Returning All Blacks winger Leicester Fainga'anuku scored twice to help Tasman comfortably beat Manawatu 49-17 in Nelson today.
Fainga'anuku who last played in a test match at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, made his presence felt early as the Mako looked to bounce back after a surprisingly one-sided loss to Bay Of Plenty last weekend.
Tasman got into their work early, dominating possession and territory to set themselves up with an attacking lineout after only eight minutes.
New Zealand Under-20s hooker Eli Oudenryn barged over for the game's first try.
Lopeti Faifua then doubled the lead with an easy finish, after Tasman had made short work of some scrambling Manawatu defence.
Fainga'anuku then had an even easier finish for his first, a simple pick and go against an empty blindside to walk over.
However, his second was a showcase of the sort of attacking ability that saw him offered an eye-watering contract with French club Toulon.
Fainga'anuku fielded a kick for touch that took a wicked bounce away from the Manawatu defence, then stepped and swerved his way to the line to make the score 28-0 at the break.
Manawatu threatened a comeback with three tries after halftime, but they were answered by Tone Ng Shiu, Fletcher Anderson and William Havili.
The only downside was an injury to Havili's brother and Tasman captain David, however Tasman possess such depth they were able to replace him with Kyren Tamouefolau.
The win certainly brings Manawatu back down to earth after their impressive win over North Harbour last weekend, they now head to Invercargill next Friday night to face winless Southland.
Tasman head very much the other way, up to Whangarei to play Northland.
In other games, Canterbury beat Auckland 19-15, Wellington downed Waikato 35-24, Taranaki thumped North Harbour 46-24, Northland beat Southland 22-17, while Hawkes Bay thrashed Counties Manukau 54-14.
[Source: RNZ]
