Canterbury center Tim Bateman produced a pretty special moment against Auckland this weekend in the Air New Zealand Cup, as we saw him chase down Jamie Helleur after an intercept looked destined to result in 7 points. While still a relatively new face to fans around the world, since making his senior debut in 2006, young Tim Bateman has continued to impress whenever he's worn the famous red and white jersey.
His pedigree speaks for itself, as he hails from the esteemed Christchurch Boys High School, following in the footsteps of the likes of Andrew Mehrtens, Aaron Mauger, Daniel Carter, Scott Hamilton and Stephen Brett. His two years playing for the u19's has also held him in good stead.
While Bateman isn't the biggest center in world rugby, he seemingly makes up for the lack of size with his darting runs and grim determination on defense, as we saw in Christchurch on Saturday.
This 75-metre chase to haul down opposition fullback Helleur centimetres from the line was highly impressive, and as the commentators reiterated, will go a long way to earning Bateman the respect and recognition he'll need to keep rising in New Zealand rugby.
With the home side only 5-0 up at that stage, a converted try could have easily shifted the momentum in Auckland's favour. Batemans chase had a great effect on the whole side morale wise, with their overall effort being lifted for the rest of the match, as front rower Wyatt Crockett testified to.
"When they did make half-breaks, we scrambled quite well and that effort from Timmy ... I was probably about 90 metres away, hoping he was going to get him. You look up and you see that and it was just a magnificent effort and it lifts everyone. It was massive, psychologically."
Auckland didn't come close to crossing again in the match, with the the home side Canterbury coming out convincing victors 34-3 in the end.
Time: 02:11
Note: You can watch a repeat of this Air NZ Cup match in full on Rugbyzone herewww.rugbydump.com
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