Logan said his team got the upper hand against Hikurangi towards the end of the first half.
“We managed to keep our hands on the ball, made good yards through the middle and took the battle to them up front,” he said.
“Hikurangi were dangerous out wide, but our back three were up to the task defensively.”
Hikurangi coach Matt Richards said it was a typical local derby.
“We played with heart, we fought, we played to our game-plan — a few things didn't go our way, but that's rugby,” he said.
“I'm proud of our men's and women's teams, and want them to keep moving forward, to focus on the next game.”
Richards was the 2020 Ngati Porou East Coast club rugby final referee. He impressed captains with the clarity and consistency of his decision-making.
He's made the transition from referee to astute coach without breaking stride.
City captain Jack Richardson won the toss, and chose to play with the nor'easterly breeze at their backs. Home team captain and No.7 Kyil Beach chose to kick off.
Twenty minutes in, Hikurangi scored the first try of the day. From an attacking scrum set 12 metres into City territory centrefield, the home team probed from left to right and back again over 10 phases. Then Te Aho Morice — who had come within a metre of dotting down himself and handled the ball twice in the passage of play — got a great pass to hooker Hone Brooking for a try between the posts.
Referee Jackson Reuben-Swinton had applied the advantage law expertly.
Ace fullback Kris Palmer's conversion made the score 7-0, and the left-footed Palmer kicked a 38m penalty goal 18m off the left touch to put the hosts 10-0 up half an hour in.
Ruatoria City struck back after 35 minutes. They were awarded a penalty five metres from The Maunga's goal-line, a metre to the left of the posts. Halfback Neihana Ratahi-Brown opted for the tap-kick and cut out four men to his right with a pass to wing Dennis Te Kahika for the try in the corner. No conversion followed.
Hikurangi strongman Putahi Morice, tighthead prop, received a yellow card two minutes before the break, at which time the home team led 10-5.
In the 47th minute, Hikurangi centre Fabyan Kahaki scored a classic intercept try. Hikurangi first five-eighth Te Aho Morice had gone long with a kick to restart play from his own goal-line, Ratahi-Brown had caught the ball and sent it right. Then came a chip-kick, chase and regather for Te Kahika. Subsequently City's long, make-or-break pass left was picked off by Kahaki, who went 78m to plant the ball below City's crossbar.
Palmer converted an all-or-nothing try for 17-5.
What followed was a blur. Hikurangi, having been put under extreme pressure on their own goal-line, set a defensive five-metre scrum five metres off the left touch and then conceded a tighthead to the visitors who, through lock Tuterangi Ngarimu, drove openside against an increasingly desperate Hikurangi. Two rucks later, Ratahi-Brown cleared a ruck and second-five Corey Walker scored six metres from the corner in the 54th minute.
With goal-kicking lock Nathaniel Fox's sideline conversion, The Maunga were still 17-12 ahead but City were on the comeback trail.
The visitors scored again — this time from a lineout drive — in the 66th minute. City having won their throw at No.2, five metres from the right corner, reserve lock Tim Barbarich scored the first try of what would be a double as City drew level at 17-all. From 24m back, five metres off the right touch, Fox converted for their first lead in the game: 19-17.
City struck the killer-blow from a lineout 14m from the right corner on attack. Ngarimu won the ball at the front and the big push came, Barbarich scored, and Fox landed his third straight sideline conversion for 26-17.
With two minutes to play, from 24m out centrefield, Palmer kicked his second penalty for The Maunga to close it to 26-20.
Ngarimu and reserve hooker John Brown were yellow-carded late in the game and Ruatoria City were down to 13 men in the agonising last five minutes as Beach's Hikurangi broke as waves on the goal-line.
City held out against Hikurangi, despite a top performance by No.8 Blake Beard, MVP (most valuable player) for the home team.
Walker was City's MVP for his strong running and metres made on attack, in addition to his sterling work in defence.
