Old Boys unleash with 11 converted tries
New Plymouth Old Boys have sent a strong statement in week five of the CMK premier club rugby competition with a 77-19 win against Inglewood at Vogeltown Park.
Old Boys bounced back from the season’s first draw last weekend against Southern to score 11 tries to three in the biggest win of the season.
All of Old Boys’ tries were converted by leading competition points scorer Brayton Northcott-hill.
The defending champions were too hot to handle for Inglewood as they played with confidence to find gaps in the defence, ran the ball from their own 22-metre line and were excellent across all areas of the park.
The damage had already been done by halftime with Old Boys ahead 42-0 at the break.
Inglewood staged a partial fightback in the second half.
Inglewood flanker and All Blacks sevens representative Rhodes Featherstone scored the try of the season, which was the highlight for the visitors.
He showed immense pace down the touchline to score unopposed, one of three Inglewood tries in the second half.
Featherstone was the best player for his team as he continued his form of recent weeks.
Inglewood were missing Josh Jacomb, who played the last few games when he wasn’t required by the Chiefs.
Tough loose forward Jack White was also absent. Inglewood’s scrum did hold up against a strong Old Boys pack.
It was a game of two halves in Opunake where Coastal eventually beat Southern 32-24 to retain top spot on the competition table.
Southern had the better of the first half to lead 19-10. But Coastal played well in the second spell when they held onto more ball and mitigated Southern’s strong forward pack.
Coastal got out to a 32-19 lead before Southern scored a late try.
Olley Lawson, Luka Cassidy and Daniel Crowley were the standout players for Coastal and their bench also made an impact.
Spotswood United were agonisingly close to their first win in several seasons but lost 29-20 to Stratford-eltham at Yarrow Stadium.
The home team played their best rugby against last year’s beaten finalists to lead 17-5 at half time.
Stratford-eltham seemed to fire in the second half with Rocky Olsen a key player for his side. He scored a converted try as he guided his team around the park.
Trint Kelson also carried hard for Stratford-eltham, with his impact felt off the bench.
Tukapa picked up their first win of the season, beating Clifton 43-15 at Sanders Park.
The scoreline was disappointing for Clifton after a strong performance last week against Spotswood United and in conditions that should have suited them.
Tukapa got out to a 24-3 lead at the break. Clifton narrowed the margin before a late onslaught by the home team.
In the women’s competition, Clifton trounced Inglewood 81-0 and CoastalOkaiawa beat Tukapa 51-0.
The points after week four are: Coastal 20, NPOB 16, Stratford-eltham 15, Inglewood 10, Southern 8, Tukapa 6, Clifton 5, Spotswood United 1. - This content has been brought to you by Sport News Taranaki.