Sharks attack with fury
Home semi advantage secured
In a physical encounter against Ngongotaha, Pacific Sharks dominated the field on Saturday, coming out trumps with a 36 - 16 win.
Strong attack and cohesive defence meant Pacific dominated possession and they looked set to take the game away but simple errors kept Ngongotaha in the running.
Winger Aaron Dean set the pace in the opening minutes of the game with a well structured run-away try down the left hand side of the field.
But Ngongotaha weren’t going down without a fight.
They applied pressure up the middle through their bigger for- ward pack but Pacific countered it with a team effort.
It was experience in the likes of Vincent Morunga and Patrick Russell in the back line and Callin Tereu in the front that guided the young side to a 14-6 half time lead.
It was a much more convincing second half for Pacific who displayed structure and composure for the remaining 40 minutes.
Coach paniora Daniels said it was the structure that impressed him most.
‘‘ What we trained, we implemented on the field so that was a big bonus.’’
Delany Takiri crossed the line with about 10 minutes to go with a spectacular solo effort cutting through defence on the right side. Ngongotaha redeemed themselves with a try in the last play of the game but ultimately it was the Sharks who had the final say with the win.
Vincent Morunga was named man of the match for his unforgiving attacking skills.
The encouraging team effort gives Pacific the home semi advantage on August 2 against Pikiao Warriors. It will be a tough re- match following Pacific’s loss to the Rotorua side two weeks ago.