Waikohu were able to control the momentum at scrum time, and earn their second try when No.8 Tristan Morten burrowed over the line off the back of an advancing Waikohu scrum.
Waikohu were able to build on their lead when their own chip-and-chase from Fleming just two phases after the restart put Ngatapa on the back foot. The Waikohu forwards were able to keep the momentum going as their opponents struggled to get back and defend.
Waikohu were able to score on the cusp of halftime, capitalising on a messy lineout to flood through the Ngatapa line and score in the corner to advance their lead to 26-7 at oranges.
Waikohu opened the scoring in the second stanza through winger Lyric Baty-Akurangi.
Ngatapa coach Stephen Hickey said this try was game-deciding.
Waikohu were able to cross the line once more in the second half through reserve prop Jarryd Broughton.
Ngatapa responded with a try to prop Sam Hudson, but it was too little too late.
Hickey said Waikohu were too good for them on the day.
“They (Waikohu) are showing they’re a step above everyone in the competition,” he said.
“They were just too good for us . . . they outsmarted us and outplayed us.”
He said he was proud of how his team were able to stay with Waikohu in the second half, but said you couldn’t play from behind against teams of such a high calibre.
Waikohu came into the game with more passion, and Hickey said his side would need to match that this week if they wanted to be successful.
“We were just a bit flat (on Saturday).”
Waikohu player-coach Ra Broughton said his team wanted a strong start and had achieved that, but they needed to stay switched on.
“We need to play well from the first minute to the 80th,” he said.
“They (Ngatapa) kind of dictated the game for the last 20 or 30 minutes.”
He said the team had been “flat and quiet” in the warm-up before a “growling” from a senior player fired them up, and they were able to come into the game with a lot of passion.
Broughton said Waikohu had a plan to give their backs more ball than in previous weeks to try to wear down the bigger Ngatapa forward pack, but they were unable to slow them down.
“Their forwards started getting the ball a little bit more (in the second half), and they had a few good moments that opened up our defence a bit.”
He said his team would focus on tightening up their defensive patterns this week ahead of the rematch.