Hastings grab last minute victory
Hastings Rugby and Sports premier women’s rugby captain Nina Pineaha was the toast of her team on Saturday.
Pineaha scored a last minute try to give Hastings a 22-17 win against Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports at Tamatea Park in the opening round of Hawke’s Bay’s second round competition.
‘‘We were a little slow to start after having a default win last weekend. I know it took me a while to get going as I hadn’t played for two weeks because it was my brother Saxon’s 21st the previous week,’’ Pineaha explained.
‘‘But to finish strong and still get a win after bombing a few opportunities will give us confidence for the tougher games to come like against Napier Tech. Tech is the team to beat.’’
Second five-eighth Kathryn Marshall was another to make the most of her attacking opportunities in the winning backline. Props Jamie Heather and Ruth Te Tonga made some powerful charges and the Hastings loose forward trio of flankers Diane Hepi and Amy Pedman and No 8 Ditte van Vliet combined well.
Napier Girls’ High School player Crystal Anniss had a memorable debut at fullback for the Pirate side. She saved three tries with her strong defensive work.
Prop Nicky Evans and No 8 Whitley Mareikura were prominent in the Pirate pack while first five-eighth Krysten Duffill was a workaholic yet again.
Defending champions Napier Technical didn’t have everything their own way during a 43-17 win against Clive at Farndon Park. Clive, who didn’t play in the combined Hawke’s Bay-Manawatu competition which ended the previous week, started the game well and trailed 10-5 at halftime.
Hawke’s Bay under-15 touch representative Talon Robinson produced a player-of-the-match performance for the hosts as a winger and scored two tries.
Locks Sam Gerretzen and Stacey Loye were an inspirational pair in the Tech pack where openside flanker Laurae Blake and hooker Natalie Cotton were also valuable contributors. Halfback Gemma Woods and second fiveeighth Kaylah Clarke-Winiata impressed in the winning backline.