In their first Ranfurly Shield defence of the season, against Counties Manukau on Friday night, it appeared everything was going the home team's way. They started strong, held a 22-point lead at halftime and were on the right side of the penalty count.
But the challengers weren't going away without a fight and clawed their way right back into a challenging position – down 33-32 with a minute to play.
It was all set up for a grandstand finish, but a knock-on from a restart ultimately proved to be the final blow in the Steelers challenge, with Hawke's Bay clinging on for a one-point win.
It was a performance with plenty to address for the Magpies' hope of defending the Shield throughout the season. While their first-half attack was sizzling, it was anything but in the second period. Even when Counties Manukau went a man down in the second half, they were finding a way to attack with success. As the match went on Hawke's Bay became reliant on their kicking game, but were rarely finding space on their clearance kicks while their bombs in midfield were largely ineffective.
Counties Manukau were left to rue their slow start as they were on fire in the second half, picking the Hawke's Bay defence apart with the running game and having success up the middle. Fullback Etene Nanai-Seturo was a big part in their resurgence as he had the Hawke's Bay defence clutching at air and took the right option every time space was presented.
It was a relentless opening stanza from the Magpies, who needed just eight minutes to cross the tryline – Lincoln McClutchie the try scorer. Counties Manukau stayed in touch through two penalties from Riley Hohepa, but when Hawke's Bay scored three tries in the 10 minutes before halftime to lead 28-6 at the break, it appeared the match was all but sealed.
Counties needed to score first after the restart just to stay in touch, and the Magpies opened the door for them to attack almost immediately. The Steelers needed no second invitation, with a beautiful lofted pass from Hohepa finding Ahsee Tuala on the left wing for the try five minutes after the whistle.
The match soon turned into a battle for territory as neither side was able to work into a strong attacking position.
