Wins for Tasman and Nelson Bays teams
The Tasman under-18 and Nelson Bays under-16 rugby teams have made successful starts to their South Island campaigns after contrasting wins over their respective Canterbury Metro opposition at Trafalgar Park on Saturday.
The Tasman Under-18’s eventually eased to a comfortable 34-15 win on the back of an outstanding defensive performance although Nelson Bays’ 20-18 win proved much more dramatic after second five-eighth Ryan Churchill sealed victory with a dropped goal deep into injury time.
Churchill had seemingly already secured the win after apparently applying downward pressure following a sensational 80m run through the Canterbury defence with a minute remaining.
Referee Corey Eggers initially awarded the try, only to reverse his decision and award Canterbury a defensive scrum. A sub- sequent free kick gave Nelson Bays one last chance, Churchill eventually moving into position to land the winning goal in the fourth minute of injury time.
It had been a dogfight throughout, the lead changing five times with Canterbury hold a 15-7 advantage at halftime.
Although Nelson Bays had opened the scoring through a try to winger Jamie Wilson, Canterbury eventually seized the initiative through tries to midfielder Shun Miyake and winger Cormack Tarrant to earn them some breathing space heading into the break.
However, Nelson Bays pro- duced the only try of the second half after lively flanker Jordan Newsome intercepted a pass 40m out and showed admirable pace to the line.
Opposing kickers, Nelson Bays’ Nuni Filiai and Canterbury’s Ollie Lewis, juggled the lead until Churchill’s dramatic involvement in the dying moments.
Nelson Bays’ forwards matched up physically with Newsome and fellow flanker Fergus Hughes always in the thick of the action, with front rowers Luca Inch and Jack McDonald-Hill also impressing with ball in hand.
Meanwhile, the Tasman under18s’ win was based on superb defence and their ability to take their limited scoring opportunities after Canterbury had dominated territorially for much of the contest.
Right winger Isaiah Gabriel again displayed his excellent finishing qualities with two welltaken tries, his first after powering through the Canterbury defence and the second after latching on to a pin-point cross-kick from his No 10 Josh McPherson.
McPherson had also featured in the first half try-scoring after jinking through a fraying defence inside Canterbury’s quarter. It complemented an outstanding individual contribution after he also landed all six attempts at goal.