Mitre 10 Cup Round 2 - Round Up
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A massive round 2 of the Mitre 10 Cup was played out this last weekend as we were treated to the first Ranfurly Shield Challenge of the season as well as the Battle of the Bays.
Top 3 performers of the round
Southland 20-45 North Harbour
The opening match of the round saw Southland host an inform North Habour. The first half was a tight affair with Scott Eade converting a Liam Howley try to put Southland 17-15 up at halftime.
Harbour came out firing in the second half scoring 4 tries to win the match 20-45. (second half score: 3-34).
Harbour next face Auckland on Sunday, while Southland will face Northland on Saturday.
The Battle of the Bays
Bay of Plenty 46-17 Hawke's Bay
Bay of Plenty earned the right to be called 'The Bay' for the rest of the season as they claimed a convincing 46-17 victory over Hawke's Bay.
The Magpies made a short comeback in the 2nd half where they took charge of the scrums and the play but could not convert it into a lead.
With 10 minutes remaining, the Macrae-Shelford Bay Cup was secured with late tries from Webber and Parete delivering the Steamers first victory of the season.
Bay of Plenty will face Wellington in their next match will Hawke's Bay will host the reign champions, Canterbury.
Waikato 33-21 Counties Manukau
Waikato secured their first win over the Steelers since 2014 with a dominant attacking display in the first half and some solid defence in the 2nd.
Tucker and Guildford were stand out players for the home side with Manihera carrying on with his fine form and bagging a few more tries.
Waikato have a short turn around as they face Auckland on Wednesday, while Counties will face Taranaki on Saturday.
Wellington 42-26 Taranaki
A massive showdown with both sides boasting current and future All Blacks in their squad.
Wellington got off to the perfect start scoring 3 tries in the opening quarter essentially closing off the game but managed to let Taranaki in just before the break.
The second half saw a tighter contest but Asafo Aumua was huge on the park and scored 2 tries taking the contest away from the visitors.
Asafo Aumua - remember the name! pic.twitter.com/QjlNsaHceT
— Mitre10 Cup (@Mitre10Cup) August 28, 2017
Julian Savea also got his name on the score sheet with a well-taken try, see his try in the FULL MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Auckland 10-8 Northland
Auckland grounded out a 10-8 victory over Northland in wet conditions.
The two sides traded penalties before Auckland crossed for a late first half try following an error at the Northland line-out for a 10-3 lead at the break.
Northland scored an early second half try to cut the deficit to just two points, but that would prove to be the only points of the second half as Auckland held on for a hard fought win in an arm wrestle of a match.
Manawatu 35-20 Tasman
Manawatu came up with the shock of the round as they upset last year's finalist Tasman 35-20 on Sunday.
The Turbos scored 4 tries to Tasman's 2 with Otere Black also converting 3 tries and slotting 3 penalties.
Manawatu will face Otago in Round 3 of the Mitre 10 Cup on Saturday, while Tasman will face a confident Waikato side on Sunday.
The Ranfurly Shield
Canterbury 30-24 Otago
A strong finish from Canterbury saw them successfully defend the Ranfurly Shield with a 30-24 home win over Otago.
The first half was a tight affair with a try apiece, with a penalty giving Canterbury a slender 8-5 lead at the break.
Two quick second half tries took Canterbury's lead out to 20-5. Otago got back into the game with a try reducing the deficit to eight points.
The game was then turned on it's head as Otago crossed for two tries in quick succession to head into the final 10 minutes with a 24-20 lead.
However, Canterbury would have the final say with a late try seeing the hosts regain the lead and they added a penalty in the final minute to seal the victory.
Round 3 fixtures
