Auckland claim NPC Crown

The final was played in Wellington at the weekend with Auckland claiming their 14th title.

Canterbury led 7-5 at halftime, having showed strongly in the opening half but three unconverted tries highlighted Auckland's dominance up front and in the later stages.

Canterbury were rewarded for their strong start in the 27th minute when centre Tara Horsnell took a short pass powered through the Auckland defence for the opening try,.

Having dominated the half though, seven points was scant reward for Canterbury’s early efforts and Auckland's only genuine attacking opportunity in the opening 40 minutes resulted in a try to lock Charlene Halapua to reduce the gap at the break.

Auckland were a different side after the break and their improved attacking play was rewarded with three second half tries to Bella Milo, Chanel Wright and Kiritapu Demant, with the last coming in the dying seconds of ethe match.

Indeed Demant's try was risky, given Auckland held a narrow 15-10 lead with time up on the clock. While most teams would probably have opted to kick the ball out, Auckland kept playing and were rewarded with the score.

For New Zealand coach Brian Evans, this season’s final will have given him plenty of food for thought. Papatoetoe High School student Onjeurlina Leiataua showed real strength with a number of busting runs through the middle and the youngster is certainly one for the here and now rather than the future.

No.8 Casey Robertson stood out as ever for Canterbury while Tara Horsnell and captain Kendra Cocksedge were both in good form and fullback Amiria Rule showed huge class in the back three.

Those players will no doubt feature in Evans' squad for next year's tri-series with Canada and Australia in the lead-up to August's World Cup.

Auckland: 20Tries: Halapua, Milo, Wright, Demant

Canterbury: 10Try: HorsnellCon: CocksedgePen: Cocksedge