He Tauaa edge out Cowboys again

He Tauaa maintained their unbeaten impressive 2017 season in the Southland rugby league competition with a hard fought 38-32 win over Cowboys on Saturday.

Cowboys pushed He Tauaa the closest of any teams this season, in an exciting match but were left to rue a slow start against the defending champions who claimed the top-of-the-table clash.

He Tauaa started with a hiss and roar with early tries to brothers Javaan and Jayleel Fa’amoe-Ioane as they raced to a 10-0 lead, before Cowboys hit their straps.

Cowboys stormed back with three quick tries to take the lead and put He Tauaa under plenty of pressure.

The Moses Fa’amoe-Ioane coached He Tauaa came storming back in the second half after refocussing to take a thrilling 38-32 victory.

For He Tauaa, Ryan Samuels produced some strong running and tackling, while Patrick Sililoto was a standout.

Willy Pera and Pua Kuresa were strong up front, while Kevin O’Connor grabbed a hat-trick on the wing, while Javaan Fa’amoeIoane produced an outstanding performance as one of many Southland Rams on display.

Dylan Lovett showed the benefit of a strong representative season in 2016 with an excellent performance for Cowboys, who will be looking to improve their completion rate if they are to take the 2017 Southland rugby league title.

In the other match, Cooks were too strong for Winton 58-18 to retain the Karetai Cup, played for in honour of those who died on the Easy Rider incident in 2012.

The Southland rugby league competition has one more week of games before the playoffs.