Under-19s knocked out of contention

Tasman have have been knocked out of semifinal contention following a 28-11 loss to Waikato on day one of the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under-19 rugby tournament in Taupo.

Tasman had headed north as the Southern Zone’s top qualifier.

They finally had their unbeaten run ended by last year’s champion Waikato side in their top eight Graham Mourie Cup contest at Owen Delany Park on Sunday.

Waikato had only qualified second behind Bay of Plenty in the Chiefs Zone grading series.

They were too good for Tasman and eventually outscored them by three tries to one after leading 10-3 at halftime.

Tasman suffered an early setback when they lost their influential No 8 Isaiah Miller to a first half hip injury.

They struggled to get into the contest against a big and physical Waikato side in wet and windy conditions.

‘‘We had a really good scrum to start with but we couldn’t really get into the game,’’ said Tasman head coach Mike Fraser.

‘‘[Waikato] brought an intensity up front that the boys hadn’t experienced. We just missed tackles, dropped balls . . . we didn’t play very well to be honest.’’

First five-eighth Willy Havili kicked two penalties to provide all of Tasman’s first half scoring before Waikato jumped to a 21-6 lead early in the second half. Although Tasman pegged it back to 21-11 through a try to centre and captain Rupena Parkinson, Waikato finished strongly to score their third try in the dying minutes.

‘‘We just got a bit outmuscled up front.

‘‘We struggled to get our lineout ball, our scrum was okay but we dropped off crucial tackles which got them into the game.

‘‘At the breakdown as well, we just struggled to get that good clean go-forward ball.

‘‘We gave away penalties at silly times, we’d have some good attack then just turn the ball over.

‘‘Individuals wouldn’t present the ball properly at the breakdown and they’d get it.’’

A few players still put their hands up with winger Timoci Tavatavanawai the pick of the backs.

In the forwards, flanker Te Ahiwaru Cirikidaveta and lock Sosefo Vaka both carried strongly when given the opportunity.

Waikato effectively stifled any potential threat from players such as Tasman’s attacking fullback Jamie Spowart.

‘‘They shut our back three down pretty well,’’ Fraser said.

Tasman will now play either Wellington or North Harbour in the fifth to eighth-place playoffs on Wednesday at 10.45am.