Hawke's Bay dished up Counties Manukau's second loss of the 2020 season in Napier today with Brad Weber scoring a double for the victorious Magpies, playing a big part in his sides 31-17 victory.
Weber's two tries came in the first half, with the Chiefs halfback thriving in his last outing in the black and white hoops before assembling with the All Blacks squad next week.
Both tries came as a result of Weber running in support of his Magpies teammates, finding himself in the right place at the right time, however his second try in the 31st minute required a winger-esque finish in the right-hand corner, which he executed to perfection.
Alongside Weber's two first half tries were a pair of yellow cards served against the Steelers in the first 45 minutes with ill-discipline being the theme of the day for the Counties Manukau outfit.
Sam Slade copped the first sin-binning, clothes-lining Hawke's Bay winger Lolagi Visinia in the 14th minute.
The second card occurred with over a minute remaining on Slade's sin-bin sentence, this time coming from lock Mickey Wooliams who was nabbed for collapsing a maul, resulting in his 10-minute absence and a penalty try.
Visinia also added his name to the try tally in the 33rd minute in what was a punishing first half for the Steelers.
Despite outscoring the Magpies in the second half by two points, the damage had already been done with the Steelers falling well short of their first victory.
Hawke's Bay take on Canterbury next week at McLean Park, a side which will likely be playing with a chip on their shoulder following their Ranfurly Shield defeat yesterday.
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