Southern clean out weakened Tukapa
Kahupukoro shows promise
Southern’s attempt to make their first senior A club playoffs received a boost on Saturday when they upset defending champions Tukapa 30-27 in New Plymouth.
The Hawera-based club have been trying to fill a spot in the final four since Hawera, Athletic and Waimate got together in 1995.
Judging by Saturday’s result, they stand an even chance of making it in 2012, although they did strike a Tukapa side hit hard by injuries and players being unavailable.
Just three players from the side that started last year’s final – Lagen Kumeroa, Jamison GibsonPark and Baxter King – were on the paddock against Southern.
Tukapa coach Kelvin Mcdowell also lost the services of King and influential lock Leighton Price at halftime when their backs seized up.
Their contribution was missed, as well, with Tukapa’s scrum going from being a powerful attacking weapon to one that struggled not to surrender ground.
Southern, and a number of other teams, will not be concerned about what problems Mcdowell has, though.
They would have enjoyed a rare successful trip north, made possible by their ability to counterattack effectively and by having someone at centre who had the pace and rugby nous to sniff out three tries.
Caleb Kahupukoro is a new face in Taranaki club rugby but not one that can be ignored.
His combination with Willie Rickards in the midfield proved decisive as Rickards shut down any attack from Tukapa through the middle of the park, got over the advantage line with the ball and found Kahupukoro not far from his shoulder.
The pair also combined well with promising first five-eighth Daniel Brooks who also made some decisive breaks as Southern ran in four tries to Tukapa’s three.
It was entertaining from the getgo as both sides traded fivepointers through the first 40 minutes.
Although the action was more sedate in the second half, there was plenty of tension on the field, matched only by the frustration off it as both coaches bemoaned the interpretation of referee Danny Dalleston who failed to take a strong hand with anyone slowing the ball down on the ground.
One team’s frustration was another side’s elation at just about every crucial ruck, although it did make a change from the whistle dominated approach taken by other officials through the first 11 weeks of the competition.
Southern coach Daryl Lilley was just relieved to end the match with five valuable points, especially after the annoyance of dropping points to Stratford just a week earlier.
‘‘It was satisfying coming up here and beating a team like Tukapa,’’ he said. ‘‘I think we came here with the right attitude whereas I thought we were a bit relaxed last week. They [players] knew we had a good opportunity to come up here and get a win.’’
Lilley was delighted with his side’s discipline, especially late in the match when they desperately tried to protect their three-point lead.
Lilley also gave some background on Kahupukoro whom he welcomed into the side after the centre returned from six months living in Hong Kong.
‘‘He’s got a job up in New Plymouth but he will come back to Hawera and play and after that game, you never know, we might see him in a Taranaki jersey.’’
The pain of defeat wold not have been softened for Tukapa when they eye up the points table which shows they have slipped to sixth.
They will likely be even grumpier when they see Clifton has moved ahead of them. Having only lost twice compared to Clifton’s six defeats, it does call into question the fairness of Taranaki Rugby’s rule to halve points after the first round.
Elsewhere, New Plymouth Old Boys hung on to beat Spotswood United 27-21 at Vogeltown Park, despite conceding a try from the opening whistle.
Flanker Dave Riley scored one of Old Boys’ four tries in a good all-round performance.
Spotswood United were well behind in the game heading into the second half but managed two converted tries to pull within reach of another to cause an upset.
Wing Brayden Byrne crossed for a double while halfback Warwick Lahmert also scored. Josh Hamilton knocked over all three conversions in another display from him.
Captain and hooker Matt Goodwin maintained his good form with another strong match.
Clifton got a much needed five points when they defeated Stratford 34-24 at Tikorangi.
New Zealand sevens halfback Kylem O’donnell returned to action to score a brace of tries while fullback Eddie Ule was also in good form.
The Clifton pack put in one of their best efforts of the season as
good they worked through to a 34-10 lead with 10 minutes to go before conceding a couple of late tries.
Stratford’s best players were second five-eighth Scott Davidson, who scored a double, while prop Callum Williamson was also prominent.
Stratford coach Chris Drummond said his side fell off too many tackles to be competitive while he was disappointed by the overall performance of his forwards.
Competition
leaders
Coastal predictably got maximum points against Eltham-kaponga with a 43-20 win at Okato.
On a day for players scoring hattricks of tries, centre Te Whaiti Mareikura and first five-eighth Brent Stevenson crossed three times.
Eltham-kaponga coach Brendan Crowley was happy with ‘‘patches’’ of his side’s performance while he was happy to have scored 20 points against the only undefeated team in the competition.