Waikato lost 46-17 to Taranaki in the ITM Cup on Wednesday, conceding six tries in Hamilton, but it was the home side that provided the moment of the match. Trailing and in need of something special, Tawera Kerr-Barlow delivered in the second half.
The released All Black contributed towards Waikato’s first try in the 43rd minute, scored by Declan O’Donnell, with a flick pass, but it was the second in particular that was from another planet.
We’ve seen similar reverse type passes before, namely with Brock James and Tamati Ellison last year, but those – equally brilliant – were to do with momentum. This was a stationary, calculated decision, and he pulled it off perfectly. Straight to hand, and certainly not forward.
Taranaki picked up their biggest win against their provincial neighbours, as Marty McKenzie scored two of his team’s tries, and kicked six from eight attempts at goal. Waikato’s only tries were those by Joe Webber and O’Donnell in what was a good few minutes, having trailed 27-3 at the break.
The 46-17 loss comes a week after being thumped 58-27 by Canterbury. They face North Harbour on Saturday, while Taranaki take on Auckland away on Sunday.
While this pass won’t mean too much to the Waikato outfit after a loss like that, it’s well worth watching again. Another thing to note is that the advantage was only called by the referee after he made the pass, not before, so it took a lot of skill and a serious amount of self-belief to pull it off.
The updated video below includes the assist for the first try, as well as the pass for the second
Sign In