Two wins for Te Awamutu Sports
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports got their 2024 Waikato club rugby campaign off to the best possible start with a 20-12 win over Fraser Tech at Albert Park on Saturday afternoon.
Tries to former Manu Samoa halfback Vavao Afemai, Logan Karl and Niah Church-Jones were complemented by a conversion and penalty goal from pivot Dillon Martin.
After a stalemate through the first 10 minutes where Sports controlled a lot of the play but were held out by some strong defence, the visitors struck first against the run of play to take an early lead.
But Sports lifted the tempo and drove them back.
Quick-thinking halfback Afemai caught the visitors on their heels following a penalty to weave through and crash over. Martin’s conversion took the lead back.
More pressure had Sports controlling the next period. They were rewarded when Karl found space around the ruck and dove over in the corner. Sports stretched their lead to 12-5, where it stayed for the remaining 10 minutes of the half.
After the break, Tech lifted. Some brutal defence around the fringes repelled some promising Te Awamutu movements before a slick scrum saw replacement Zealin Prime sprint down the short side while Church-Jones took it off the back the other way, corkscrewing through two defenders to crash over and stretch the lead to 17-5 with 25 minutes to play.
Both sides took control at times through the last quarter, with Sports looking for the kill shot while Tech were desperate to score to narrow the margin. But it was the boot of pivot Martin though that broke the deadlock, slotting a long-range penalty goal to take the lead past three scores with three minutes to play.
With the game gone, Tech threw caution to the wind in the closing minutes, eventually rewarded with their second try in injury time and a more respectable scoreline.
For a new-look Sports side, all eight debutants performed well in a tough first-up fixture, but it was incumbent loose forward Church-Jones, moving to the back of the scrum, who stood out, carrying the ball strongly into the stiff defensive line and taking on a massive workload to earn himself man of the match honours.
Hooker Hoani Ham, stepping into the starting role, was also impressive, while the evergreen Afemai returned to the club from Waitomo with a strong all-round performance.
MVP POINTS: 3: Niah Church-Jones, 2: Hoani Ham, 1: Vavao Afemai.
PREMIER DEVELOPMENT
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports Premier Development also began their defence of the Rowe Cup with a comfortable 31-10 victory over Fraser Tech B to sit in second place after the first week.
Tries to hooker Dylan Jeffries (2), loose forward Gordon Fullerton and lock Sleyd Edmonds led the way while fullback George Poolman kicked a conversion and three penalty goals.
While the win was comfortable, Sports will feel they left some points on the field with some lack of execution, but will still be happy with the bonus-point win.
It only took eight minutes for
Sports to strike. Loose forward Fullerton powered through the defence in his return to the club.
The former Old Glory DC Major League Rugby player’s try was converted by Poolman for the early 7-0 lead.
Indecision from the kickoff then saw Tech strike straight back and close the gap to two points.
Poolman added a penalty goal after an extended raid netted no points, but Jeffries picked up his first at the quarter mark for a 15-5 lead.
Neither side took the ascendancy for the duration of the half with a huge penalty count and it stayed 15-5 at the break.
Sports again controlled the early stages of the second spell, with the visitors growing tired and frustrated with the growing penalty count.
Sports crossed again through Edmonds, crashing over close to the ruck.
Jeffries caught them short out wide for his second to stretch the lead again, followed by another penalty goal from Poolman for a 28-5 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Tech struck back to make it 28-12, but Poolman iced the game in the closing minutes with another penalty goal for the final 31-12 scoreline.