Silverdale snatches win over Shore

Silverdale have made it two from two North Harbour premier 1 club rugby competition.

After a convincing 24-13 against East Coast Bays in round one Silverdale came from behind to put North Shore to bed in their second match of the season.

North Shore gave up a halftime lead. Ahead 17-13 at the break, then slumped to a 26-17 loss after Silverdale put the pedal down.

By holding off a fast-finishing Takapuna, Northcote won 33-31 and claimed the Les Pearce Memorial Shield on Saturday.

Glenfield had their first win, 27-24 over Kumeu. East Coast Bays ran riot against Mahurangi in a 46-7 win.

At the other end of the points table is Marist. Marist head coach Paul Mant made his squad do the hard yards in the off season, with a focus on core skills and positionspecific work since October.

However, he is yet to see this transfer into a winning result.

‘‘We have a young, but extremely committed, side and we are looking towards the future in bringing through some young players that will become exceptional premier players and beyond in the future,’’ Mant said.

Robbie McIntosh scored Marist’s only points from the tee in the 20-6 loss to Massey on Saturday.

McIntosh is yet to turn 21, but has nearly achieved his 50 game blazer for the Saints.

Mant describes McIntosh as having ‘‘ huge untapped potential and a burning desire to play at the highest level.’’

Lock Brett Rusk is captaining Marist this season and will be joined in the forwards by some up and coming talent.

Glenn Preston, 24, will be the ‘‘cornerstone’’ of the Marist pack.

‘‘He was a standout for Harbour during the Mitre 10 Cup and has made every post a winner pushing into Blues development,’’ Mant said.

Last year’s Harbour under-19 captain, Hauwai McGahan, the son of Marist’s first captain Glen McGahan, is a fleet-footed openside flanker who will be a ‘‘nightmare to ball carriers when on defence’’, according to his coach.

Callan Venter, a newcomer to Marist after

‘‘We have a young, but extremely committed side.’’

a few seasons at Mahurangi, is once again linking up with his mentor and former All Black and Chiefs captain Steven Bates, who has joined the Marist coaching team.

Mant said Venter is a rugged number 8 who has a huge work rate and doesn’t take a backward step in the contact areas.

In the backs, Marist will have some experience alongside the youth.

Ray Daniels, who played for Northland in the national provincial competition in 2015, will be getting the ball out to some players who are reasonably new to senior club rugby.

‘‘Ray has been around the club scene for a lot of years now,’’ Mant said.

‘‘This year he has re-focussed his training efforts and has already shown his sharpness, causing headaches to defence with his lightning speed and distribution.’’

Now all Mant needs is for the team that looks strong on paper to get the winning results on the field.

Marist 6 (Robbie McIntosh 2 pens) Massey 20 (Nata Va’atausili, Pierre Pili, Apiu Pritchard tries, Chris Fox 1p, 1c)

East Coast Bays 46 (Nu Tafua, Matt Cochran, Kingsley Henry, Zac Norris, Marty Swart (2), Slade McFarland, Tate Evans tries, Marty Swart 3 cons) Mahurangi 7 (Jordan Roberts try, Lloyd Thomas con)

North Shore 17 (Maui Hausia, Rex Pollock tries, Jordan McGregor pen, con, Daniel Hilton Jones con) Silverdale 26 (Oliver Day, Chris Ofanoa, Alisdair Cargo tries, David McMurtrie 3 cons, pen)

Takapuna 31 (1 x penalty try, Jon Elrick, Steven Misa (2) tries, Jon Elrick 4 con, pen) Northcote 33 (Otulea Katoa, Ben Smith (2), Nick Regal tries, Ben Searle 2 con 2 pen, Jack Bergin 2 pen)

Glenfield 27 (Manning Smith, Tanimo Samoa (2) tries, David Hala’ufia 2 pen 3 con) Kumeu 24 (Dillon O’Leary, Kenny Malolo, Mervyn Merumeru tries, Roman Prasad pen 3 con)