• Canterbury were able to scamper out to an early lead that they faied to relinquish at any time throughout the match
• Late tries to Blake Gibson and Salesi Rayasi gave Auckland hope, but Canterbury reserve halfback Ere Enari snuffed out any hope of a comeback

Auckland have succumbed to Canterbury this afternoon at Eden Park. The red and blacks look to be back to their old self with a typically determined effort in the sunshine and wet. Auckland will now be looking ahead to Counties Manukau in Pukekohe next weekend in an effort to re-energise their season.

The match started off with Canterbury on the board twice within the first five minutes. Firstly through the boot of Brett Cameron, and then, flanker Billy Harmon was able to streak away untouched after plucking off a pass by Harry Plummer to dot down underneath the sticks.

The game resumed normal transmission soon after with both sides going hammer and tong at one another. Auckland started to gain a bit of traction however, and after a sustained period of play in the Canterbury half, saw No.8 Akira Ioane claim a try by placing the ball against the base of the posts from close-range.

Penalties to both first-fives in quick succession soon after saw the score go to 13-10 in favour of the visitors.

With only a minute to play in the half it was Canterbury who were in again. Wing Dallas McLeod able to scramble his way through a tired Auckland defence and extend the lead out to ten following the successful Brett Cameron conversion.

The Cantabs were the first out of the blocks in the second half through a second try to Billy Harmon. The openside flanker was the recipient of a fortunate bounce from a lineout gone wrong and was able to collect the ball from the tail and race away to extend the lead out to 15 with a little under half an hour to play.

With a quarter to play in the match the Auks had to be the next to score to give themselves a fighting chance, and it was co-captain Blake Gibson who stood-up in a timely fashion. The No.7 able to scamper over out wide to close the gap to just 8 points.

The match became even more interesting when winger Salesi Rayasi was able to break-out on the left and out-gun his opposite to bring the scores within three.

The red and blacks came to the fore yet again though with a dominant maul and scrum paving the way for a quick penalty tap by reserve halfback Ere Enari who was able to squeeze his way through a desperate Auckland defence to score.

The score at 32-22 for the remaining ten minutes of the match and sees Canterbury off the bottom of the table and Auckland into third spot on the ladder.

Auckland 22 (A Ioane, B Gibson, S Rayasi tries; H Plummer 2 conversions; H Plummer penalty)

Canterbury 32 (B Harmon 2, D McLeod, E Enari tries; B Cameron 2, F Burke conversions; B Cameron 2 penalties)

Halftime: 10 - 20