Taranaki will be looking to defy the odds and beat the most successful team in the history of New Zealand's domestic rugby scene when they square off with Canterbury at Yarrow Stadium this Friday.
Taranaki v Canterbury
Friday 13 October
Yarrow Stadium
Taranaki 20/21 | Canterbury 8/11
It’s been a fantastic tournament for Taranaki as they marched their way to a home semi-final clash with Canterbury. The men from New Plymouth enjoyed a solid run during the regular season winning seven of their ten fixtures on the way to finishing the regular season as runners-up on the standings.
They carried their impressive form into the quarter-finals where they beat a dangerous Tasman Makos side 34-18. Taranaki were given a real run during the first half of the fixture and the teams went into the sheds with the scores locked at 13-13. The second-half would be a different story, however, with the Taranaki Bulls scoring three tries while Tasman only managed to grab a sole consolation try which came late in the piece.
Canterbury weren’t as impressive as Taranaki in the round robin phase – they managed just six wins from their ten fixtures – and they endured some pretty patchy form near the tail end of the regular season winning two and losing two of their final four games. Like all Canterbury sides, however, they turned on the style once presented with knock-out rugby, beating old foes Auckland 29-24 in their quarter-final clash.
While Canterbury are the knock-out specialists, I really like the cut of this Taranaki side’s jib. The hosts have a powerful bench that I reckon will make all the difference here.
Verdict: Taranaki
