Into the season’s business end

BURSTING THROUGH: YMP’s Willis Tamatea is steady and in control of the ball in a recent match against HSOB. YMP are just ahead on points as they face Waikohu, who they could not overcome in their second round match. In the other game this weekend OBM and Ngatapa meet at The Oval. Picture by Paul Rickard

RUGBY

THIS weekend YMP travel to Te Karaka to face Waikohu in a top-of-the-table clash to decide who will take the competition’s top spot going into the Queen’s Birthday Weekend break.

After five games, the two teams are separated by just one point on the Civil Project Solutions championship ladder, with East Coast Farm Vets YMP leading the charge on 21 points.

Both teams have lost one game so far this season. GT Shearing Waikohu fell short on Tiny White Opening Day to Enterprise OBM, and YMP could not overcome Waikohu during their second-round clash. The only thing separating the two teams is the one extra bonus point YMP has, having earned one from every game so far this season.

The level of play has seen a significant improvement since the teams first met six weeks ago.

YMP coach Brian Leach said Waikohu are a formidable side across the park, but he believes the game will be decided in the forwards.

“All in all, we’re preparing for a forward battle. That’s where the ball’s won and lost.

“Their backline has been consistent, just like ours, but we can’t win the game without possession.”

He said the key for YMP would be restricting the Waikohu offloads with strong defence.

Once Waikohu starts its roll-on and their passes start going to hand they are nearly impossible to stop, he said.

Damien Macpherson will referee the game in his first full apperance since he was sidelined with an Achilles injury earlier in the season.

In the other game of the weekend, OBM take on Ngatapa at The Oval in what will be an interesting match-up.

OBM looked like a different team last weekend when they faced Waikohu. In the first half, they bullied the men from Te Karaka in the forward pack before stretching them thin on the edges with dynamic attacking moves.

This weekend they hope to continue their momentum into their game with Ngatapa, said coach Clint Pirihi.

“It’s the business end of the season and I told the boys it’s time to put everything on the line and play for each other.”

Their first game of the season against Waikohu set the bar high for their season and Pirihi said they’re hungry to keep playing at that intensity.

“They saw what we can do and they know what they did wrong in that second half (against Waikohu last weekend).”

Pirihi said last time OBM faced Ngatapa, his forward pack was outmatched by the opposition which was most noticeable in the scrummaging.

“We’re not going to take a step back this weekend, especially at scrum time.”

OBM will be at full strength, after “luckily” coming out of their game against Waikohu without any serious concerns, said Pirihi.

Ngatapa coach Stephen Hickey said he expects a tough game this Saturday, having watched the performance OBM put on last weekend.

He also expects a tough battle up front, with both teams having big bodies in their forward packs that will need to be neutralised.

Ngatapa’s focus this week is eliminating low percentage plays from their game so they can maintain possession for longer stretches of the game.

Hickey said it was exciting to see every team improving in skill level and fitness, which he believes will make for some close games coming up.

“It’s the old story now. The rep squad has been named, and there’s a couple of guys on the fringe who missed out and will have to step if up they want to play Poverty Bay rugby.”

After a week off from competition, the Ngatapa side will be well-rested and come into Saturday with a full-strength squad.

The game will be controlled in the middle by Mark Greene, with Fred Barwick on the sideline as his assistant referee.