ON-FIELD LEADER: Jacob Cook, here in action for Poverty Bay against Buller last season, will captain OBM in their game against Ngatapa at Patutahi tomorrow. File picture by Paul Rickard
RUGBY
Here’s the beef in Poverty Bay senior club rugby.
The big forward packs of Harvest Transport Ngatapa and Enterprise Cars OBM will supply shunt aplenty at Paddy’s Park tomorrow. Ngatapa beat Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates-GMC 52-24 at the Gisborne Oval on Tiny White Opening Day; OBM lost Game 1 of their season 17-29 to YMP. Patutahi is a place where the edge up front is everything.
OBM coach Trevor Crosby knows that, but has plans of his own.
“We want to play a wide game,” he said. “Ngatapa are an 80-minute team, so we need to play for 80, because while last Saturday we kept tackling, ran hard with the ball in hand — and never gave up — Ngatapa will be fit, organised and we respect the experience and influence that men such as Sione Ngatu bring to their club and their team.”
Crosby’s OBM will see 18-year-old De-Villa Pirihi-Coutts make his debut at halfback and left-wing Clement Tuipulotu likewise make his first start at premier level, having played for OBM in the Senior 1 side’s 19-28 loss to YMP.
On the reserves bench and most likely to play his first game for the OBM prems tomorrow for the first time since 2004, will be club stalwart Daniel Taituha.
PGG Wrightson stock agent and Ngatapa coach Steve Hickey, formerly of Counties-Manukau country club Te Kauwhata, is new to the Poverty Bay scene but knows where things are at: “Last week was about getting onto the field and getting on the same wavelength as a unit. It starts at set-piece and it’s about creating opportunities.”
Hickey also said that his time in the region so far has been like “rewinding the clock with volunteers and good people”.
YMP coach Steve Smith was pleased that his team began their season with a win but is aware too of those areas needing attention.
“We’re well-prepared for our game versus High School Old Boys at Barry Park — nothing too major needs to change — but we do need better set-pieces on attack and defence, greater patience and accuracy there,” he said.
“HSOB will certainly be confident after their win against the champions (Waikohu) last weekend.”
Smith believes with good reason that any club would die to have a bench like YMP’s: on that bench tomorrow will be the likes of Meads Cup-winner Whaimotu Craft-Chemis.
Smith’s coaching opposite, Scott Leighton, shares the view that set-piece and basics are Priority 1: “YMP have big ball-carriers and we can’t afford to go high in the tackle. (YMP lock) Mekepio Brown and (first-five) Reihana Wylie are strong boys.”.
Both are among the most powerful men in club rugby, Brown capable of playing anywhere in the second or back-row while Wyllie can run amok given space.
He can crunch through defenders and the effect that can have by game’s end can be enormous. HSOB though have a formidable front row in the best traditions of former captains Guy Middleton and Trevor Stuart: Jody Tuhaka, Matekairoa McGuire, Myles Tawa. McGuire is inch for inch, pound for pound, very strong indeed and he is the smallest of the three.
Lee Brothers Shield holders Waikohu will be without Jesse Fleming for the rest of the year with an injury to his right knee, and Richard Green will miss the next three weeks with an injury to his right shoulder.
First-five Thomas Rutene will make his debut at premier level; the champions’ new blood extends to Caleb Lewis — son of Ngati Porou East Coast legend Horace Lewis — who will play his first home game at Te Karaka Domain versus Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates-GMC tomorrow. Waikohu’s second-year coach Jason Tuapawa believes the younger Lewis, Rutene and openside flanker Ngahiwi Manuel all to be most promising, with their quickness and solidity in defence. Tuapawa said: “We’ve got to learn from last week. What we learned is, that we’ve got to tackle.”
Waikohu may be coming off a 24-36 loss but Pirates-GMC coach Willie Waitoa’s focus is not any particular score: his dual entity has a great work ethic.
