Canterbury takes out Otago
Sonny Bill Williams was clearly the star of this weekend's rugby games leading Canterbury to a 35-20 win and punishing Otago on their home ground in Dunedin this Saturday.
The Canterbury player, who started the match at centre, scored the winning try late in the second half of the game and also assisted Ryan Crotty and Steve Fualau in the scoring of two others.
It was not always clear who the strongest team was throughout the match. Otago started strong taking a 6-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of the game from two Dickson penalties, and it wasn’t until Williams was able to break through the Otago defence that
Steve Fualau was finally able to make Canterbury’s first try.
Williams then played a prominent role again in setting up Ryan Crotty for Canterbury’s second try moments before the half time whistle. Colin Slade then converted the try leaving the half time score at 17-6 in Canterbury’s favour.
The break seamed to work in Otago’s favour, who came back strong and cohesive, effectively closing down Williams's room to manoeuvre. It wasn’t until 18 minutes into the second half that Colin Slade was able to score a penalty against Otago and stretch the
lead to 20-6.
The Canterbury side then seemed to lose pace as Otago made a drive forward that saw two trys in quick succession from Joe Hill and Halani Aulika, tying the score at 20-20 in 62nd minute.
It wasn’t until Williams went on the attack and made a 60m dash crashing through the Otago defence for a solo effort try that the Canterbury team became re-energized. Colin Slade then converted the try as well, finishing off successfully kicking a penalty
in the final minutes of the match.
Williams noted that, “It was probably the fastest game I've played in since I've been back in New Zealand. It was really enjoyable and it's always tough to win when you play away from home. The teams at the bottom of the table always seem to get up for us."
This is the second game in a row that Williams has rescued for Canterbury. In last week's match against Wellington, played in earthquake stricken Christchurch, Williams was stopped by lima Sopoaga before Williams's shear power and size overcame the Wellington
back and Williams's try edged out Wellington to take the game 37-30.
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