Counties Manukau have successfully defended the Ranfurly Shield, repelling challengers Hawke's Bay 12-7 in Pukekohe.
Their late season resurgence, which saw them claim the shield from Northland last weekend, was capped by this gutsy victory, after they held out repeated attacks from Hawke's Bay.
Counties Manukau led 12-0 at halftime, after tries from back-rower Adam Brash and Melani Matavao. They looked to have scored a third, before the video official spotted a knock-in the lead-up.
That score reflected their dominance at the breakdown, but things changed in the second half, with the Magpies starting to dominate possession and mounting repeated phase attacks.
Handling mistakes let them down until the 60th minute, when repeated phases took their toll on the Steelers defence. In the end, a dummy pass from halfback Folau Fakatava fooled them and he fed winger Darby Lancaster, who charged over for the try.
It was frantic from then on, as Hawke's Bay tried to repeat the effort, but the determination of the Counties side was all-too-evident, as they hustled and harried the Magpies into more errors.
In the end, that determination paid off and the shield will stay in Pukekohe over the summer.
The Counties side had to cling on, despite losing influential captain Jimmy Tupou to injury in the 53rd minute.
Tupou was proud of his teammates' efforts.
"I don't think we could have won that game any better way," he told Sky Sport. "Some of those defensive sets I am so proud of."
Tupou said the reaction of fans who mobbed the players after the final whistle showed how much the shield meant to people.
"I think every little inch of Counties has got the shield too."
The result leaves Hawke's Bay in fifth place on the NPC table, which means they miss out on hosting a quarterfinal, when the playoffs start next weekend. Their opponents will be known after tomorrow's final two regular season matches.
Counties Manukau's season has ended on a high note. They were having a dismal season on form, before winning the shield last weekend, but now finish with with four wins and 12th place out of 14 teams.
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