Canterbury hold off Taranaki 38-28 to set up a Labour Day final against Northland

Canterbury are into a second straight NPC final after holding off a Taranaki fightback to win their semifinal 38-28 at One NZ Stadium on Sunday. They led 26-7 at half-time, let Taranaki back to within a converted try, and then shut the door with a try to winger Isaac Hutchinson. They host Northland in the final on Labour Day.

A first half that looked decisive

Taranaki had beaten Canterbury 40-26 in New Plymouth in the regular season, and they started like a side who remembered it. Flanker Corey Kellow opened the scoring for Canterbury after 15 minutes, Hutchinson converting, but Seta Tamanivalu hit back six minutes later and Josh Jacomb's conversion made it 7-7.

Then Canterbury took over. Winger Kurtis MacDonald, blindside Xavier Treacy and All Blacks lock Sam Darry all scored before the break, while Taranaki lock Fiti Sa was sent to the sin bin for repeated infringements under pressure, and it was 26-7 at half-time.

The fightback

Second five-eighth Jone Rova scored three minutes after the restart and the game looked over at 31-7. Taranaki did not accept it. Centre Meihana Grindlay finished a counter-attack, co-captain Kaylum Boshier scored soon after, and Jacomb converted both to bring the margin down to ten, and then to seven when the arithmetic caught up. Hutchinson's try in the 61st minute restored a two-score cushion, and although Grindlay scored his second with 12 minutes left, Canterbury held on. Each side converted four of its tries: Hutchinson for Canterbury, Jacomb for Taranaki. Ben O'Keeffe refereed.

"This Taranaki team threw it all at us," said Canterbury captain Brodie McAlister, who admitted his side had gone into "a lull" after half-time for the second week running.

The performers

Kurtis MacDonald was the best of Canterbury's backs, with 14 carries, 100 metres, four line breaks and a try, his third in eight NPC games this season. Sam Darry, back from the All Blacks, made 15 carries, a team-high 12 tackles and scored, and Canterbury won 17 of their 19 lineouts. Isaac Hutchinson finished with 13 points from a try and four conversions. For Taranaki, Meihana Grindlay scored twice and Josh Jacomb, released by the All Blacks to fly home during the Bledisloe Test week, steered the side from first five-eighth. Taranaki's run was remarkable in itself: outside the top eight before round eight, they won three in a row to finish fifth, then beat North Harbour 50-31 in Albany in the quarterfinal.

What it means

Canterbury, the defending champions, have won the competition 15 times, two behind Auckland's 17, and a win on Monday would be their 16th. Their opponents are Northland, who beat Otago 38-19 in Whangārei to reach their first final and who beat Canterbury 36-12 in Christchurch in August to take the Ranfurly Shield.

The final is at One NZ Stadium on Monday 26 October, Labour Day, at 2.10pm.