Nelson clubs start strongly in series
Nelson and Wanderers secured important wins in Blenheim to kick-start the opening round of the Tasman Trophy premier club rugby series.
Renwick were left to rue a slow start in their 22-14 home loss to Nelson.
They trailed the Nelson first round winners 19-0 after the first 40 and, although they bounced back to dominate the second spell, were unable to bridge the gap.
In early stages Nelson, sparked by outstanding loose forward Ethan Blackadder, were able to get their offloading game going. They tested the home side’s defence across the park and racked up three tries as the Green Machine went looking for answers.
The second spell saw a swing in momentum, with the referee calling for Golden Oldies scrums after injuries to the already-light Nelson front row stocks. Renwick made some key changes and by the mid point had racked up 14 points, through converted tries to replacement first five Todd Nicholas and right winger Kavekini Tabu.
However their comeback stalled as Nelson, led by fullback Andrew Norton-Taylor, flanker Sosefa Vaka and first five Willy Havili dominated the latter stages of the match through tough defence and judicious kicking, adding a penalty to deny Renwick a bonus point.
Wingers Regan Marshall and Tabu impressed for the home side, along with midfielder Kyle Marfell, tighthead prop Quinn Harrison-Jones and flanker Josh Holdaway.
WANDERERS 24 CENTRAL 21
These two sides produced what Central head coach Baz Henare described as a ‘‘cracking game’’ at Marlborough rugby headquarters. Both teams took advantage of the calm conditions to move the ball whenever possible and a thrilling encounter ensued.
The home side led early, a Moutere 45 (Johnny Ika 3, Chad Tennant, Ben Finau, Tione Filipo, Vern Fredericks tries, Jordy Newman 5 con) WOB 17 (Tony Ahoafi, Mike Stringer, Dan Hytongue tries, Eli Kneepkens con) HT: 12-5. Waitohi 39 (Tim O’Malley 2, Kefu Ikamanu 2, Taimi Fangatu tries, O’Malley 4 con, 2 pen) Kahurangi 33 (Aaron Coe, Stein Schreiber, Kenny Eggers, Hanah CorbettBurrows tries, Andy Beatson 2 con, 3 pen) HT: 24-13. Marist 59 (Isaac Laga 4, Liam Boshoff, Kasi Sami, Cleve Barrell, James Hawkey tries, Hawkey 5 con, 3 pen) Harlequins 14 (Viliami Lolohea, Sam Moli tries, Hugo Halanukunuku 2 con) HT: 21-14. Stoke 40 (Sam Chamberlain 3, Blayne Wanoa-Commins, Chris Little, Tomas Aoake tries, Matt Soper 2 con, 2 pen) East Coast 20 (Billy Collins, Stu Campbell, Miles Hamilton tries, Max Freydell pen, Sean Martin con) HT: 20-15. Wanderers 24 (Steve Soper 2, Drew Petelo tries, Jesse Pitman 3 con, pen) Central 21 (Lacey Betham, Dan McPherson tries, Ra Tamati 3 pen con) HT: 10-10 Nelson 22 (Chris Kerslake, Jackson Harvey, Nick Foxley tries, Harvey pen, Willy Havili 2 con) Renwick 14 (Todd Nicholas, Kavekini Tabu tries, Kurt Schollum 2 con). HT: 19-0
Nelson 24, Moutere 24, Waitohi 23, Renwick 19, WOB 19, Marist 19, Wanderers 18, Central 11, Stoke 11, East Coast 6, Kahurangi 6, Harlequins 5. converted try to prop Lacey Betham helping them to a 10-0 lead. However, by halftime Wanderers were on level terms through a try to rampaging flanker Steve Soper, plus a conversion and penalty to the influential Jesse Pitman.
Two Tamati penalties pushed the Blues ahead 16-10 before Soper showed his skills to score the try of the match, an outstanding 40m effort which, when converted, gave the visitors their first lead of the game. They scored a third soon after, also converted, to move ahead 24-16, before Central replied, through replacement front rower Dan McPherson, with 10 minutes to go, prompting a frantic final eight minutes from both sides.
The visitors’ best were Evan Coote, Soper and the elusive Fletcher Mathews.
The Central front row of Matt Eru, Betham and Rayner Akurangi were outstanding for Central, along with halfback Trance Poa. MOUTERE 45 WOB 17 Moutere outscored Waimea Old Boys by seven tries to three in their 45-17 win at Jubilee Park, with explosive fullback Johnny Ika bagging a hat-trick, two of them during the first half as the visitors took a 12-5 lead into the break.
