Magpies on the board beating Rhinos

The Ohakea Magpies notched their first win of the Coast to Coast rugby league competition when they beat the Tainui Rhinos 28-14 at the air force base on Saturday.

Ohakea had suffered two big losses, then had the bye, but finally got on the board after a tight game in the wet, where both teams were let down by poor handling.

The Magpies led 16-10 and halftime and even though winless Tainui had their chances, Ohakea closed the game out.

The standout player for the Magpies was fullback Hayden Gouman, who stopped a few tries with his defence and came into the line well on attack.

Malu Faalogo ran hard at prop, as did Aled Poole, while wing Billy Chase, who scored a double, was elusive out wide.

The were meant to host Hawke’s Bay team

Kia Ora Warriors

but Bridge Pa defaulted on Friday night because of a lack of players.

Bridge Pa,

look destined to finish second in the western pool after they lost to the

for the second time this season, this time 30-20 at Whanganui.

The game was full of mistakes because of rain, but for the first 60 minutes the team traded tries.

Coastal had a narrow 14-12 lead at halftime, but in the last 20

Whanganui Coastal Cobras Boxon

minutes they started to dominate and shot out to a 10-point lead.

Boxon were missing a few players, but new recruit, former Feilding Falcons player Richie Graham, had a big game at lock. The and

had the bye. There is one more round before the semifinals and the top two spots already look assured with Coastal and Whanganui in the west and Kia Ora and Linton in the east.

Linton Cobras Suburbs Tigers Western