Only one round remains in the Mitre 10 Cup, the teams gave it their all in Round 8, with Taranaki taking the Ranfurly Shield off of Canterbury.
Stats leaders:
Tasman Makos Vs North Harbour
Tasman got off to a blistering start and manage to hold on as North Harbour make a great comeback in the 2nd half. The Makos had a chance to grab a bonus point try at the death but chose to take the win as they kicked out from an attacking maul.
Manawatu Vs Counties Manukau
A game that could have gone either way. It had coast to coast tries, yellow cards, red cards and disallowed tries but 14 man Counties Manukau managed to scrape the win in the end after losing Pulu to a red card towards the end of the half.
Canterbury Vs Taranaki
A thrilling game of rugby as Taranaki take the Ranfurly Shield off of Canterbury winning the match 55-43. The home side were relentless as they raced into a 24 point lead after 20 minutes. Taranaki fought back with Seta Tamanivalu intercept try. Canterbury still lead by 10 points in at half time and came out firing in the second half scoring another try in the first 5 minutes. Ricky Riccitelli and Lachlan Boshier then scored tries for Taranaki and Marty McKenzie converted a penalty to tie the game up 38 all with 20 minutes to play. Boshier scored his second try of the match after a great offload by Taminvalu. Manasa Mataele then charged Richie Mo'unga's kick and scored another try to extend their lead to 12 points. Stephen Perofeta then slotted a drop goal to put the match out of Canterbury's reach.
This is the 8th time Taranaki have won the Ranfurly Shield and they will have to defend only once this season - against Manawatu next Wednesday. Full time score: 43-55
Otago Vs Bay of Plenty
A real see-saw game and in the end it's Bay of Plenty that come out on top as they were able to outscore Otago 5 tries to 3.
Northland Vs Hawke's Bay
A great start by Northland as they converted a try within the first 10 minutes but after after a yellow card to Nock, Hawke's Bay capitalized and leveled things up with a converted try of their own. Northland then had a few chances to go ahead and waste a bit of time to get their scrumhalf back on the field and on the 3rd attempt at goal, they took the lead again. Just before the halftime break they again went ahead through Pryor and took a healthy 17-7 lead into halftime. After the break it was Ranger that bursted over the line and continued the momentum throughout the second half. Errors when attacking left the Hawke's Bay side short and hey didn't extend their points in the game while Northland continued and scored a final converted try at the end to receive the bonus point try and the win 34-7!
Southland Vs Wellington
It must be said that this Wellington side will take some beating, this after the dominating display against a hapless Southland side. Wellington may not have had all the territory and possession but, what they had they turned into points. Southland showed in the dying seconds that they are capable to score points but, it was all too little too late for them to make any kind of challenge. Wellington scorers came from all over the park as it was a team effort from defense, to attack and ultimately to scoring the points. Wellington march on and cement their status as the log leader after the win.
Tasman Makos Vs Auckland
A nail-biter in Blenheim! Tasman Makos hang on for a crucial 31-18 win over Harbour Rugby!
Waikato Vs North Harbour
There was plenty at stake for both teams, as Waikato went into the break with a slim 6 - 3 lead over North Harbour. The second half saw Ben Volavola slotting the penalty conversion out wide to give North Harbour a 13 - 11 win over Waikato!
Round 9 fixtures
