Pompey ‘not to blame for loss’

Warriors fullback Charnze NicollKlokstad says the fault shouldn’t lie with Adam Pompey for the loss to the Broncos in Napier on Saturday night, even though his shirt grab in the final minute cost his team a try.

He described their 26-22 defeat as a lost opportunity and given the Broncos were missing five of their best players due to State of Origin duties, this was a chance to get a win against one of the better teams in the NRL.

But the defeat, which was the Warriors’ fourth from their last five games, was a hard one to swallow. ‘‘It was a lost opportunity,’’ Nicoll-Klokstad told Stuff.

‘‘It felt like we were maybe frustrated about the moments we didn’t capitalise on and that reflected in our overall performance.’’

The Warriors were down 26-10 with six minutes to go at McLean Park, but tries by Nicoll-Klokstad and Marcelo Montoya set up a dramatic finish.

However, Nicoll-Klokstad said they shouldn’t have got themselves into a situation where they needed to play catch up.

‘‘It shouldn’t have even got to that,’’ he said. ‘‘We shouldn’t have put ourselves into a position where we needed an all or nothing play at the end to win the game.’’

When Montoya went in again in the final minute, it looked like the Warriors would snatch a win if Shaun Johnson was able to nail the conversion, or at least send the game into golden point territory.

However, it was spotted by the bunker that Pompey grabbed Deine Mariner’s jersey, impacting his ability to make a tackle on Montoya, so no try.

It wasn’t the smartest move in the career of the 24-year-old Pompey and Nicoll-Klokstad acknowledged that it cost them the win, but he spoke to the Warriors centre afterwards and told him not to blame himself.

At a glance

At McLean Park, Napier: Warriors 22 (Dallin WateneZelezniak 2, Charnze NicollKlokstad, Marcelo Montoya tries; Shaun Johnson 2gls), Broncos 26 (Deine Mariner 2, Jordan Riki, Ezra Mam tries; Adam Reynolds 5gls). HT: 6-12

‘‘I saw the replays and I went up to him and said ‘it’s all good bro, we shouldn’t have been in that position’,’’ Nicoll-Klokstad said.

The game was marred by 12 pitch invaders over the last 10 minutes, which allowed the underthe-pump Broncos players to get a much-needed rest. Despite that, it was a great occasion in Napier, with 16,195 spectators packing out McLean Park.

‘‘It was amazing, there was such a great atmosphere,’’ NicollKlokstad said.

‘‘The fans and the whole community was pumping and there has been such a good vibe this week, hopefully we can come back.’’

The Warriors have now reached the midpoint of the season and have amassed six wins and six losses.

They’ve been able to consistently beat some of the NRL’s lesser lights, like the Cowboys and Bulldogs, but the Sharks are the only team currently in the top eight that they’ve defeated.

Their next two fixtures are against two more top eight teams, the Dolphins and Raiders and the Warriors need to win both if they don’t want to be regarded as a middle-of-the-pack club.

Canberra forward Corey Harawira-Naera was discharged from hospital yesterday after collapsing and experiencing a seizure during his team’s NRL match against South Sydney.

Harawira-Naera says he is ‘‘on the mend’’ but ‘‘not in the clear yet’’ and will undergo further testing to get to the bottom of the frightening incident at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.

Shortly after taking a hit-up in the second half on Saturday night, Harawira-Naera appeared to become disoriented and fell to the turf. The match stopped for over 10 minutes as medical staff rushed onto the field and attended to the New Zealand international, who had begun convulsing.

Remember old concrete shoulders? Also known as Chiefs loose forward Luke Jacobson? He played two tests for the All Blacks in 2019 and another 10 in ‘22, but hasn’t really been sighted since as other perhaps more dynamic types have been preferred.

Well, Jacobson well and truly offered a reminder of the qualities he brings to a well-oiled rugby machine on Saturday night in Canberra when he produced arguably the star turn for the Chiefs in a crunch 31-21 victory over the Brumbies that seals the minor premiership for Clayton McMillan’s side.

This time of the year, of course, is all about timing as teams jockey for, first, preferred spots in the playoff equation and, then, the sort of momentum that the Crusaders have mastered in order to become eventual Super Rugby champions.

Saturday’s result against a fellow title contender was vital for the Chiefs after their first slipup of the year against the Reds, and a slightly shaky correction against the undermanned Canes. It was the sort of statement that suggests they’re ready to go up a cog over the run home.

And it was hard to fault Jacobson’s timing on Saturday night as he produced a performance that must have had the watching All Blacks coaches scribbling furiously. He ran for a team-high 131 metres (on 13 carries), for goodness sake. With seven tackle-busts, one clean break, one try and an offload thrown in. Not bad for a No 8 supposedly more about withering defence and high physicality than what you might call more flamboyant qualities.

Jacobson was surpassed last year by the likes of Hoskins Sotutu, Shannon Frizell and Akira Ioane in the national pecking order, but another dynamic showing or two like Saturday’s might cause a rethink on that. Throw in his leadership qualities and the non-negotiables in his game, and you have a player who just might shine on the World Cup stage.

Wings, and a prayer

Speaking of All Blacks contenders, how about the options Ian Foster has at his disposal in the back three?

In terms of out-and-out wings Blues pair Mark Telea and Caleb Clarke, Chiefs speedster Emoni Narawa and Crusaders finisher Leicester Faainga’anuku have all showed pretty decent Super Rugby