Moutere were everything Waimea weren’t in terms of their more clinical execution, their big physical forwards creating an effective platform for their hard-running backs.
They were helped by some poor Waimea defence and indiscipline, with fullback Eli Kneepkens and No 10 James Lash each spending 10 minutes in the sin-bin for separate incidents.
Waimea held a first half territorial edge but were constantly let down by poor handling as an urgent scrambling Moutere defence helped maintain pressure.
Moutere added five second half tries, three of them in quick suc- cession late in the half as the scoreline eventually blew out of Waimea’s control.
Winger Chad Tennant, halfback Ben Finau, Ika, midfielder Tione Filipo and inspirational flanker Vern Fredericks crossed in the second half as two late tries to centre Mike Stringer and flanker Dan Hytongue offered Waimea little consolation.
Waimea were never in the contest in the second half as a confident Moutere side turned the screws, kept up the intensity and continued to prey on Waimea mistakes. MARIST 59 HARLEQUINS 14 Marist winger Isaac Laga produced a four-try blitz as his team overran Harlequins 59-14 at Tahunanui.
Harlequins stayed in touch until halftime before being buried in a virtual point-a-minute second half scoring deluge.
Marist led just 21-14 at the break, midfielder Liam Boshoff and Laga scoring for the home team with centre Viliama Lolohea and hooker Sam Moli crossing for the Quins.
But backed by a dominant scrum, Marist poured on a further six second half tries - Laga bagging three of them - to leave the Quins trailing despairingly in their wake.
Kasi Sami, Cleve Barrell and James Hawkey also scored tries, Hawkey ending the match with 24 points after also slotting five conversions and three penalties.
Marist’s backs simply ran hard and straight, embellishing their efforts with clever offloads and clinical finishing.
Apart from Laga’s star turn, flanker Te Puoho Stephens complemented the fine work of his tight forwards to produce his best game of the season. Hawkey, Boshoff, halfback Cleve Barrell and prop Brett Williams also impressed.
Lolohea, Moli, fullback Nick Foster and lock Joel Aherns stood out for the Quins. STOKE 40 EAST COAST 20 Two Sam Chamberlain tries in the last five minutes helped push Stoke to a 20-point win over East Coast at Nayland College.
It left Stoke celebrating their first win of the season although there was little room to spare against a willing East Coast side that stayed in touch throughout.
Stoke led just 20-15 at the break, unconverted tries to Chamberlain, wingers Blayne Wanoa-Commins and Chris Little and midfielder Tomas Aoake countered by tries to East Coast hooker Billy Collins and lock Stu Campbell.
Two Matt Soper penalties, to a try by East Coast midfielder Miles Hamilton, had Stoke heading tentatively into the death throes just 26-20 ahead.
Then Chamberlain struck, twice running superbly off his centre Rupena Parkinson to finally twist the knife and complete his hat-trick.
Beaten in the scrums, Stoke achieved some parity at lineout time. But it was out wide where Stoke asserted their dominance, with the enterprising Chamberlain in particular capitalising on Stoke’s ball movement.
Prop Seymour Lambert, Campbell and Collins stood out in East Coast’s forward effort, while Chamberlain and Parkinson created plenty of headaches for East Coast’s defence.
WAITOHI 39 KAHURANGI 33
Waitohi No 10 Tim O’Malley provided the star turn as he helped steer his team to a tight 39-33 win over Kahurangi at Motueka.
O’Malley contributed 24 points to the win, including two of the team’s five tries, although it was his control and vision that enabled Waitohi to consistently remain just beyond Kahurangi’s reach in an otherwise tight contest.
Bullocking No 8 Kefu Ikamanu also scored twice for Waitohi, one in each half as the visitors took a 24-13 edge into the break. Hooker Taimi Fangatu also added a second half try although a resilient Kahurangi ended the match with two bonus points following tries to halfback Aaron Coe, fullback Stein Schrieber, midfielder Kenny Eggers and flanker-centre Hanah Corbett-Burrows.
Waitohi started the match strongly to provide a front foot edge that they maintained for much of the contest. But not without plenty of fight from the home team as Kahurangi continued to inject themselves into the game.
Waitohi’s big ball-carrying forwards applied constant pressure, enabling O’Malley to call the shots, with lock Callum Adams also an outstanding contributor to the win. Prop Matthew Burgess and penetrative centre Chris Taulupe also impressed.
Corbett-Burrows, No 8 Paea Taulanga, lock Kane McLeod and young centre Vito Lammers were the pick of a determined Kahurangi effort.