“Our ball-security and defence weren’t quite at the same level as they were in Game 1, but some good things did come out of this weekend. We’re looking forward to playing Horowhenua-Kapiti in Levin.”
Valley co-head coaches Joe Murray and David Harrison had the feeling that the Sky Blues are a dangerous proposition, confirmed on Saturday.
“Against a good team that pushed us for the whole 80 minutes on a great day for running rugby, our discipline and inaccuracy meant that we couldn’t build continuity or convert pressure into points,” Joe Murray said.
Harrison said: “We tried not to think of the prospect of losing the game on Saturday, rather just to focus on ourselves and get our game right. We came well-prepared for a very tough battle and The Coast didn’t disappoint.”
On a warm day at Whakarua Park, NPEC captain No.8 Hone Haerewa won the toss and chose to play from the northern end; Valley skipper lock Connor McVerry opted to kick off, playing into the gentlest easterly breeze.
The Foxes’ first-five, 2016 NPEC representative Todd Doolan, opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the fifth minute, 40m from the posts, straight down the ground. Three minutes later, Valley tighthead prop Josh Kaho scored for 8-0. In the 13th minute, McVerry crossed for the visitors’ second try, which — with Doolan’s conversion — gave them a 15-0 lead.
The Sky Blues lit up the scoreboard in the 25th minute, with a try to halfback Sam Parkes.
From an attacking line-out 30m from the left corner, lock Gabe Te Kani won a four-man line-out at No.3 off hooker Peter Mirrielees’ throw. The Sky Blues drove on Te Kani, Parkes cleared openside to first five-eighth Te Rangi Fraser, who split two would-be tacklers and found Parkes on the fly with a pass in-field: Parkes swerved by Valley fullback Telly Hemopo, then scored under the bar.
Such crowd as there was in attendance, under Delta Level 2 restrictions, roared their approval.
Fraser converted Parkes’ try for NPEC 7, Thames Valley 15. Doolan kicked his second penalty goal 30 minutes in for 18-7 but in the 31st minute, the Valley lost left-wing Sione Vakapuna Etoni to a yellow card. At the 34-minute mark, the hosts were awarded a penalty try by Hawke’s Bay referee Tipene Cottrell.
The Valley led 18-14 at the break.
Doolan kicked a penalty five minutes into the second half and the Swamp Foxes went 21-14 up.
In the 49th minute, Tevita Halafihi scored the first five-pointer of the second half: Doolan converted the reserve left-wing’s try for 28-14. In the 61st minute, Ruatoria City man Pera Bishop, NPEC representative 1198, came off the reserves bench to earn his 50th NPEC cap in place of loosehead prop Jody Tuhaka, and Uawa’s George Waddy made his debut in Sky Blue, as a replacement for ace fetcher Will Bolingford.
Sixty-five minutes in, Halafihi scored his second try, with Doolan doing duty, for 35-14.
Fraser, who was superb versus North Otago on September 18, grabbed a try five minutes from full-time for The Coast 19, The Valley 35.
The Valley, with only 14 (and earlier, 13) players on the field due to yellow cards to hooker Cody Muir (61st minute) and former New Zealand 7s representative, the Swamp Foxes’ No.8 Luke Masirewa (74th minute), lost a defensive line-out to Haerewa 5m from the left corner. The Coast surged openside, as far as the goalposts, through blindside flanker Tanira Tamanui-Nepia, big reserve scrum anchor Myles Lardelli-Muir Tawa and Mirrielees before Parkes cleared to Fraser on the blindside.
Fraser scored 15m in from the corner, all taking place after Parkes had come close to scoring in the corner only two minutes before.
NPEC captain Haerewa led a powerful forward effort.
“We won 96 percent of our own lineout ball and some of theirs as well, so we had a good platform to play off,” he said.
“Tamanui-Nepia carried the ball well from start to finish. Off the bench, Lardelli-Muir Tawa and Riki Waitoa (reserve lock) also carried strongly.”
It is worth noting that two games into a campaign requiring great discipline, the Sky Blues were excellent citizens: they were issued with no yellow cards.
McVerry marked the unbeaten Valley hard, despite the Valley notching up their 29th win in 47 games since Game 1, a nil-all draw at Paeroa, in 1947.
“Stoppages because of errors and penalties slowed us down quite a bit, and didn’t allow us to play the game as quickly as we wanted to,” said the Mercury Bay man.
“Also, the odd lapse in discipline made our job tougher to do. The Coast looked dangerous with the ball in hand, but our strong defence won us the game.”
South Canterbury led the 12-team BWHC with, like Thames Valley, a maximum of 10 competition points, yet pipping The Valley on differential for and against.
The Coast, with one competition point for scoring four tries v North Otago, are in ninth spot ahead of King Country, Wairarapa-Bush and Buller, who Poverty Bay beat 76-14 here last Saturday.
The Hone Haerewa-led Ngati Porou East Coast will host Buller at Whakarua Park in three weeks: The Sky Blues are away to Levin to face Horowhenua-Kapiti this Saturday and are at home to South Canterbury in Game 4.
