HAMISH BIDWELL
If provincial rugby has a radar, Wellington definitely aren't flying under it.Something of an unknown quantity heading into the NPC season, the Lions have dispatched Manawatu, Hawke's Bay and now Southland with ease, following today's 40-8 win over the Stags at Westpac Stadium.
There had been an expectation that Southland might present Wellington with their sternest test of the season, but that certainly didn't materialise.
The Lions simply picked up where they'd left off on Tuesday, producing an accurate and clinical first half of rugby to match the way they'd finished the game before against Hawke's Bay. Tries to wing Alapati Leiua and openside flanker Ardie Savea, plus 13 points from the boot of fullback Jason Woodward, were just reward for Wellington's effort.
Savea's try was a memorable one. It began with a rock-solid scrum on Wellington's own 10-metre line, which enabled Leiua to run at a retreating Southland defence.
He'd come in from the left wing, to first receiver, where he easily punched past a couple of ineffective Stags tacklers. Savea and Shaun Treeby loomed up in support, giving Leiua options to the left and right of Southland fullback Marty McKenzie.
Leiua chose Savea, drawing McKenzie perfectly, to send the teenaged flanker away to score. Savea was lively throughout the first spell and looks to be an absolute star of the future.
The Lions know that better than anybody, and are plotting his progress carefully. But provided Savea is used wisely and not over-played, he could be a sensation in a year or two's time.
He and first five-eighth Tim Bateman were the best of the Lions in the opening half, but had to compete with referee Matt Muir for star billing. Muir blew his whistle loud and often, being particularly severe on the breakdown.
The break for halftime didn't dampen his desire to get into the game either, and the first 15 minutes of the second spell went by without him letting the teams play any rugby.
You can't have chaos on the paddock - players have to know there are limits to what the referee will let them get away with - but Muir was getting in the way of a decent game, on this occasion.
Southland eventually got the match back underway in the 59th minute, when second five-eighth Cardiff Vaega scored near the posts. Wellington were a couple of men short in their defensive line, after players had taken knocks, and Vaega was able to stroll over the line unopposed.
Savea soon had the board rolling for Wellington, too, dispossessing Southland wing Kade Poki and then throwing an outrageous dummy en route to his second try. Woodard's conversion made it 30-8.
Not to be outdone, Leiua produced a brilliant individual effort to bag his own try-scoring double for the match, after kicking and re-gathering down the left-hand flank.
Replacement hooker Dane Coles went in shortly after. His lineout throw to Lua Lokotui was popped up to a peeling Savea, who darted down the blindside and fed an unmarked Coles a couple of metres from the tryline.
Wellington 40 (Alapati Leiua 2, Ardie Savea 2, Dane Coles tries; Jason Woodward 3 pen, 3 con)Southland 8 (Cardiff Vaega try; Marty McKenzie pen).
Ouch ...Wellington with their Hurricanes looking dangerous this year... so will be a handful for any team this season sasu....
