Rene Ranger continues to perform despite Northland's loss

What a game of Rugby. 96 Points in an epic high scoring match. Hawkes come out victors 55-41. Hawkes Bay came out like a team possessed in the second half scoring 5 unanswered tries to blow Northland away in the 2nd half. Both teams will be very happy with their attacking display but will have to work hard this week on defence. Neither side has much time to do so as Hawke's Bay face Canterbury on Sunday while Northland to Counties Manukau.

Standout Performers

Stacy Ili – Hawke’s Bay

Ili was part of the team that was down at half time and still managed to put his hand up and give the Hawke Bay men the slightest of chances going into the tunnel. A poor defensive showing by both teams in the midfield allowed both centre pairings to exploit gaps that opened far too often.  This allowed Ili to cross over the white chalk twice in the first half in what were too identical tries where he showed great strength, skill and pace. While he did not do any scoreboard damage in the second half he did manage to tighten things up with his centre partner to keep Northland scoreless in the half.

Pasqualle Dunn – Hawke’s Bay

A rather quiet first half where he did very little and was often caught napping in defence. However, it was his second-half performance that made him a pick of the players tonight. Not only was the former Rugby League star was solid on defence in the second half and showed some of his old form to score two much needed second-half tries. One to keep the North Islanders in the game and the second to gain the lead. This showed a good sign of character as he managed to turn a poor first-half performance into an exceptional second half.

Ben Power – Hawke’s Bay

Many viewers would have thought that he should’ve started the second half. However, that did matter much as he showed what an impact he can make off the bench. Two solid lineout throws in the opponents 22 lead to two tries for the reserve hooker. He did well to control the maul and also showed some telling defence. Power was also very good at the break downs ensuring that the Northlanders did not get a sniff in the second half.

Rene Ranger – Northland

If a team’s performance were to be judged on their first half, former All Black Rene Ranger would have been man of the match. Rene Ranger continued his fine form as he often beat the first defender and was a real threat to the Hawke’s Bay defence. As a result, he managed to break off a couple of defenders in the lead up to his try and to his try assist in the first half. However, it would seem as though there was a lack of cohesion between him and his centre partner tonight as they were unable to close down the men in the black and white hoops.

Marino Mikaele Tu’u –Hawke’s Bay

A cracker of a performance tonight. One of the players who should be man of the match. In the first half he did well to show great pace as he was able to break away from the Northland defence to cross over. This was right after they managed to secure their own kickoff following a Northland try. Throughout the game, he was instrumental in his ability to link backs and forwards and. This was evidenced by the last try of the game where he managed to scoop a pass form Geoffrey Cridge and to play Brad Weber for the JJ Taulagi try.

Other good performances tonight were from Jack Debreczini, for his 100% kicking tonight and two try assists and Matt Wright’s two powerful tries.