By Noah Leaupeptele at Forsyth Barr Stadium
Otago 43 – 38 Waikato: Cameron Millar’s late penalty completes a seesaw thriller
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Otago survived a genuine arm-wrestle to edge out Waikato 43-38 in a Round 5 classic, that swung back and forth for the best part of eighty minutes. It was Cameron Millar’s 72nd-minute penalty that proved the difference.
Jona Nareki opened the scoring inside five minutes, but Waikato responded immediately through Nathan Stephens and Rui Farrant to lead 12-7. Hooker Henry Bell crossed twice in quick succession to put Otago back in front, only for Tepaea Cook-Savage and Oli Mathis to keep Waikato within touching distance either side of a stunning Lucas Casey try, one built off a two-on-one dummy that had the home crowd on its feet.
Waikato edged ahead again through Dan Sinkinson deep into the first half, and Otago went into the break trailing 26-28, a genuinely even contest between two of the competition’s form sides.
Ben Lopas and Sam Nemec-Vial restored Otago’s lead in the second half, and it took Millar’s late penalty to finally settle the contest, Otago holding on despite a nervy Austin Anderson penalty with just a minute left.
Waikato leave Dunedin with plenty of credit despite the loss, while Otago’s push up the table continues into a tough run of fixtures ahead.
MATCH SCORERS
OTAGO: 43
TRIES: 6 (J. Nareki 5′, H. Bell 19′, 24′, L. Casey 32′, B. Lopas 44′, S. Nemec-Vial 64′)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (C. Millar 6′, 20′, 25′, 45′, 65′)
PENALTIES: 1 (C. Millar 72′)
DROP GOALS: 0
CARDS: None reported
WAIKATO: 38
TRIES: 5 (N. Stephens 10′, R. Farrant 14′, T. Cook-Savage 30′, O. Mathis 37′, D. Sinkinson 50′)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (T. Cook-Savage 11′, 14′, 30′, 39′, 51′)
PENALTIES: 1 (A. Anderson 79′)
DROP GOALS: 0
CARDS: None reported
HALFTIME: 26-28 Waikato
5 THINGS YOU MISSED
LUCAS CASEY’S SEASON JUST KEEPS BUILDING AS ALL BLACK DISCOURSE CONTINUES
Otago’s star man produced another moment of individual brilliance, drawing two defenders with a dummy before racing over to restore the home side’s lead in the first half. It’s the kind of instinctive, low-percentage play that only comes off for players with genuine composure under pressure, and it continues a season in which Casey has looked a level above most defenders he’s come up against.
With performances like this becoming a weekly occurrence, Casey’s case for wider representative honours only grows stronger. For Otago, having a player capable of manufacturing a try from nothing is an invaluable outlet whenever the structured game isn’t quite working.
SAM NEMEC-VIAL’S PURPLE PATCH CONTINUES TO RAISE TEST MATCH INTRIGUE
A week after his second-half brace helped see off Wellington, Sam Nemec-Vial was among the tries again, crossing in the second half to help Otago regain the lead. Two matches, three tries, and a growing reputation as one of the most reliable finishers in this Otago side, the fullback is fast becoming a genuine focal point of the team’s attacking game.
If Nemec-Vial can keep finding the try line at this rate, he’ll be squarely in the conversation for form player of the competition heading into the business end of the season, and Otago’s coaching staff will be looking to keep getting him the ball in space as often as possible.
A GENUINE THRILLER IN DUNEDIN THAT WENT DOWN TO THE WIRE
This was no procession. Otago led, trailed, led again and had to survive a nervy final few minutes, with Waikato’s Austin Anderson kicking a penalty with just over a minute to play to bring the margin back to five points. Millar’s 72nd-minute penalty ultimately proved decisive, but Waikato’s ability to keep finding answers, five tries to Otago’s six, meant this game was never truly settled until the final whistle.
For a side many had written off after a difficult start to the season, Waikato’s performance will offer real encouragement heading into the back half of the competition. For Otago, it was a reminder that their current form, however dominant on paper, doesn’t guarantee an easy afternoon against a side playing with genuine ambition.
HENRY BELL’S RARE FRONT-ROW BRACE
Two tries in the space of five minutes from a hooker is not something you see every week, but Henry Bell delivered exactly that, finishing off a textbook lineout drive for his first before latching onto a clever short ball from Kieran McClea down the blindside for his second. It was Otago’s forward pack imposing itself at its most effective, set piece precision paired with a support runner alert enough to capitalise twice in quick succession.
Front-rowers scoring in bunches tends to say as much about a team’s set-piece dominance as it does about the individual, and Bell’s double was the clearest sign all afternoon that Otago’s forward platform, even in a game defined by a running scoreline, remained the foundation everything else was built on.
OTAGO’S DISCIPLINE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AGAIN
For the second week running, Otago made life harder for themselves than the scoreline ultimately suggested. Waikato’s five tries came via genuine quality in attack, but Otago’s own game management, particularly in the closing stages when a two-score cushion should have been enough to see the game out safely, let Waikato back into contention right until the final whistle.
It’s a pattern worth Otago’s coaching staff keeping an eye on. A team capable of scoring six tries against a genuinely competitive Waikato side clearly has the attacking talent to win most weeks on class alone, but needing a 72nd-minute penalty to beat a side outside the top four points to a discipline and game-management gap that better sides in this competition will be more ruthless in exploiting.
POST-MATCH REACTIONS FROM FORSYTH BARR STADIUM
“They came down and they were winning the collisions for that first part, and we just didn’t earn it at the beginning, so we had to reset,” Lio-Willie said. “I think we did earn it when we were going through them, and we were able to let our backs do their thing.”
He was clear that the attacking talent out wide only shows itself once the physical battle up front is won.
“That’s what we need to express ourselves and show the talent we’ve got out wide, but when we don’t get that right, you can see what happens. Our mistakes come off that, we’re not winning the collisions,” he said. “So pretty proud of that effort, we came back and held them off.”
Asked about a scrappier second half, Lio-Willie again pointed back to the forward platform as the key.
“We had to earn the right to go through them first before we started doing our attack and showing our talent and skill set out wide,” he said. “Grateful that we got together, reset, and proud of the boys to do that.” He singled out his front row for praise, saying he had “full trust in all of our front rowers” doing their jobs.
For Waikato, captain Mitch Jacobson was left to reflect on a fourth-straight loss at Forsyth Barr Stadium despite scoring 38 points.
“I thought we had them in a pretty good spot there in the second half. That first half was rapid, we couldn’t get our exit quite right, and they punished us on that,” Jacobson said. “There were a couple of good stops, and going into halftime we were in a pretty good spot. But coming out in that second half, the game sort of slowed, it ebbed and flowed, and they just got a few more of their moments right than we did.”
Jacobson pointed to defensive lapses around the ruck as the difference in a game his side ultimately lost despite matching Otago for attacking quality.
“We knew they’ve got a great offloading game and wanted to nullify that. I think we did to a point, but their nine was really good at taking the space when we weren’t quick to close in around that hub, and it hurt us,” he said. “We scored some great tries off counterattack, but it’s just that scoreline against us. We score 38 points and still lose, so we need to get that defensive side of it right.”
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