The Magpies celebrate holding on to the Shield in a Battle of the Bays thriller. Photo / Ian Cooper
Substitute first five Tiaan Falcon saved the Ranfurly Shield for Hawke’s Bay twice in five minutes, slotting two clutch penalty goals to seal a 36-33 golden point victory over Bay of Plenty.
The Magpies had an untidy start with a knock-on giving Bay of Plenty attacking possession in the opening stages.
The visitors built some phases before winger Emoni Narawa cashed in on an overlap for the first try of the game in the fourth minute.
There were a couple more early errors from Hawke’s Bay as the home team showed some rust following a month-long layoff.
They turned to the rolling maul to get themselves going, and captain Ash Dixon went over for a signature try off the back of a lineout drive to give his Magpies the lead in the 14th minute.
The Steamers hit straight back thanks to a lovely offload from Manaaki Selby-Rickit which put halfback Luke Campbell in under the posts.
Hawke’s Bay loose forward Solomone Funaki scored his own try shortly after following a brilliant carry from Marino Mikaele-Tu’u.
Winger Onisi Ratave had been looking dangerous for the visitors and some poor tackling from the Magpies saw him score the Steamers third try with 25 minutes gone.
A Lincoln McClutchie penalty goal from 45 metres drew Hawke’s Bay back within two points.
Loosehead prop Pouri Rakete-Stones ran a brilliant supporting line to score under the posts and restore the Magpies’ lead.
McClutchie extended that buffer beyond a converted try with another penalty shortly before halftime.
The fast and furious scoring tapered off after the break, with Kaleb Trask missing a long range shot at goal for Bay of Plenty in the 51st minute.
A smart grubber kick from substitute playmaker Otere Black wasn’t dealt with by the Magpies, allowing centre Sean Wainui to make it a one-point game.
McClutchie chipped over another penalty just after the hour mark on a day when he went six from six off the tee.
The visitors turned down two easy shots at goal after the 65-minute mark and came close to a try but Hawke’s Bay held them out and forced a reprieving knock-on.
Hawke’s Bay’s defence continued to hold and fullback Lolagi Visinia came close to a brilliant counter-attacking try but was caught short of the line with five minutes to play.
Bay of Plenty came back and Onisi Ratave broke free for a try to give his team the lead with two minutes remaining.
They were caught offside in the final minute though, allowing Tiaan Falcon to tie the game and trigger golden point after the hooter.
Hawke’s Bay kicked off and put themselves in winning position when Bay of Plenty were caught offside in front of the posts.
Falcon was the hero, duly slotting the penalty to seal a famous win and Hawke’s Bay’s seventh straight defence of the Ranfurly Shield.
Magpies coach Mark Ozich said his players were hesitant and jittery with their skills at times but made up for that with effort and physicality.
“It was a hell of a game ... as a person who loves footy those are the sorts of games you wanna watch,” he said.
The Magpies are scheduled to travel to Wellington to play the Lions next Sunday afternoon.
Hawke’s Bay 36 (Dixon, Funaki, Rakete-Stones tries; McClutchie 3/3 cons, 3/3 pens, Falcon 2/2 pens)Bay of Plenty 33 (Narawa, Campbell, Ratave 2, Wainui tries; Trask 2/3 cons, 0/1 pen, Black 2/2 cons) HT: 27-19