Clive lock Donovan Mataira is doing the business week in and week out on the Hawke's Bay club rugby scene and today he proved he is ready for regular representative play.
The 19-year-old, who is top of the leaderboard in the province's MVP club award after 13 weeks, was powerful on the carry, accurate at lineout time and composed on defence in the Magpies' 42-17 pre-season win against Wairarapa Bush at the Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Park in Hastings. Although to be fair he didn't have too much defensive work to do as the Magpies dominated the first half and led 28-0 at halftime in ideal conditions and in front of a crowd of 540.
It was the same level of intensity as the Tasman game but definitely a step up from club play," Mataira said referring to the Magpies' 31-24 win against the Tasman Mako in Wellington last month.
"There's still work for me to do around the small stuff at lineout time. But I was happy with how our new combinations went today and the chemistry we developed as we went along. Hopefully I get another crack against Manawatu," Mataira said, promoting the Magpies' next pre-season outing against Manawatu at Napier's McLean Park on July 3.
His combination with hooker Jack Nelson-Murray and his lifters was top shelf at lineout time. While this season could be a little early for a full Magpies Mitre 10 Cup contract for Mataira he should be a definite for the Hawke's Bay Saracens team and on call for the Magpies' first class campaign should injuries hit the locks ranked ahead of him.