Highlights: Māori ABs and Manu Samoa play entertaining game, with Māori clocking up back to back wins

Māori All Blacks captain Ash Dixon scoring the opening try.  Credit / Sky Sports

The Māori All Blacks have run out 38-21 winners over Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Saturday after beating the Manu 35-10 in Wellington last weekend.

Captain Ash Dixon opened the scoring for the Māori after the hooker crashed over for a try from a lineout drive after just over 20 minutes, with Otere Black adding the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Manu Samoa hit back almost straight away with a blistering try of their own to winger Neria Fomai. The try was created by first-five Rodney Iona who gathered in a high kick and carved his way through the Māori defence, before sending a pass out wide for the winger to finish off the job. The conversion made it all square at 7-7 with 25 minutes gone in the game.

Māori All Black winger Jonah Lowe scoring the first of his two tries.   Credit / Sky Sports

Winger Jonah Lowe made it two tries for the Māori ABs and a 12-7 lead. He dotted down in the corner shortly after the half-hour mark from a backline movement set up by driving runs from the Māori forwards in front of the Samoan posts.

Five minutes later, the Māori were awarded a penalty try for a 19-7 halftime lead after Manu Samoa forward Samuel Slade was ruled to have pulled down the maul.

Match highlights of the Māori All Blacks v Manu Samoa in Auckland.    Source / All Blacks (YouTube)

Samoa got away to a flyer after the break with fullback Tomasi Alosio running onto a flicked back pass by halfback Auvasa Falealii a couple of metres out from the try line for a five-pointer. The try came after the no. 9 had earlier burst through the field to spark the well-worked team try,

The Māori doubled their score in the second half with three more tries, including a second penalty try and a double for the game for Lowe.

The entertaining game ended 38-21 to the Māori.

After the match, Māori forward Kurt Eklund (Ngāti Kahu) got the players' reaction to the game back in the Māori All Blacks changing rooms.

Source / All Blacks (YouTube)