In windy conditions, these two traditional rivals in the Open Womens Grade met first up on Day One of Nationals. Canterbury opened the scoring early on through Chloe Williamson but both teams looked evenly matched through the opening exchanges.
Robyna Hokai was a lively playmaker for Waikato and dived under a Canterbury defence that was too slow and called to play through. A period of inactivity followed in scoring as both sides defences held strong.
Annabelle Wright scored next to make it 2-1 following good work on the scoop from Emily Close. Waikato pegged them right back through Mere Nock, who strolled in unassisted through the middle of the Canterbury defence.
Waikato were creating scoring opportunities but dropped passes and a penalty for pushing in goal saw the scores remain level. Errors in difficult conditions also slowed momentum and chances of scoring.
This was until Hokai grabbed a second touchdown, much the same as the first, stepping and diving underneath the Canterbury defence. Waikato doubled their advantage soon after with Britanny Coates scoring out wide on the left hand side.
Canterbury had plenty of possession in pressure areas but were having trouble making the breakthrough. After many sets of pressure, Aleisha Berryman scored from a Chelsey Smart assist.
Just as it seemed Canterbury had snatched a lifeline, Waikato scored a game changing reply on the very next set after the restart. Morgan Morrow once again extending Waikato's advantage to two.
With time running out, Canterbury were desperate on attack. Looking for an unlikely two try salvo in the final minute, they instead gifted Hokai an intercept and with that her third touchdown. Final score 6-3 Waikato, but these sides could meet again in the later rounds.
Last Modified on 02/03/2012 18:16