Go, You Good Thing!.....

New Zealand Maori through to Churchill Cup final

New Zealand Maori breezed into the final of the Churchill Cup tournament by beating Ireland A 50-22 in Exeter, England, this morning (NZ time).

The defending champions will play England Saxons in the Cup decider on Sunday morning (NZ time) at Twickenham.

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Initially, the Maori had few opportunities to execute their trademark backplay and had to rely on counter attacks sparked by skipper Rua Tipoki, wing Hosea Gear and first five-eighth Tamati Ellison to keep the Irish honest.

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Ellison cut the deficit with a fifth minute penalty before his side took the lead from their first breakout of the match.

A clever Shannon Paku kick through after a lineout saw Gear swoop for his side's opening try, which Ellison converted.

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A Gear surge close to the line was finished off by Paku whose try was converted by Ellison in the 31st minute.

With the Irish down to 14 men after halfback Frank Murphy was sinbinned in the 35th minute for a blatant offside, Ellison touched down after beating a couple of tackles.

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Gear took three minutes to double his tally and May atoned for his sin binning with a couple by the 56th minute, with Ellison converting all three.