Middleton and Randell were strong and constructive and Kronfeld came into his own as the pack gained dominance. "It was a very satisfying win," Middleton said. "It was great just to score some good tries. "Northland started well and it took us a while to get into the game. We played extremely well for the next 40 minutes - the best we've played for quite a while - and then we died off a little in the last 20. That's when a good team, which we will become, would finish off the opposition. "A lot of people came in terrible weather and it was good to be able to reward them. We're becoming wet-weather specialists," he added ruefully. Captain and lock Glenn Taylor and No 8 Samiu Vahafolau were the pick of the Northland forwards, but the backs had few chances on a cold, miserable day. There were brief flashes of excellence, fullback Hayden Taylor scoring after he speculated over Swart's head and left wing Fero Lasagavibau sprinting to the corner after good lead-up work by Vahafolau. But, in the end, Northland was glad to reach the warmth of the dressing-rooms and the hot showers. It had not been their day. Monday, 11-September 2000

 
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