Pirate added to their total quickly. Following a midfield penalty they kicked for the corner and set a strong lineout drive.
Pirate broke off the back, popping a pass to Al Momoisea who powered over.
Just minutes later, Pirate crossed again this time through another well-executed lineout drive, with Tiaki Fabish breaking off the back to score.
Up 17–0 inside the opening 10 minutes, Pirate looked firmly in control.
But Havelock found a way back. After building sustained pressure inside the Pirates’ half, they finally cracked the defence, with Reuben Allen crashing over to reduce the deficit to 17–7.
The gain was erased immediately. From the restart, Havelock opted for a box kick, and Pirate went on the counter. Spotting space down the left, Momoisea put through a clever grubber, regathered by halfback Jehmial Ross who rolled over the line to score. Pirate went into the sheds up 24–7.
Something sparked for Havelock coming out of the sheds, leading to them drawing first blood in the second half. They built sustained pressure in the Pirate’s half and finally it paid off. After multiple phases, Phillip McRoberts muscled over to close the gap to 24–14.
The hosts struck again shortly after. Keeping things tight, they battered away at the Pirate defence with strong one-off carries, eventually sending Tom Brock crashing over to bring the game to 24–21 and put the comeback well within reach.
Pirate, however, answered back. After breaking through in broken play and getting stopped metres short, they quickly recycled.
potting space on the right side of the ruck, Seth Lundon strolled over to push the lead back out to 31–21.
Havelock dug deep and struck back immediately bringing it within three points, Valentino Taito stripped the ball on the 22, sold a dummy to score under the posts and get the belief back once again with time winding down.
Strong carries and penalties marched Havelock downfield and with belief building, they set a lineout 15 metres out and went to work.
They carried strong and it was Tom Woelders who found the will to power over to steal the game and complete the 35-31 comeback.
In other games, Napier Old Boys Marist (NOBM) held off a determined Napier Tech side in a match where momentum swung wildly throughout.
In a tightly contested first half, points were hard to come by, but NOBM took a narrow 14–10 lead into the break.
The second half opened with fireworks as a scuffle saw both teams reduced to 14 men.
The remainder of the match was a back-and-forth affair, with both sides trading tries.
However it was NOBM who squeezed out the result, scoring a try and a penalty in the final 10 minutes to take the 36–29 win despite a final push from Tech in the dying stages.
Head coach Ellery Wilson said he was proud of the boys for holding on in a tough encounter.
“Tough game against a big, physical and experienced Napier Technical side. An awesome measuring stick is always our game against each other as we both seem to lift, and enjoy playing each other. Some standout performances from us were Oto Katoa, Patrick Hedley and Dylan Homan.”
Taradale and Hastings had a fierce battle at Elwood Park, but Taradale showed their class once again, putting on a strong performance to win 57-34.
Tim Ryan, Taradale’s assistant manager, was especially pleased about the performance after last week’s loss, while acknowledging the toughness of the Hastings side.
“Happy we managed to get back on track after last week. We were probably a bit fortunate that Hastings are still carrying a few injuries and weren’t at full strength they’ve got a big, physical pack.
“The first 20 minutes were intense. But whenever Hastings scored, we were able to respond and not let them build momentum. That was really pleasing.
“In the first half it was a physical battle their one-off runners were coming hard around the corner, and we were a bit slow in defence at times.
“However we managed to find space out wide and square them up down the edges after getting past the physical forward pack, Bethel Malasia took full advantage with four tries.
“It was still a full-on contest right to the end.”
Results
Napier Old Boys Marist 36 (Sunia Ragede 2, Josh McIntyre, Will Tremain, Oto Katoa tries; Patrick Hedley 4 cons, pen) Napier Technical 29 (Leighton Shaw, Tyrone Chrystal, Teddy Walters, Conor Dobbyn, Tyrone Mauheni tries; Shaw 2 cons). HT Score: 14-10
Havelock North 35 (Reuben Allen, Phillip McRoberts, Tom Brock, Valentino Taito, Tom Woelders, Will Cole tries; Cole 5 cons) Napier Pirate Rugby and Sports 31 (Ryota Matsuda, Al Momoisea, Tiaki Fabish, Jehmial Ross, Seth Lundon tries; Sheridan Rangihuna 3 cons). HT Score: 7-24
Taradale 57 (Bethel Malasia (4), Kaleb Whakataka, Flynn Allen, Josh Eden-Whaitiri, Luke Thomas tries; Thomas 6 cons) Hastings Rugby and Sports 34 (Eugene Sandilands (2), Perez Malo, Jeriah Mua, Blake Tresidder tries; Koby Deacon 3 cons, pen). HT Score: 21-15
