Garden-Bachop’s boot gets Lions home in first home game

The Wellington Lions have won their first home game of the season, edging out North Harbour 21-17 at Westpac Stadium.

Running is in the DNA of many of the Lions players' blood, but it was the flawless boot of Jackson Garden-Bachop that got the Lions over the line, slotting seven penalty goals to amass all of the Lions' 21 points. 

North Harbour's defence was strong but it was their discipline and open-play kicking that ultimately let them down, conceding field position, penalties and eventually points as the hosts held on for the win.

While the lack of tries will be a concern for Earl Va'a, there were also multiple costly defensive lapses by his team, one of which saw Matt McGahan score the match's first try.

Awarded a midfield scrum five metres out from the Lions' line, McGahan received the ball seemingly with nothing on, though a slip from Tomasi Palu opened a gap in the defence which McGahan took advantage of. 

Wellington eventually warmed into the game, gaining field position which resulted in a trio of Jackson Garden-Bachop penalty goals.

Weak Wellington defence resulted in Harbour's second try eight minutes into the second period. Harbour lock Brandon Nansen ran between the loose forward pairing of Greg Foe and Brad Shields who both slipped off Nansen, resulting in a clear run to the line to put Harbour back in the lead after Garden-Bachop's fourth penalty of the night put Wellington up 12-10 just three minutes earlier.

However, as he'd been doing all evening, Garden-Bachop continued to nail the three-pointers, seeing Wellington sneak home with the win.

THE LIONS WHO ROARED

Vaea Fifita made several trademark gallops in his time on the field and some big tackles but it's Jackson Garden-Bachop who will be largely credited for the Lions' win. The first five-eighth went a perfect 7/7 from the tee and made a crucial defensive play to stop North Harbour scoring in the second half.

Garden-Bachop’s seven penalties were a record, previously held by six players. The last person to do this was Daniel Kirkpatrick in 2009, whose father was a national shearing champion.

The young guns off the bench continued to press their claims. TJ Va’a’s senior career has been stop-start thus far owing to injuries, so it’s good to see the former schoolboy star get a run.

BY THE NUMBERS

The win was Wellington's 10th-straight win over North Harbour - the last time that Harbour experienced victory over the Lions was in 2006 when they won 31-16 in Albany. 

The most tries that Wellington has scored against Harbour in one game is seven in 2010. Tonight was the polar opposite, with the hosts failing to score a five-pointer.

Harbour has failed to score a try against Wellington on two occasions - in 1993 and 2015.

WHERE TO NEXT

The Lions travel up to South Auckland to ECOLight Stadium to take on the in-form Counties Manukau. Counties are on top of the Premiership table as it stands, while Wellington have moved up to third on the Championship standings.