The Magpies made it through their Storm Week unscathed, but their 38-26 victory over the Manawatu Turbos on Sunday afternoon in Palmerston North was far from easy. Despite aiming to deliver a statement performance against the bottom-of-the-table Turbos, the Magpies found themselves facing a resilient and determined side.

The Turbos had narrowly lost to Wellington the previous week, falling 39-31 in the final minutes, and they came out with a point to prove. They started off superbly, constantly getting good forward ball and absolutely smothering the Magpies on defence, and this aggressive style of play paid off.

Discipline cost the Magpies field position, and it was going to be hard to stop the Turbos from the line out drive, with Raymond Tuputupu peeling of the back and crossing the line.

The Turbos’ momentum continued as fly-half Reece Macdonald sliced through the defensive line off a center-field lineout, linking up with Taniela Filimone before Macdonald finished the move himself. The Turbos were now up 12-0 and had the Magpies on the back foot.

They capitalised again shortly after as Filimone broke through the Magpies defensive line off another halfway line out and linked up with Jordi Vilijoen who made it to the line untouched. The Magpies were now down 19-0 in the first 20 minutes and needed to respond quickly, they did just that.

After the Turbos spilled the restart, Freedom Vahaakolo was the first receiver after the scrum, Folau Fakatava then flung the ball out wide to Frank Lochore who scored. Danny Toala’s successful conversion closed the gap to 19-7.

The latter parts of the first half were scrappy, with both teams having problems with ball retention. The Magpies struck again in the 34th minute, as Pouri Rakete-Stones scored off a line out drive, the Magpies bread and butter this season, bringing the Magpies within 5 points.

The Turbos quickly responded with an intercept try to Filimone that was then followed up with a brilliant try to Fakatava to end the half with the Turbos up 26-21.

The second half, however, belonged to the Magpies. Danny Toala crashed over from five meters out just five minutes in, levelling the scores at 26-26. From there, the match turned into a back-and-forth contest, with both teams battling for momentum.

As the Magpies started to put the pressure on something had to give and in the 67th minute it would be Hunter Morrison who found a little gap in the defensive line, popping the offload to Fakatava who crossed the line again, scoring a double in his 50th game.

With just minutes remaining, the Magpies delivered one final blow. Off a strong lineout drive, Toala broke through the defensive line before feeding the ball to Ere Enari, who was brought down just short of the line. Nick Grigg was on hand to scoop up the ball at the back of the ruck and score, sealing the win for the Magpies!

The Turbos fought hard, but in the end, the Magpies’ outclassed Manawatu, cementing their place at the top of the Bunnings NPC ladder. Next Saturday, the Magpies return home for a top-of-the-table clash against Tasman - a game that promises to be a cracker!

Full Time Score - 38-26

Source: Corban Boyd