Taranaki missing old fashioned guts

OPINION: What is it with Taranaki rugby teams and North Harbour's Albany Stadium?

Taranaki teams just can't win there when it matters.

A quick flick through the record books reveals Taranaki's only success at the ground was back in 2002 when it won a pre-season match 31-15.

Other than that, it has been lean pickings at the ground with six losses to North Harbour including a 19-13 loss in a Ranfurly Shield match in 2007 and another last Thursday night when Taranaki fell apart, losing 29-16 to Northland.

The only good news is that Taranaki's Air New Zealand Cup match against North Harbour this year is in New Plymouth.

The cup competition has been a breath of fresh air for rugby after some awful play by the All Blacks. Both the opening round and the second round have tossed up some interesting results, with only three teams remaining unbeaten.

There are positives for Taranaki including the fact the side can't play much worse than last Thursday, yet it remains only four points adrift of the leaders.

If there was bad news for the side other than its on-field performance, it was that its next opponent, Hawke's Bay, lost as well and Saturday's match in New Plymouth shapes as a beauty.

One thing is for sure, if Taranaki plays like it did against Northland, the score will be a blowout in Bay's favour.

What was missing was a bit of old fashioned guts and passion, playing for the jersey and giving it everything. Too much ball was aimlessly kicked away with no chasers. Treasure the ball and build pressure, it's a simple game.

TALK about a simple game, well, world No 1 golfer Tiger Woods sure makes it look simple.

Trailing Ireland's Padraig Harrington by one shot teeing off on the 16th in the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational yesterday, Woods produced the shot of the tournament to set up a tap-in birdie while Harrington put a ball in the water and scored an eight on the par five. A four-shot swing and the title was Woods'.

If you haven't seen the shot, it's worth tracking down.

CONTINUING on the line of No 1s, New Plymouth trainer John Wheeler is the king of jumps racing.

Wheels has had an outstanding season, capturing two of the big jumping races at Riccarton during the past week. High Season gave Wheeler victory in the Grand National Hurdles last week and Bennyosler completed the double by winning the Grand National Steeplechase on Saturday. It's a rare double.

THERE would have been few begrudging Coastal its moment in the sun at New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium on Saturday.

The club has been trying for 15 years to land a Taranaki division one title and it did it with a gutsy 16-0 win over Inglewood.

Coastal's defence was outstanding and it was the key to the side's win. I'm picking the boys down the coast will still be partying.

Grand finals day, like rugby league's big day the week before, is as popular as ever with fans and Saturday was no exception. It's a formula that works.

- © Fairfax NZ News