Northland premier men's rugby: Kamo ignite hopes of a double after win over Western Sharks

By the boot of Nikau Graham, Kamo secured a vital 18-15 win over the Western Sharks at Kamo Recreation Park on Saturday. Photo / File

Finishing fifth after phase one of Northland premier men's rugby competition can't have been in the preseason plan for last year's champions, Kamo.

But with injured players on the mend, Kamo have recorded a huge result against Western Sharks at Kamo Recreation Park, winning 18-15 after being 15-3 down at halftime.

Kamo's come from behind win is valuable not only for the points it brings but the confidence it should provide the players, taking down the third-placed side after phase one in dramatic fashion.

Coming out of the blocks slowly, Kamo rued missed tackles and sloppy play in the first half, which left them trailing at the halfway mark.

It took a rousing speech and a super-sub performance from former Northland player Ben Berridge to spur the home team into life. Berridge would go on to score the team's first try after coming off the bench early in the second half as a flanker, making the score 15-10.

When player/coach Cam Goodhue crashed over the tryline close to the posts, Kamo looked odds on to take the lead, but thanks to some quick-thinking by Western Sharks fullback Josiah Povey, the conversion was charged down and the score was locked at 15 all.

With about 7 minutes to go, Kamo's Nikau Graham stepped up and landed a tough penalty kick from 40 metres out on the angle to secure the win.

"It was a good result in the end because [the Western Sharks] were all over us in the first half," Goodhue said.

The Kamo coach credited his flanking partner Berridge for waking the team up at halftime and convincing the players to make their tackles.

"We knew we'd get chances because the mindset changed in that second half, we just went back to what we knew and made sure we did our jobs."

Western Sharks coach Brendan Nathan said the home side took the advantage in the second half after his side was disallowed two tries.

"We can cry as much as we want about the referee's decisions but they happen," he said.

"Kamo have got a really resilient squad and they are highly experienced in the latter stages of the game."

Despite the loss, Nathan was pleased to see his front pack overpower a Kamo forwards unit which contained a number of Northland representatives.

"Kamo is always strong in that area but we worked on our scrumming and lineouts all week and we were the stronger than them in that department I think."

In the round's other games, Waipū beat Mid Northern, 45-19, Hikurangi beat Kerikeri, 27-17, Old Boys Marist beat Otamatea, 46-5 and Wellsford beat Hora Hora 38-10.