17 Jul 2011

Canterbury too strong for Auckland

6:13 pm on 17 July 2011

Canterbury have made a near perfect start to the defence of their provincial rugby title with a thrilling 40-33 bonus point victory over Auckland at a sunny Eden Park.

The red and blacks had the running for most of the game scoring four tries to two but the home side fought hard to stay in the match and came close to pulling off a dramatic draw but fell just short in the final minutes.

Auckland claim a bonus point for coming within seven points of Canterbury.

In Sunday afternoon's second game Bay of Plenty beat Counties Manukau 20-13 in Pukekohe.