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At Eden Park: Auckland 41 (Soane Vikena 4’, Bryce Heem 10’, Josh Beehre 43’, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 56’, Akira Ioane 70’, AJ Lam 82’ tries; Zarn Sullivan 3 con, pen, Jock McKenzie con) Hawke’s Bay 22 (Lincoln McClutchie 28’ Tom Parsons 38’, Hisamitsu Shimada 73’ tries; McClutchie 2 con, pen). HT: 15-15
Warriors-bound Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scored an outstanding try as Auckland beat Hawke’s Bay in an entertaining clash on Saturday.
Tuivasa-Sheck, playing at fullback, exploded onto a pass from midfielder Corey Evans after 56 minutes and used his footwork and pace to burst past several defenders on the way to the tryline.
The three-test All Black’s talent has never been in doubt, and the try will again raise questions whether the decision to play him as a No 12 at the Blues was the right one.
With his confidence up, Tuivasa-Sheck then produced a lovely offload to Caleb Tangitau as Auckland dominated the second half.
From the subsequent phases flanker Adrian Choat almost scored, and the Auckland scrum got the job done minutes later with a powerful surge that allowed No 8 Akira Ioane to dot down.
Tuivasa-Sheck also showed he has a decent kicking game in the first half, with some of his clearances gaining significant territory for his side.
However, it was his running game that really caught the eye, and Warriors fans will be delighted that the 30-year-old still has the ability to leave defenders grasping in his wake.
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck makes a break for Auckland at Eden Park on Saturday.
Auckland’s win came despite a strong performance from the Magpies’ All Blacks halfback Folau Fakatava.
With Brad Weber in Europe as cover for the All Blacks, Fakatava has started in the past two NPC games for Hawke’s Bay, and has shown he is a class above at provincial level.
Auckland raced out to an early lead with tries to Blues players Soane Vikena and Bryce Heem, but the Magpies fought back and the scores were locked at 15-all at halftime.
However, Auckland’s pack turned up the power in the second half to hand Hawke’s Bay their first loss of the campaign.
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