Rams help lift league’s profile
‘‘In conditions like that the plan was to play territory and things like that, but I guess theirs was the same, so there was a bit of kicking going on and I think they were more accurate in their kicking
‘‘They were big boys, there weren’t many gaps up the middle, we tried to play with width, but conditions didn’t really allow us to.’’
First-five-eighths Wharenui Hawera and Bryn Gatland traded North Harbour 35 (Tevita Li 2, Gerard Cowley-Tuioti, Chris Vui tries; Bryn Gatland 3 con 3 pen); Southland 14 (Peni Ravai try, Wharenui Hawera 3 pen). HT: 16-9. early penalties and Harbour kept Southland pinned in their own half with plenty of kicking and were rewarded with two further Gatland penalties as the Stags’ lack of discipline cost them again.
A nice kick from Jimmy Cowan got the Stags into the Harbour red zone for one of the first time in the match and the home team was penalised for offside, with Hawera kicking the goal from out in front.
Dangerous left winger Li scored the first try for Harbour, as the home team decided to retain possession rather than continue with their kicking game.
Gatland converted from under the posts to make it 16-6 after 33 minutes.
Hawera kept Southland in touch with a 41-metre penalty after 36 minutes.
Southland’s best play of the half came on the stroke of halftime when they kept the ball in hand for several phases of play, but centre Dylan Collier was held up over the line.
Harbour put more pressure on the Stags early in the second half, and it paid off.
The Stags were unable to clear the ball and Gerard Cowley-Tuioti ripped the ball out of the maul and scored near the posts.
Gatland converted to take the score to 23-9.
Southland dominated possession midway through the second half, but were unable to create any opportunities on attack.
They finally broke the North Harbour defence after 71 minutes when big Fijian prop Peni Ravai picked the ball up from the back of a ruck and scored the Stags’ first try. Hawera missed the conversion, but the visitors were back in the game at 23-14 down.
Two late Harbour tries to Chris Vui and Li blew the score out as Harbour finished strongly to claim the four-try bonus point victory.
Southland will need a dramatic turnaround in form if they are to challenge Wellington on Friday night in the capital in their next game. The Southland Rams have boosted the profile of rugby league in the province, despite losing their NZ Rugby League Championship decider against Waikato.
A crowd of an estimated 1000 people showed up to the Ellis Road Park to watch the top two teams in the championship clash for a spot in Saturday’s promotion/relegation battle against the Wellington Orcas.
Waikato overpowered the Rams 52-6 to claim the championship crown, but Southland gained plenty of support after exceeding expectations to finish second in the championship, along with their first in the South Island regional competition.
‘‘It was hard work out there, we were just a bit over-run. I am proud as of the boys though, we just came up against a better side, but everyone put their hearts out on the field though,’’ Southland Rams captain Dylan Lovett said.
‘‘Each year as Southland is such a big rugby community, we are just trying to get league back in the picture it is unreal to see the sideline packed out on both sides.’’
‘‘Just to see a bit more community support for the league boys. It has always been about the rugby, but just to see the turn out we had today, we are just trying to bring it up and get more younger boys involved in the game.’’
Lovett was pleased with the effort of his charges despite the heavy defeat.
‘‘I’m just proud of the boys – we can hold our heads high.’’
According to Lovett, Southland will learn from the experience of playing North Island teams, which they haven’t done since 1994.
‘‘I mean we didn’t give up at any stage, it shows what we can do,’’ he said.
‘‘We beat one of the North Island teams last week we’ve just got to keep working hard and get back at it again.’’
Waikato showed their experience to outclass the Rams.
The match was relatively even in the opening stanzas, with the scores level at 6-6 at one stage, before Waikato showed their class to win 52-6.
Fullback Aaron Jolley scored 24 points, while Morgan Harper bagged a hat-trick to give the Southland team a reality check.
A great inside ball to hard running forward Eru Keepa opened the scoring for Waikato after 12 minutes under the posts and fullback Aaron Jolley added the extras to take the score to 6-0.
Halfback Jayleel Fa’amoe-Ioane added the extras.
An attacking set straight after the kickoff led to a try for elusive Waikato winger Morgan Harper in the left-hand corner. Jolley slotted from the sideline to give Waikato a 12-6 lead.
Waikato started making inroads into the Southland territory with their big ball running forwards.
Harper grabbed another try for the visitors after some nice running by five-eighth Nick Read opened the Rams’ defence.
Jolley slotted the extras extend the lead to 18-6.
Fleet-footed Waikato winger Harper secured a first half hattrick down the Waikato left side with some nice footwork to take the halftime score to 22-6.
Waikato showed their class and experience in the second half as they started to punch holes in the tiring Southland defence, with their big forwards and dangerous backs keeping the Rams on their toes.
Halfback Te Puhi Rudolph and fullback Jolley bagged second half doubles, while prop Piripi Parangi scored a late try to give the visitors a handsome victory. to