Taradale first five Henry Williams shifts the ball out wide. Photo / Emma Rodger
- This article is provided courtesy of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union
Don’t discount the chances of defending champions Taradale Rugby and Sports retaining the Furnware Maddison Trophy in the Hawke’s Bay Premier club rugby competition.
That’s despite a shaky 34-33 second-round victory over Hastings Rugby and Sports at Tareha Reserve on Saturday.
Taradale led 24-7 at halftime, went off the boil in the third quarter before scoring a late try to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
“We’re getting better each week. Last week we played well for 30 minutes and this week we played well for 40. Hopefully we will be playing well for the full 80 soon,” captain and loosehead prop Hadlee Hay-Horton said afterwards.
“There’s been lots of changes in our squad each week and we’re still building belief in our young players,” he added.
Winger C.J. Mienie was thirsty for work and deserved his two tries. Tighthead prop Lolani Faleiva and experienced lock Angelo Mufana were the best of the Taradale forwards.
Hastings Rugby and Sports coach Jason Long pointed out that his troops had their chances to win and didn’t believe they were as bad as the 3-1 penalty count against them in the first half suggested. He agreed that they displayed plenty of character to fight back and contribute to an exciting finish.
“Those two bonus points will definitely help us too,” Long added.
Loosehead prop Blake Tresidder and loosies Taufa Kaufononga and Perez Malo were the best of the Hastings forwards. Captain and first five-eighths Jordan Thompson-Dunn and fullback Oscar Sowman were the pick of the backs.
Havelock North are the only unbeaten side following their 25-14 victory over Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports at Ian MacRae Field.
“We’re tracking nicely. We were able to bring some good cattle off the bench and our scrum dominance worked well for us,” Havelock coach Exham Wichman said.
Captain and blindside flanker Oscar Ritchie was the villagers’ player of the match. Busy No 8 Tom Brock deserved his spot on the MVP list and Wichman believes hooker Valentino Taito is staking a claim for Magpies selection.
Second five-eighths Ethan Taylor shone in the villagers backline.
Pirate midfielder Anaru Paenga-Morgan was taken to hospital by ambulance after being knocked out in a tackle with seven minutes remaining. Pirate player-coach Sheridan Rangihuna hoped he would be available again for the semi-finals, should his lads qualify.
“We didn’t capitalise on our opportunities and Havelock did,” Rangihuna lamented.
“Their execution and homework was better than ours. Mental lapses costs us ... we need to improve our killer instinct,” Rangihuna added.
Prop Konradd Newland impressed during his first start of the season as did captain and No 8 Tiaki Fabish before departing for New Zealand Universities team duty.
Nash Cup winners Napier Old Boys Marist (NOBM) returned to the winning path with a 31-24 victory over Napier Technical at Whitmore Park.
The Green Machine benefited from the return of player-coach Ellery Wilson who missed the previous week’s loss to Pirate as he was attending a reunion in Christchurch. Wilson played first five-eighths in the second half.
“The physicality from both teams on both sides of the ball proved how good and how close this competition is going to be,” NOBM assistant coach Matt Wyatt said.
His blindside flanker Kane Ngawhare and substitute hooker Reilly Hannan were again full of authority. Connor Cashman was enterprising during stints in both midfield positions.
“It was a case of down to the wire but not quite for us,” Texans manager Cyril Whitburn lamented.
The hosts led 19-17 at halftime and the score was 24-24 when the Texans conceded a late penalty try. Props Kianu Kereru-Symes, who scored two tries, and Nik Patumaka provided plenty of grunt in the Texans engine room.
Loosies Liam Udy-Johns and Donovan Mataira were busy and centre Jaziah Symons was the best of the Tech backs.
Bridge Pā produced their best performance of the season when beaten 41-31 by MAC at Mitre 10 Sports Park. The hosts trailed 20-14 at halftime, finished strong and deserved their bonus point which was their first competition point in nine Premier matches.
Loosehead prop Fraser Taurima-Heperi was again MAC’s best player, with strong carries and superb cover defence. Tighthead prop T.K. Kata was again hard to contain and he boasts the distinction of having scored a try in each of his last four matches.
Second five-eighths Donovan Godinet was the pick of the MAC backs and scored a splendid try bumping off three defenders on the way to the tryline. Experienced co-captain Bronson Hokianga was clinical at halfback.
Scorers:
Taradale Rugby and Sports 34 (C.J. Mienie (2), Nic Benn, Jonty Good, Hadlee Hay-Horton, Meni Manase tries; Henry Williams 2 cons), Hastings Rugby and Sports 33 (Bryson Ioane, Daniel Toala, Jordan Thompson-Dunn, Perez Malo, John Lameko tries; Oscar Sowman 4 cons). HT: 24-7.
Havelock North 25 (Cooper Flanders (2), Tom Brock, Marcus Leach tries; Will Cole con, pen), Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports 14 (Drew Berg-McLean, Grayson Ewart tries; Hunter Yarrall 2 cons). HT: Pirate 14-12.
MAC 41 (Louis Makiora, Fraser Taurima-Heperi, Charlie Salevao, Donovan Godinet, T.K. Kata, Alatasi Tupou, Xavier Clarke-Lloyd tries; Ratu Qaraniqio 2, Salevao cons), Bridge Pā 31 (Not Supplied). HT: 20-14.
Napier Old Boys Marist 31 (Michael Beech (2), Kade Manuel, Elis Lewis, penalty try tries; Jonty Stewart 2 cons), Napier Technical 24 (Kianu Kereru-Symes (2), Liam Udy-Johns, Elia Bari tries; Leighton Shaw 2 cons ). HT: Tech 19-17.