CLUES TO FORM

holding on: YMP centre Te Peehi Fairlie tries to escape the clutches of Waikohu hooker Geoff Pari, with Fagan Ruru (left) and Kelvin Smith also in pursuit and YMP's Dylan Williams (right). YMP won the 15-a-side tournament at Patutahi, beating hosts Ngatapa in the final.Picture by Liam Clayton

ANYONE looking for signs about how the Poverty Bay club rugby season may shape up will have found some clues at Patutahi on Saturday.

The Ngatapa club hosted a 15-a-side tournament at Paddy's Park and the day was a chance for players to test their fitness and tackling and for coaches to try out combinations and patterns in the 20-minute matches.

Lee Bros Shield champions OBM weren't there but four Poverty Bay sides were — YMP, Ngatapa, Pirates and Waikohu — as well as East Coast side Tokararangi and Bay of Plenty's Opotiki club.

YMP ran a little hot and cold but they won the competition, beating Ngatapa 12-7 in the final.

YMP had High School Old Boys recruit Andrew Tauatevalu at fullback and if their backline is firing, the spark tends to come from halfback Quinnton Pari-Collins.

A fully fit Jesse Kapene at No.8 gives their forward pack impact and lock Willis Tamatea, who signalled last year he was hanging up the boots, appears to have postponed retirement plans.

Pirates, who were wearing last year's Pirates-GMC strip, banked a first-up win against Ngatapa but leaked points in their other matches.

They had Jacob Leaf wearing the No.10 jersey.

Normally a halfback, Leaf played mostly at second five-eighth for Poverty Bay last year but looks the goods in any of the three positions and may be of most value to Pirates at first-five.

Loose forward Will Bolingford was industrious for them.

Ngatapa looked fit, and Matt Raleigh brings quality to their backline. They have picked up flanker Lynden Manuel from Waikohu.

Waikohu had a first-up loss against YMP but were more successful in their other games and they should be in contention for the Lee Bros Shield this year.

Poverty Bay representative Tane McGuire has been added to their backline and his combination with fellow reps Kelvin Smith and Ethine Reeves will be something to watch out for.

Tulsa Kaui was among the forwards who were full of running and when OBM recruit Adrian Wyrill — Poverty Bay 2019 player of the year — joins the loose forwards, Waikohu will have a series of attacking threats and — like YMP — could be dangerous on counter-attack.

New YMP coach Brian Leach said the day was about finding out how players could work with each other and figuring out what they needed to do before the start of the season on March 28.

“We've got a good month to work on our systems and improve our fitness,” he said.

New Waikohu coach Rawiri Broughton said the tournament provided a stepping stone to spring off.

“We're trying to get our players established within the team,” he said.

Six teams and a healthy crowd were attracted to this year's inaugural tournament and organisers hope to book eight teams for next year.

Tournament organiser Steve Hickey, also the Ngatapa coach, said feedback had been positive.

“The players and referees enjoyed it.”