Stunning comebacks in Poverty Bay premier rugby

THE POWER OF LOVE: Woodbank HSOB fullback Korey Love puts the Enterprise Cars OBM defence to the test with a surging run in a premier club rugby match at The Oval on Saturday. Top-of-the-table HSOB came from 30-6 down to win 40-36. Pictures by Paul Rickard

DEFENDING champions High School Old Boys and newcomers Waikohu produced stunning comebacks while Ngatapa continued their revival in Poverty Bay premier rugby on Saturday.

Woodbank HSOB came from 24 points behind to beat Enterprise Cars OBM 40-36 while Aon Waikohu overcame a 22-8 halftime deficit to defeat Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates 44-28.

Larsawn Ngatapa recorded their fifth straight win in thumping Farmvets YMP 36-8 at Patutahi.

HSOB top the table with 39 points with five games remaining to the top-four playoffs. Despite the loss, OBM picked up two bonus points to move to second on 29 points.

Ngatapa’s bonus-point victory allowed them to jump to third on 28 points. YMP, on 27, started the day second but dropped to fourth. They are four points ahead of Waikohu, with Pirates well adrift at the foot of the table.

“It’s shaping up to be a good battle for the top four,” HSOB coach Wayne Ensor said after hearing the results.

HSOB were trailing 36-14 after 50 minutes but hit back with tries to co-captain and prop Jody Tuhaka, reserve prop Blanco Maka and blindside flanker Viliami Kavai.

HSOB replacement first five-eighth Scott Leighton, on for the injured Hayden Stuart after 20 minutes, capped the comeback with a try and last-kick-of-the-game conversion.

Coach in danger of losing jobOBM had led by as much as 30-6. For the first 39 minutes, coach Stu Blair was in danger of losing his job. With Blair in Auckland, and stand-in coaches James Grogan and Travis Gooch in charge, OBM produced their best football of the season to race out to a 24-point lead.

Tries to halfback and OBM’s man of the match Willy Grogan, centre John Jones, No.8 James Rutene and second-five Ethine Reeves, and three conversions to first five-eighth Jake Holmes, did the first-half damage.

HSOB left-winger Manase Tupe started their resurgence with a try on the stroke of halftime only for Willy Grogan to strike back for OBM early in the second spell with his second try.

“Maybe Stu should coach the team during the week and then go away at the weekends,” a couple of OBM supporters said with a laugh.

James Grogan, out with a knee injury, was having none of that.

“No way,” he said after the game. “Stu can have the job back. I just want to get back on the field, hopefully in the next two weeks.”

At a loss to explainThe stand-in coach was at a loss to explain what went wrong.

“You can’t take anything away from HSOB — they played well in the last 40 — but at 36-12 up maybe we thought the game was over.”

Ensor admitted what he said to his players at halftime was “probably not printable”.

“We weren’t happy, that’s for sure,” he said. “Let’s say the attitude wasn’t right. We put it to the boys they had to want the win more and, to their credit, they responded.”

Ensor said their player of the day was Kavai, who scored a “brilliant” individual try.

“He went around a guy on the outside before chipping over the top of the covering guy and regathering to score.”

Sione Tamale, who came on for halfback Andrew Knight with 30 minutes to play, made a big impact.

Trent Proffit, who led HSOB on his 50th appearance in a blue and white jersey, also played well.

HSOB 40 (Leslie Hills, Manase Tupe, Jody Tuhaka, Viliami Kavai, Blanco Maka, Scott Leighton tries; Cory Reihana, Leighton conversions).

OBM 36 (Willy Grogan 2, John Jones, James Rutene, Ethine Reeves tries; Jake Holmes 3 con).

HT: 30-14 (OBM).