Some 300 spectators covered both sidelines. Royce Maynard (first half) and Aaron Brown (second half) refereed a game without incident or cards being issued.
Pirates were unlucky to lose feisty halfback CJ Fox-Campbell with a left-ankle injury 16 minutes in. He is a good competitor and will be missed.
Openside flanker Wayne Collins and captain and No.8 Will Bolingford impressed Pirates player-coach, lock Willie Waitoa, while first five-eighth Jacob Leaf and centre Abbey Wawatai performed well in the backs.
Uawa’s Davies said his forwards scrummaged well to give their backs good ball from set play, and the team held their defensive line.
“I’d emphasised the need to do that all week,” he said.
“Lock Guy Collins and fullback George Shield earned their stripes for us on debut — everybody who saw them was impressed — and Pirates were strong up front, too.
“They have a big forward pack and their lineout was humming.”
