Reserve bench steps up as Ohai-Nightcaps maintain run

It does not get much more bizarre in sport than Waikaka’s past three outings in Southland’s division one club rugby competition.

On Saturday they drew 24-24 with DrummondLimehills-Star. On its own that does not seem all that unique but how about the fact it was Waikaka’s third draw in a row. That is where the bizarre element comes in.

Saturday’s draw against DLS was a fair result after an even contest.

In wet conditions on their home ground, Waikaka were leading 7-5 after 20 minutes and 19-17 at halftime.

Both sides scored their bonus-point tries in the third quarter but neither could take their point scoring chances in the concluding stages.

Waikaka manager Dave Bolger said: ‘‘We probably again made too many mistakes and were guilty of relaxing straight after we scored.’’

Loose forward Josh Skinner carried the ball strongly and put in some aggressive tackles, while Willy Hewittson continued his good form.

DLS lock Gus O’Donnell is making an huge impact this season. The return of prop Andrew McKenzie has also boosted the tight five, along with fellow prop Andrew Leith.

The Riversdale and Edendale game was also expected to be a tight contest and so it proved with Edendale staging a comeback to win 28-26.

After a scoreless opening quarter, the locals scored twice to lead 12-0 at halftime.

Riversdale were still leading 26-14 with 10 minutes remaining but Edendale finished strongly with two converted tries.

Coach Mark Hourston was delighted with the close win.

‘‘The boys showed real composure to win a tense game in style,’’ he said. ‘‘Jeremy McLeod is finding some top form in the midfield.’’

Riversdale coach Garth Lindsay said his team did enough to win but lacked composure in the last 15 minutes. There were strong forward efforts by No 8 Rob Blatch, prop Hamish Blakely and hooker Derek Deans. Fullback Lauren Els also had a good game.

Wyndham remained on top of the competition points table after playing their crossover game against Pirates Old Boys. The premier side won 29-5 after leading by 17 at the break.

Wyndham coach Davin Heaps was pleased with how the boys fronted up.

Tighthead prop Mark Kingsbury and second five-eighth Joe McRae played well.

Te Anau beat neighbours Mossburn 19-12 in the division two crossover game, while Tokanui had the bye.

really Ohai-Nightcaps maintained their unbeaten record in Southland’s division two club rugby competition with a 19-14 win over Pioneer, at Nightcaps, on Saturday.

Pioneer had been training well for this match and opened the scoring with a brilliant converted try. But after 10 minutes both teams were already covered in mud and the game became a slog.

Nightcaps coach Rodger Eade was concerned leading into the match with five players away hunting but the reserve bench were right up to the task.

‘‘Pioneer had all the ball, but our boys kept knocking them over, midfielders Ben Hunt and Milton Helman are small blokes but exemplify the tough attitude possessed across the whole team.’’

Hooker Nathan Dickens was awarded player of the day for his tireless work.

Pioneer coach Shaun Eckhout said it was a fair result and it wasn’t a bad defeat. Pioneer captain (No 8) Chris McGregor had a big game.

Waikiwi stayed in touch with the top two after beating Riverton 33-5.

Waikiwi were leading 12-5 at halftime and scored three more converted tries in quick succession when the locals had two players in the sinbin. Waikiwi’s most valuable player was their try-scoring prop Jono Van Wout, hooker Kyle McKenzie and loose forward Matt Keenan also impressed.

The usually meaningless division one crossover game had a bit more riding on it at the weekend with the Mossburn Stags taking on their neighbours Te Anau.

Mossburn had won their three previous games and had a good chance of beating their higher ranked opponents who only have one win in their column this season. Although disappointed to lose the match 19-12, the four competition points keeps Mossburn ticking over.

Mataura started slight favourites against Blues B at Balmoral Drive and earned a narrow 11-5 victory. Blues scored their try in the first half but Mataura kicked two penalty goals to lead 6-5. The Blues scrum went to golden-oldies 10 minutes into the second half, which didn’t help Mataura to gain any momentum in an already stop-start game according to coach Doug Clark.

In the bottom of the table clash Marist B narrowly beat Collegiate 20-18. The win puts some distance between themselves and Collegiate on the ladder. Collegiate have lost all seven of their games but have earned six bonus points.