YMP win with late surge

FULL STEAM AHEAD: YMP flanker Fawn White makes a break during the premier-grade rugby game against Ngatapa on Saturday. YMP won 31-27. Picture by Paul Rickard

RUGBY - TWO tries with less than eight minutes on the clock had YMP fans jumping for joy as their team snatched victory from Ngatapa.

The 31-27 win for East Coast Farm Vets YMP was a bitter pill to swallow for Larsawn Ngatapa, who had led from the opening five minutes.

Adding to their misery was the fact that the final try, to reserve blindside flanker Seth Lundon, was an intercept, after Larsawn Ngatapa were put under pressure at the back by a grubber kick from winger Aaron McLelland.

Ngatapa had been in control of the game. They used their big front row to good effect up the middle of the park and created long sets of phases.

YMP had been under all sorts of pressure. Their only respite came when they were able to counter-attack to good effect.

Ngatapa's defence held diligently when YMP were able to build some attacking opportunities, with the majority of their tries scored from line breaks from outside the red zone.

Both teams played with passion, with heavy contact throughout.

The set pieces for both teams were efficient, with few mistakes at lineout, and no clear advantage to either side at scrum time.

In front of an enthusiastic home crowd, Ngatapa looked as if they would run away with the game before the late YMP surge.

YMP had come into the game strong favourites as the top team on the Civil Project Solutions leaderboard.

Ngatapa had wanted to ride the momentum of their win against High School Old Boys last weekend and, to a large extent, they succeeded.

They scored early and were able to shut down the dangerous YMP backline for much of the game.

Ngatapa coach Stephen Hickey has talked throughout the season about lapses in concentration costing his team, and Saturday was a prime example.

They should have been able to close out the game with the lead they had built, but they did not make the right decisions when it counted.

Despite this, they will take confidence from the game, knowing they can compete with the competition's top teams going into the playoffs in two weeks.

Hickey said his players were disappointed to let the game slip through their fingers, but they were looking at the positives.

“It was a great game of rugby. Both teams just took it to each other.

“We created a couple of good tries . . . and we just have to keep trolleying along and keep rolling up the hill.”

He wanted to thank YMP for attending their aftermatch function and celebrating hooker Ihaia Kerr's 50th game in green and white.

“The camaraderie over rugby was brilliant; that's what the game's all about.”

YMP will have to go back to the drawing board this week to work out how they can improve.

They won't want to be drop-kicking conversions when it is elimination rugby and the pressure is on.

YMP head coach Brian Leach said he was disappointed with what he saw as inconsistent refereeing that hampered their attacking opportunities.

“There were 19 penalties against us . . . we weren't allowed to play to our strengths.”

He said he would attend the referees' meeting this evening to express his views, and a letter had been submitted to the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.

Ngatapa turned up to play and he didn't want to take anything away from their performance, which he said was admirable.

YMP received two yellow cards and conceded a penalty try on Saturday.

Leach said he was proud of how his team responded to adversity.

“I'm happy our forwards showed a lot of resilience and discipline to get us through that game.”

WAIKOHU made a convincing statement with just one week of regular-season rugby left by beating High School Old Boys 54-0 at the Oval on Saturday.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for GT Shearing Waikohu, who were put under pressure in the first half by Contract Consultants HSOB. At halftime Waikohu led by only 12 points.

HSOB had moments where they were battering on the try-line, but Waikohu's defence was too strong.

After an early yellow card to winger Bavai Seremaia after Waikohu were repeatedly penalised, HSOB looked as if they would be able to mount some pressure on their opponents.

But Waikohu barely felt the effect of playing with 14 men. They were able to insulate their flanks with quick line speed to break down the HSOB attack.

Despite being a man down and with their scrum under pressure early, Waikohu were able to open the scoring through fullback Kelvin Smith when they capitalised on a mistake at the back of an uncharacteristically retreating HSOB scrum.

Smith had a fantastic game. His 34 points included two tries. He kicked well from the tee, with 88 percent accuracy, and succeeded with several tough conversions from both corners.

Waikohu wouldn't have been happy with their first-half performance, which was lacklustre.

HSOB struggled to protect their ball at the breakdown, and Waikohu were able to earn turnovers at key moments to halt any momentum that was building.

Waikohu slowly chipped away at the undermanned HSOB, who started to fade.HSOB had named only 17 players on their teamsheet.

The majority of the tries were scored in the final quarter as pressure and exhaustion told on the HSOB players.

The HSOB scrum performed well early, but with the introduction of prop Jarryd Broughton for Waikohu, they started to lose control at the set-piece.

Although HSOB haven't recorded a competition point so far this season, they could take a lot of positives out of the game.

They gave Waikohu a run for their money, although the scoreline doesn't reflect it, and had moments where they looked good.

Waikohu looked dangerous when they had the ball, but they weren't able to hold on to it. The greasy surface made for a stop-start game with a lot of handling errors as both teams struggled to maintain possession.

Waikohu player-coach Ra Broughton said HSOB turned up to play and gave them a good test.

Through the first 50 minutes of the game, HSOB were in control of the game, he said.

“It’s a bit of a wake-up call for the boys not to rest on their laurels.

“The positives were on defence. We kept them scoreless, even though they were mounting a lot of pressure.”

Waikohu tried to keep the pace of the game quick, but HSOB did a good job of slowing it down to their speed, Broughton said.

“The boys had to push a little bit harder to play in the right parts of the field.”

Broughton said he was happiest with the way his team responded in the second half, saying he didn’t think many teams would be able to change the momentum as convincingly as they had.

HSOB coach Danny Boyle said they had only 15 preferred players, with two extras called in at the eleventh hour.

He said they had the “bare minimum” and were calling in people who were sick to help with cover.

Considering the adversity the team faced before they took the field, Boyle said he was proud of how they were able to challenge Waikohu

“They hung in there. I think the right intent was there from our guys.”

Boyle said Waikohu brought a lot of passion and he wanted to thank them for attending the after-match function.

“Waikohu have good wairua (spirit) that they bring to the whole competition.”

In Senior One rugby, Wairoa Athletic beat Ngatapa 47-5, Tapuae beat YMP Bumbles 48-0, and Pirates beat Waikohu 55-7.