Into the lion’s den

HE’S BACK: OBM captain and lock Jacob Cook will play against Waikohu tomorrow. Picture by Paul Rickard

RUGBY

LAST Saturday High School Old Boys entered the lion’s den; tomorrow at the Oval, will OBM stand firm?

Week 5 action in Civil Project Solutions Premier Rugby starts at 2.45pm. Competition leaders Waikohu (20 points) will play OBM (2pts) on Oval 1.

Royce Maynard, David Stevenson and Hugh Fitzgerald will referee the OBM-Waikohu game, with Les Thomas, Hamish Campbell and Tony Watson in charge of the game between HSOB (5pts) and Pirates (6pts) on Oval 2. Isaac Hughes, Paul Brown and Charlie Johnson will control the game between Ngatapa (14pts) and YMP (15pts) at Paddy’s Park, Patutahi Domain.

Enterprise Cars OBM head coach Trevor Crosby has been at opposite ends of the spectrum — unbeaten, and up against it — more than once.

Crosby knows that nothing lasts forever.

“Waikohu have talent, high-profile players — well-coached and managed — so we’re stoked to have our captain Jacob Cook back this weekend,” he said.

“Vice-captain Scott McKinley, Rikki Terekia, Braedyn Grant and others have given 100 percent wherever we’ve needed them to play and they’ll be on deck again. We look forward to playing Waikohu, mixing it up with the best.”

Grant returns to halfback from fullback and McKinley to fullback from the right wing in Week 5.

Lock Cook said the OBM forwards needed to nail their set-piece play and give the backs good ball.

“From the backs, we need line-breaks,” he said.

Ngatapa scrummaged powerfully against OBM and Waikohu also put HSOB to the test in that phase of play last weekend, although Tamanui Hill’s men never lost a tighthead.

Cook’s return to the second row will raise OBM’s scrummaging stocks against Waikohu but, five weeks into a shortened season, fullback McKinley and potential match-winner Keanu Wainohu-Kemp — among others — have had few opportunities to run.

Hunter Tangira, who was on the left wing when he scored the first try of the season for OBM, will charge at the visitors from centre tomorrow.

Waikohu player-coach Ra Broughton and Kelvin Smith are quality inside backs whose confident outsides — who include Tane McGuire, Tione Hubbard and Ethine Reeves — are all dangerous players (McGuire got a double against Ngatapa).

But their forwards’ ability to make ground ball-in-hand is the side’s point of difference. Their player of the day against HSOB, No.8 Tristan Morten, scored twice last weekend. Morten is a big man (though by no means the biggest in the Waikohu pack) who breaks tackles, inspiring others to do the same. Witness Kupu Lloyd, their reserve fetcher, who secured the team a bonus point for their fourth try in the 78th minute last week.

“We go into every game looking to be better,” Broughton said.

“And tomorrow, I want our discipline to be impeccable. We’ve committed ourselves to act as role models for our club, and we’ll continue in that vein.”

This is the second-last game of the first round and both teams are under pressure, but for different reasons. Waikohu want to maintain their momentum, while 2019 champions OBM need to break their duck. To earn a chance to defend the Lee Brothers Shield by making the semifinals, the holders need clear heads and execution from the players.

Both Cook and Waikohu captain and hooker Geoff Pari lead well in terms of discipline. In charge of the OBM-Waikohu game will be referee Royce Maynard. He has grand final experience and is known for his ability to warn or whistle as required, and for his consistency.

OF vital importance to both teams tomorrow will be that they know the referee’s priorities and interpretations if they are to stay the whistle.

Isaac Hughes, in his third full season, will control the Ngatapa-YMP game. Poverty Bay coach/referee development manager Miah Nikora rates Hughes highly, not just for his knowledge of rugby law but also for his ability to remain calm, for his rapport with players and for his on-field demeanour.

PIRATES aren’t going away, and HSOB know it.

“We’re expecting them to come for us,” said HSOB captain and No.8 Tamanui Hill, who has been at his best in that role this season for a club that proved their mettle last weekend. They lost to unbeaten Waikohu at Te Karaka Domain by six points when lesser men, with only two reserve players, might have been swamped by 40.

The Contract Consultants HSOB skipper regards tomorrow’s clash with Pirates as a must-win game if they want to make the top four by the end of Round 2. On Tiny White Opening Day, they won a thumpfest against OBM 16-13 on Rectory 2 and since then, have fought the good fight — to field a team, to compete. No clubs have had it easy since the lockdown but equally — to their great credit — none have defaulted.

“The beginning of the season has certainly not been without challenges caused by Covid-19 — the uncertainty around the playing window, and return-to-train and play protocols handed down by New Zealand Rugby and Sport NZ,” Poverty Bay community rugby manager Ray Noble said.

The whole rugby community could be proud of the resilience, adaptability and commitment shown by clubs to get rugby up and running, Noble said.

HSOB head coach Danny Boyle said his side took big steps last week.

“It’ll be a real tussle; the challenge for us now is to produce good back-to-back performances,” he said.

“When you look at the guys who do the heavy lifting in our team, it’s about everyone else chipping away to improve with each game alongside them.”

One player well worth watching for HSOB tomorrow is centre William Hocquard, who has been out with an injury to his left hand since Tiny White Opening Day. He is a genuine athlete, and may come off the bench or start, according to need.

Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates captain and No.8 Willie Bolingford and his crew also have reason to be positive. They beat standing champions OBM 34-26 to win the Keith Webber Shield for the first time a fortnight ago and last Saturday demonstrated great skill and patience in the pick-and-go against YMP — absorbing stuff, the nitty-gritty of forward play.

“We discussed the game against YMP and got clarity as to what we need to do this weekend,” Bolingford said.

“We may make changes to our squad from last Saturday, with key players coming into the mix for tomorrow.

“We’ll be ready.”

Bolingford is one of the hardest hitters in premier rugby and the Willie Waitoa-coached Buccaneers have players who could sting or harass HSOB at the edges.

Loosehead prop Bernard Nepe, who scored a great try against OBM, has a high work-rate in general play and — as a competitor — bows to no one.

Strongman Eru Wharerau as openside flanker shows his fellow forwards how to get to the ball quickly, protect it from the opposition and recycle it. His expertise in this is a huge aid to Pirates’ continuity.

Jacob Leaf is an alert and aggressive halfback, with the size, footwork and fend to beat opposition loose forwards around the ruck. He will probe for weak points and chinks unceasingly.

Pirates were tested by YMP at the scrum last Saturday and the Buccaneers’ tighthead prop — Harmony Hauraki-Downes — is now out (doctor’s orders) with a back injury for two weeks.

Anchors are not easily replaced; Hauraki-Downes had played well this season to date.

The referee for the Pirates-HSOB game is Les Thomas, one of the few Poverty Bay officials ever to control an East Coast club semifinal and be complimented by the captain of a losing team (on that occasion, Tihirau Victory Club player-coach Moana Mato, in the wake of TVC’s 31-29 loss to hosts and 2018 champions Uawa) for his communication and the excellent tone he set for officials and players alike.