League: Northern Swords through to championship round after beating BOP

Dominic Ormsby scored two tries for the Northern Swords in their game against Bay of Plenty last weekend.

The Northern Swords are through to the Championship round in the NZRL Provincial Competition.

The Swords met Bay of Plenty at Takahiwai last Saturday afternoon to decide who would meet Wellington and Otago in the NZRL Provincial Championship Competition.

The Swords dominated early, with Johnson and Mackay laying a solid foundation for playmakers Epiha, Wilson and Freeman to play off. Johnson surged to score the first try converted by Freeman. Ormsby scored off a clever Wilson kick to put Swords up by 10.

Bay scored next off the back of good control by their halves Weeden and Peri, who had an outstanding individual game. Swords then rushed in two tries to the solid centre pairing of Ormsby and Uilou only for the Bay to hit back on the half to make it 20-10.

Desperation by both sides in the second half really opened the game up, with the Bay especially strong on the counter and offloads.

Bay, who won the championship round last year, really upped the tempo and their passes started to stick. Peri, especially, had a dominant second half.

Scores back and forth saw the Bay pull within two points but the Swords held their nerve to secure a famous win. Solid contributions by all team members now have the Swords primed for a crack at Wellington this weekend.

Points: Swords 30 : Orsmby 2 tries, Uilou 1 try, Levita 1 try, Macfarlane 1 try, Johnson 1 try; Wilson, Freeman and Levita 1 goal each.Points Bay of Plenty 28 : Peri 2 tries, Walters 1 try, Hart 1 try, Watapu 1 try, Kana 1 try; Temai and Dawson 1 goal each.

Swords Team: V Paul, L Levita, D Orsmby, T Uilou, J Kiernan, V Wilson, J Epiha, M Salase, S Henry, M Mackay, R Macfarlane, C Edward, J Freeman, S Tatau, D Johnson, M Tawhiwhirangi, B Cowan.