Record crowd watch Māori outclass Canada

A record crowd of 29,480 ventured to BC Place on Friday evening to watch the New Zealand Māori defeat Canada by 51-9. It sets a new attendance mark for a single rugby match in Canada, though the Vancouver stop on the HSBC Sevens Series retains its place as most-attended rugby event. The numbers will put a smile on Rugby Canada officials despite the scoreline, which in the end was probably a fair reflection of the gulf in class between the two sides.

The match itself was not the free-flowing spectacle that some were expecting. Part of that can be attributed to the uncharacteristically conservative approach from the Māori but the Canadians must also get credit for their commitment in defense, particularly among the forwards. Consistency remains a work in progress, however, and while the New Zealanders were made to work hard for some scores others came with infuriating ease.

There was an early surprise when Ihaia West opted for points rather than gunning for an attacking lineout. Perhaps a sign of respect for the opposition, but the Māori were clearly intent on securing the victory before any thoughts of running up a score. Brock Staller replied with a penalty for Canada and then added a second following a yellow card to Dan Pryor for a dangerous tackle. The lead would last mere seconds, however, as the visitors suddenly seemed to shift up a gear.

With his team a man down Ash Dixon caught the defense napping when he popped the ball to Ambrose Curtis on the short side. The big winger sprinted away untouched down the sideline to score the first try with West’s conversion spot on. Staller returned fire with his third penalty goal but the Maori found the line again soon after. Sustained pressure on the goal line finally yielded points when Akira Ioane casually trundled through some tired tacklers to touch down beside the uprights.

An eight point lead was not comfortable enough for captain Dixon and again he instructed West to take the three points. A third try would come before the half and again it was a defensive lapse, this time at the front of a lineout where Dixon worked a nifty give-and-go with Tom Franklin to spring the rangy flanker free to take a 27-9 lead into the break.

Canada had some bright moments on attack in the second half but were let down by mental lapses at crucial moments. An attack down the right side ended with Staller attempting to chip through two defenders. Instead the ball ended in the hands of Charlie Ngatai who raced half the field to score try number four. Andrew Coe and Dan Moor combined to spark a move down the left side but a thumping Rob Thompson tackle stuffed the attack into touch. The Māori attacked from the lineout and Shaun Stevenson finished in the corner. A suspect pass from Ngatai was reviewed but the referee insisted he was happy to award the score.

Jackson Garden-Bachop was next to the line, spotting a gap in the midfield defense. Coe nearly inspired a score with another line break but Guiseppe du Toit dropped Andrew Ferguson’s linking pass cold with his eyes already on the defender in front. One last attack from the Māori opened space in the middle for right winger Sean Wainui to gallop through and on to paydirt.

New coach Kingsley Jones will look to the positives with renewed spirit certainly one of them for the home side. Accuracy let them down however, with kicking from hand at a standard well below their opponents. Canada embark on a three-match tour to Europe this week with a half-dozen overseas professionals set to boost the roster. The Māori also head across the Atlantic to France where they face the French Barbarians in Bordeaux in one week’s time.

 

SCORING

CANADA 9
Pens – B. Staller 3/3 (6’, 17’, 21’)
Yellow cards – J. Larsen (57’)

NZ MĀORI 51
Tries – A. Curtis (18’), A. Ioane (27’), T. Franklin (39’), C. Ngatai (52’), S. Stevenson (62’), J. Garden-Bachop (69’), S. Wainui (77’)
Cons – I. West 4/4 (19’, 28’, 40’, 53’), J. Garden-Bachop 1/3 (70’)
Pens – I. West 2/2 (3’, 36’)
Yellow cards – D. Pryor (16’), T. Bateman (43’)

 

TEAMS

CANADA
1 Hubert Buydens (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 64’), 2 Ray Barkwill (16 Eric Howard 64’), 3 Matt Tierney (18 Ryan Kotlewski 64’), 4 Kyle Baillie (19 Evan Olmstead 51’), 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Dustin Dobravsky (20 Lucas Rumball 58’), 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Tyler Ardron, 9 Phil Mack (capt.) (21 Andrew Ferguson 71’), 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Dan Moor, 12 Guiseppe du Toit (22 Robbie Povey 77’), 13 Ben LeSage (23 Kainoa Lloyd 56’), 14 Brock Staller, 15 Andrew Coe

NEW ZEALAND MĀORI
1 Chris Eves (17 Ross Wright 50’), 2 Ash Dixon (capt.) (16 Liam Polwart 66’), 3 Marcel Renata (Tyrel Lomax 50’), 4 Jackson Hemopo, 5 Jarrad Hoeata (19 Jordan Manihera 50’), 6 Tom Franklin, 7 Dan Pryor (20 Sam Henwood 58’), 8 Akira Ioane, 9 Brad Weber (21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi 66’), 10 Ihaia West (22 Jackson Garden-Bachop 53’), 11 Ambrose Curtis (23 Shaun Stevenson 25’), 12 Rob Thompson, 13 Tim Bateman, 14 Sean Wainui, 15 Charlie Ngatai

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Kurt Weaver (USAR)

Attendance: 29,480