“We’re a totally new team. Last Saturday, we started well — we won our own line-out ball and achieved parity at scrum-time — with Ken’s try coming as a result of structure. All four of our tries were scored by the forwards, a real rarity, but the structure we’re playing is a 15-man game.”
A Pirates-GMC win would constitute an upset but if level-headedness and honesty trickles down from the top, the Pirates-GMC crew could, at the very least, make the standing champions earn victory the hard way.
The referees are Les Thomas (Waikohu versus Pirates-GMC), Oliver Hoist (YMP versus HSOB) and Isaac Hughes (Ngatapa versus IBM).
HARVEST TRANSPORT NGATAPA: Jason Jones, Ihaia Kerr, Taylor Howatson, Sam McDell, Scott Brodie, James Maher (captain), Jacob Samuels, Tom Sanson, Josh Rofe, Matt Raleigh, Owen Pengelly, Sione Ngatu, Peter Livingston, Cameron Rowden, Henry Seymour. Reserve players: Lyle Crudis, Richard Webby, Misi Akana, Ned George, James Law.
ENTERPRISE CARS OBM: Lance Dickson, Rikki Terekia, Joe Mason, Jacob Cook (c), Josh Blair, Juston Allen, George Whakatope, Gabbe Te Kani, De-villa Pirihi-Coutts, John Jones, Michael O’Riordan, Jake Holmes, Alin Zaharia, Clement Tuipulotu, Scott McKinley. Reserve players: Jamie Barnett, Thomas Miki, Daniel Taituha, Ben Akuhata-Brown, Willy Grogan, Semisi Maumau, Blake Beard/Jale Tiko.
YMP: Lewy Fleming, Shayde Skudder (c), Axel Campbell, Mekepio Brown, Nehe Papuni, Willis Tamatea, Fawn White, Jesse Kapene, Quinton Pare-Collins, Reihana Wyllie, Jeremy Ferris, Te Peehi Skudder-Fairlie, Nathan Rangihuna, Winiata Tarawa, Jayden Milner. Reserve players: Seth Lundon, Daniel Timoti, RJ Te Are, Hamuera Baker, Phagen Clarke-Winiata, Pamona Samupo, Whaimotu Craft-Chemis.
WOODBANK HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS: Jody Tuhaka, Matekairoa McGuire, Myles Tawa, Dave Joll, Tavita Maka, Fletcher Scammell, Villiami Kavai, Tamanui Hill (co-captain), George Halley, Scott Tallott, Korey Love, Hayden Stuart (c-c), James Warren, Will Hoquard, Andrew Tauatevalu. Reserve players: Scott Leighton, Blanco Maka, Shane Vermeulen, Tani Misikoli, Jonathan Poole, Willlie Haenga, Corey Reihana, Manase Tupa.
GT SHEARING WAIKOHU: Toru Noanoa, Geoffrey Pari (c), Sandy Campbell, TK Tane, Tulsa Kaui, James Rutene, Lynden Manuel, Ngahiwi Manuel, Mario Counsell, Thomas Rutene, KC Wilson, Kelvin Smith, Larry Fleming, Caleb Lewis, Ethine Reeves. Reserve players: Mike Tane, Sonny Campbell, Carlos Paenga, Shannon Cameron, Nate Tamatea, Luka Peta, Jesse Te Kani-Pikia.
KEVIN HOLLIS GLASS PIRATES-GMC: Rob Broughton, Bernard Nepe, Mamo Kaitara, Ali Poi, Ken Houkamau (c), Koro Miringaorangi, Missy Tagivetaua Cimo, Will Bollingford, Jacob Leaf, Rapata Haerewa, Marquand Samuels, Mita Hemapo, Paora Dewes, Turupa Green, Whakarae Henare. Reserve players: Harmony Hauraki-Downes, Chris Haenga, Willie Waitoa, Mike Te Whata-McClutchie, CJ Fox-Campbell, Paora Mullany, TBC.