Well beaten Panguru find plenty to be positive about
Mangonui
Eastern 93 Panguru 5 (HT 40-0): Eastern romped in with a big win over their west coast adversaries in this match from the Mangonui sub union championship held in sublime midwinter weather at Taipa on Saturday.
Eastern coach Dave Jurlina was at pains to note Panguru were competitive throughout but were a tad unfortunate at coming up against an Eastern truly hitting their straps, perhaps for the first time this season.
“There’s two parts to it actually. Probably the best game . . . most well organised and structured we have been all year. Really good from our perspective. I’m really happy with how we played. Even with a big score like that, right to the final whistle, they [Panguru] never tired or gave up. All our tries we had to work hard for. I take my hat off to them.”
Eastern tries by Jake Simpson 3, Cyrus Broughton 3, Anthony Rogers 3, Mitchell Jurlina 2, Alan Heighway 2, with Toby Harding and Leon Emery getting one each. Emery at No 6 was also on kicking duties and nailed 10 conversions and a penalty to pick up the POTD award.
“Full credit to Panguru . . . were awesome at the aftermatch,” Jurlina said, also praising ref Eric Williams for controlling proceedings and letting play flow in this match played in good spirits.
Panguru manager Mike Te Wake admitted it was a bit oneway traffic but felt the real highlight of the day was the longstanding camaraderie between the two clubs.
“Wicked conditions for rugby. Eastern was packed. We travelled a bit light, still a few injuries. But, hey, we fronted, put a team out on the field. They just spread it wide, score started getting away. Big ups for my boys for fronting, for not giving up. Never packed a sad, never dropped their heads.
“Big ups for Eastern, they have some great people out there. We have a wicked relationship. Really grateful for the way they treated us. Not one of their boys tries to be cocky . . . even though score got away. They put it on when we go out there,” Te Wake said, thanking Dave and his coaching staff, as well as son Mitchell for the respectful culture they had created at the Taipabased club.
Standouts for Panguru were tighthead prop Chris Rosenthal who scored his side’s only try as the forward POTD and centre Jared Hikitea, back POTD.
“We left there with our mana intact.”
Awanui 43 Te Rarawa 21: Awanui put paid to any plans by Isimeli Taque has been on a try-scoring rampage for Awanui recently, having claimed a total of 15 tries in the side’s last three club matches.
the visitors to record “the upset of the season” although manager Jordan Jujnovich said it was hardly the most memorable performance of the year by the home team.
“We played pretty poorly to
be honest,” he said, noting eight key regulars were out of action for this clash. The standout was again Fijian Isimeli Taque who scored five tries to add to the six and four he scored against Panguru and Kaitaia respectively in the previous games.
Despite Taque’s try-scoring escapades, the POTD awards were shared by the Awanui front row including the “two old war horses” of Tony Paopao, Ina Lofevre and Tavita Tuipolotu. Also mentioned was stalwart Awanui groundsman Tote Nathan who celebrated his 79th birthday during the week.
Rarawa coach Pops Arona said it was no secret the visitors were targeting Saturday’s fixture as one of their must-win games with the Hart Cup up for grabs while victory would help the Ahipara team build solidly for the season finale.
“We prepared well during the week and were very excited to play. However, a couple of key players were unavailable and did have an effect on the fluency and flow of the way we wanted to play. I felt we competed well enough and had sufficient possession to win but the individual brilliance of one Awanui individual who scored five solo tries was the difference yet again.”
Rarawa standouts included the outstanding loose forward pairing of Jordan Foster and Dan Pure, along with the steady and calming influence and leadership of Tiano Arona and Brad Herewini.
On behalf of the club, Arona also thanked local businessmen Jay Sharp and Jonny Andrews for their generosity in sponsoring the seniors dress kit this season.
Rarawa is using the bye this week to host a Social Evening fundraising event at its Ahipara clubrooms on Friday. Cost to go is $10 per ticket.
■ ESTIMATED PLACINGS: Awanui 1, Eastern 2, Kaitaia 3, Panguru 4, Te Rarawa 5.