Moutere and Renwick clear
Moutere and Renwick surged clear of the Marlborough division one rugby pack with wins on Saturday.
The Magpies accounted for Central 33-17 at Lansdowne Park after the scores were tied 14-14 at the break. Three second half tries ensured Moutere remained top of the table with two rounds remaining before the semifinals.
Renwick travelled to Endeavour Park, Picton and came away with a 37-34 win over Waitohi, who had a player sent off in the first half for a dangerous tackle. The Green Machine led 10-6 at the break and managed to come away with the victory after a seesawing second half.
The third match was also played at Lansdowne Park, with East Coast notching up a 28-17 win over Harlequins. The Coasters were quickly out of the blocks, holding a 21-0 advantage after 40 minutes, before Quins mounted a second half revival, but it was too little, too late. Moutere 33 Central 17 At halftime this was anybody’s game, by fulltime the Magpies had showed why they are top of the pile.
At times they struggled to hold Central, who threw everything into attack and took advantage of the Magpies’ ill-discipline to land four penalties, but eventually they wore them down. While their usual game breakers, namely Vernon Fredericks, Ben Finau and Johnny Ika, were prominent and continually tested the Blues’ defence this was very much a team effort. Their scrum had the Blues under pressure for most of the game, especially when prop Jordan Hart entered the fray in the second spell, and the Moutere lineout was a reliable source of possession.
Their defence was also a feature, restricting their dangerous opponent to just a single try.
A typical Ika try, the centre swerving past two defenders, opened the scoring after seven minutes, but it took them another 20 minutes to bag their second, lock Brigham Hart taking a short pass on the blind side of a ruck close to the line. In between, Central fullback Mitch Smith booted three penalties to keep his side in touch, before a try on the stroke of halftime to Central winger Josh Harrison levelled the scores at the break.
Smith pushed the Blues ahead with his fourth penalty soon after halftime, but that was to be the extent of his team’s scoring as Moutere changed gear.
A wealth of possession ended with Jordan Newman exploiting a gap in the Central defensive line to score, then Baxter Wilson added his side’s fourth, racing 30m to the line after Central lost possession working the ball out of their half.
They put an exclamation mark on their work with a final touchdown, to midfielder Aisea Halo, in the final minutes.
Props Lockie McCormick and Jack Best were willing ball runners for Moutere and, along with Brigham Hart and Jordan McCoy, comprised a formidable tight five, while winger Owen Ika and fullback Junior Filipo looked dangerous out wide.
First five Robbie Malneek was a class act for the Blues, creating many attacking opportunities and doing his best to inspire his side on defence. Flanker Jone Lasaganibau toiled hard and carried well, while Jesse MacDonald was prominent, either at hooker or No 8. East Coast 28 Harlequins 17 A potent forward attack, characterised by driving mauls and series of pick-and-goes, meant the Coasters were nearly out of sight by halftime. Tries to outstanding hooker Billy Collins, prop Seymour Lambert and flanker Jack Murray, all converted by first five Max Freydell, pushed them to a 21-0 advantage, which they increased to 28-0 soon after the break when Collins bagged his second.
With Freydell kicking well for position, aided by halfback Hayden Ross, East Coast managed to create multiple opportunities for their hungry pack to exploit. No 8 Jack Roberton had another strong game, along with Collins, Lambert, Stu Campbell, Jordan Judge and Murray. Further out, Sam Westenra at centre caught the eye.
Harlequins received a serious boost pre-match when Crusaders hooker Andrew Makalio was released to play. The Makos man played at loosehead prop and showed his class, carrying strongly and defending with typical gusto. Trailing 28-0, his side finally discovered their lost mojo, scoring three tries, to prop Wilie Tau’alupe, first five Ula Fotu and winger Junior Sekai, as the Coasters began to flag in defence and Harlequins held onto the ball.
The return from injury of Hugo Halunukanuka was a plus for the Quins while hooker Sam Moli and flanker Atu Taufa were again among their best. Renwick 37 Waitohi 34 What began as a hard-fought first half battle, turned into a second half try-fest.
Renwick led 10-6 at the break, a Pecile Denicaucau try, plus conversion and penalty to first five Michael Dillon edging out two Tim O’Malley penalties for the home side. Making it harder for Waitohi was an early yellow card to lock Callum Adams for a late tackle followed by the sending off of winger Henry Evans after 25 minutes for a dangerous tackle, meaning they had to play most of the match with 14 players.
The second half, fought out between two evenly-matched sides, became a see-sawing affair. Tries to winger Regan Marshall, hooker Hamish Stevenson, through an interception, lock Henry Leov and a second effort to winger Denicaucau were balanced by touchdowns to first five O’Malley, hooker Taimi Fangatua, prop Matt Burgess and replacement centre Filipo Ligaliga for the home side.
When Waitohi scored with 10 minutes to go, narrowing the gap to three points, the match was in the balance but Renwick held their nerve, and their defensive line, to keep their nose in front and pick up a rare win over the Tohis, especially away from home.
They were well served by Stevenson, Denicaucau, halfback Todd Nicholas and lock Sam White.
The Tohis camp was happy with their side’s commitment, given the on-going disruption to their line-up. They were missing forwards Ofa Folau and Kefu Ikamanu this week and lost prop Manu Mataele with injury during the match. This meant more game time for youngsters Corey McCaffrey, at lock, and No 8 Blair Timms and they did not let the side down.