More needed from Waikato women

The scoreline looked comprehensive, but Waikato women’s coach Reuben Samuel wants more from his side after a 35-15 win over Manawatu on Saturday.

Despite the hefty scoreline, Samuel said his team were patchy at Arena Manawatu and had to withstand long periods of pressure from the home side.

With a clash with heavyweights Auckland coming up this week, Samuel is eager to see his team put in a complete performance which will be required against a team of Auckland’s calibre.

‘‘It wasn’t quite the complete performance from us,’’ Samuel said.

‘‘The scoreline wasn’t really a reflection on how Manawatu played for long periods. They put us under a lot of pressure and we did well to deal with that, but we could have played a lot better.

‘‘We’ve been getting by these past few weeks. We have to be better against Auckland.’’

Fresh from a national title win with Hamilton Girls’ High School, winger Makaia Riki-Te Kanawa scored a double to add some punch and finishing ability out wide, while Steph Downer also scored twice and Stacey Waaka scored Waikato’s fifth.

Ana Marsters kicked a conversion and two penalties, while Tenika Willison added a second conversion.

Samuel said the reintroduction of his schoolgirl players added some spice to the Waikato lineup, and opposition teams were yet to see the talent they possess. If they can help Waikato put in a complete performance against Auckland, Samuel will be a happy man.

‘‘We know we can pile on points really fast when it starts to click and we get our shape,’’ he said. ‘‘We won’t get away with a performance like the ones we’ve been having against Auckland. We need to put it together for a whole game.’’