Matatu defended its heart out to secure a place in the Super Rugby Aupiki final, beating the Blues 26-23 in the semifinal yesterday.
It is a remarkable turnaround after the side went winless in last season’s competition.
They say defence wins championships — and that is exactly what Matatu had to produce to secure its spot.
Blues had a late opportunity to take the lead, and went for the lineout.
Veteran front rower Steph Te-Ohaera Fox came through the Blues maul, latched on to the ball, and forced a turnover with three minutes to go.
Then Lucy Jenkins got over the ball, forcing the Blues to clean her out from the side and turn it over.
It was a defensive game from Matatu, which struggled to gain possession, but when it did, it made the most of its opportunities.
Blues got off to a flying start through Krysten Cottrell’s early penalties.
They played with some flair to put Katelyn Vaha’akolo in the corner for a try, and their forwards muscled up against a solid Matatu pack.
Matatu only had three opportunities to attack in the first spell.
The first came in the 11th minute, when second five Grace Brooker drew in the Blues defence and delivered a nice straight ball that slipped pocket-rocket Kendra Reynolds through the gap to score under the posts.
It was not until the final 10 minutes of the half that Matatu got another opportunity — but it made the Blues pay, scoring twice through winger Chey Robins-Reti before the break.
She scored first in a nice team try, using the entire width of the park, and the second, bang on half time, was similar, with Robins-Reti putting in a nice side-step to finish.
Renee Holmes continued her form with the boot and gave Matatu a 19-11 lead.
Early in the second half, dangerous Blues fullback Patricia Maliepo shimmied through a gap and scored under the posts for the Blues, who trailed by one.
Matatu, once again, defended. Amy du Plessis put in some big hits, as did Brooker — a general on defence and attack — and Holmes.
Liana Mikaele-Tu’u then scored in the 70th minute to take the Blues to a 23-19 lead.
But finally Matatu got some ball, and Robins-Reti ran in for a hat-trick to put the South Island side into the final against Chiefs Manawa, which beat Hurricanes Poua at North Harbour Stadium 43-21 in the other semi.
Super Rugby Aupiki
The scores
Matatū 26
Chey Robins-Reti 3, Kendra Reynolds tries; Renee Holmes 3 con
Blues 23
Katelyn Vaha’akolo, Patricia Maliepo, Liana Mikaele-Tu’u tries; Krysten Cottrell con, 2 pen
Halftime: Matatū 19-11.
