Mackenzie pressure Celtic
Nothing in the first half of the Celtic-Harlequins clash prepared anyone for the ‘helter skelter’ second in the pick of the Hamersley Cup matches over Easter.
The defending champions won 41-32 but it was not without a few nervous moments as Harlequins rallied thanks to two superb individual tries to veteran wing Maile I’Ongi, who celebrated his 150th game in style.
Celtic looked comfortable at Alpine Energy Stadium with a bonus point in the bank by halftime, up 24-13, on the back of a strong performance by the pack.
At the 60-minute mark Celtic had stretched the lead to 38-13 but that’s when things got interesting. Harlequins replacement No.8 Siu Kakala was proving a handful, making some big metres and he scored.
Celtic’s accurate goal kicker Willie Wright then hit the upright from a handy position but his skipper Nick Strachan was quickest to react and recovered the ball, only for Harlequins to give away another penalty, which Wright landed. Maile I’Ongi then scored a superb try. He got the ball just outside his own 22 and sprinted down the left wing, cleverly beating several defenders to score a superb try.
Celtic then lost two players, carded for high shots in the same play. No.8 Kali Latu was given a second yellow, which made it a red, while prop Dominic Visesio was also dispatched with a yellow leaving Celtic to survive with 13 men for the final 10 minutes.
I’Ongi then grabbed his second with a midfield chip and chase, finding a hole in the Celtic defence and sprinting in to finish it off untouched.
Harlequins had a sniff but experienced Celtic forwards Matt Fetu and Nick Strachan wound down the clock by getting what remained of their pack to keep ball close and frustrating Harlequins efforts to get their hands on the ball.
The result meant Harlequins grabbed their first competition point for the season with the bonus for four tries, and showed they will get better.
For Celtic open side Strachan was superb, Matt Stewart dominated the lineouts at No.2, while Visesio also played well around the paddock. First five Willie Wright was good on attack but missed a couple of crucial tackles while hard running wing Willie Taylor was hard to stop.
For Harlequins Pita Halaifonua was again very good at open side while lock Ben Dewsbury was hard working. At Geraldine the home side held on gamely for 60 minutes until Temuka showed their depth off the bench and romped home 48-21. That leaves the Magpies on top of the table after four games, with Waimate, Celtic and Mackenzie in pursuit.
For the Magpies lock Paula Fonokalafi is proving an ageless wonder while No.8 Jamie Callahan played very well. Wing Kalavini Leatigaga continued his try scoring streak dotting down a hat trick. For Geraldine hooker Marty Chandler played very well as did No.8 Connor Hilson, while Joel Smith continues to impress, this time at second five.
Waimate proved too strong for Old Boys winning 45-19 at School Park.
In the pack, blindside George Morgan had a strong game as did fellow loose forward Eafou Tagiaia, who notched his 50th game. For Old Boys captain Finn Hunt never gave up. No.8 Etienne van Zyl is getting more familiar with the New Zealand style of rugby and was impressive, Caleb Hapeta and Polutele Soa were strong in the midfield.
Pleasant Point put plenty of pressure on Mackenzie but ultimately could not hang on in their clash under lights at the Pleasant Point Domain.
The State Highway 8 clash always brings out the best in both sides and the Rams scored a late try, a brilliant individual effort to wing Iosefo Senibua, to inflate the winning score to 33-24.
First five Jared Trevathan was impressive for Mackenzie, scoring from a chip and chase, while George Folau used his size to score a good try.
However, Mackenzie paid the price for silly penalties with an impressive No.8 Josh CraigBradley scoring two tries from an excellent 5m lineout drives closing the gap to 18-17 at the break. Mackenzie halfback George Lott then caught Point’s defence napping when he ran a short blindside and crashed over in the corner to get his side up by six.
Midway through the half Pleasant Point centre Robbie Wigley scored a top try. Collecting the ball in his own half, with all the Mackenzie team in front of him, Wigley drifted right before straightening up and running hard around three defenders to score. Tegelaars’ conversion had Point in front 24-23. Trevathan then got the Rams ahead with a penalty.