Rugby: Old Boys' Marist move into second with 95-point haul

OBM's Kepa Wiki hit eight conversions in their 95-10 win over Otamatea. PHOTO/TANIA WHYTE

A 15-try romp has put Old Boys Marist back in the top two as the Bayleys Northland Premier club rugby competition nears the finals.

OBM ran riot in a 95-10 home victory over Otamatea, who need a strong end to their campaign to avoid the battle for promotion and relegation.

Wing Mase Parsons started OBM's charge early with a try in the opening exchanges before a Raydin Smith effort gave OBM a 12-0 within five minutes.

Things didn't get much better for Otamatea as OBM looked to exact revenge for a surprise 15-all draw in their first match-up of 2018.

There seemed to be nothing Otamatea could do on the defensive end, try as they might, to stop a sublime onslaught from the two-time defending champions.

Further early tries from Jarrod Byrnes, Waylon Skipps and Nasi Kuli were added before Otamatea crossed the line.

More of the same followed, particularly in the second half as the bench unit added an extra burst of energy.

Parsons, reserve centre Thomas Anderson, Waylon Skipps and Smith each crossed for doubles while wing Nasi Kuli nabbed a hattrick in an impressive effort.

Goal kicker Kepa Wiki added eight conversions to aid the score.

Meanwhile Wellsford went close to upsetting the unbeaten Kamo, eventually drawing the fixture 23-all.

Wellsford headed into the round an outside shot of qualifying for the finals and the result will help them march up the leaderboard.

The home field advantage proved beneficial for Wellsford but a late missed conversion from out wide denied them what would have been an impressive victory.

The Wellsford-Kamo result wasn't the only draw of the round as Western Sharks and Hikurangi couldn't be separated after 80 minutes.

Both sides are looking to stay out of the promotion/relegation zone and it showed as neither team took a backwards step - a draw being the appropriate result.

Mid Northern's hopes for another finals appearance took a hit as Waipu continued to impress with a 33-5 win.

That result leaves Mid Northern 15 points behind fourth-placed Waipu and with Hora Hora, Kerikeri and Wellsford still to play, the path looks tough.

Hora Hora slipped back to third place in the final match of the round as they fell to Kerikeri 43-29.

The newcomers were down 24-17 at the break but a hat-trick of tries to impressive outside back Levi Clark gave them the win and kept them firmly in the playoff hunt.

Bayleys Northland Club Rugby results

Premier:
Waipu 33 Mid Northern 5, Kerikeri 43 Hora Hora 29, Old Boys Marist 95 Otamatea 10, Wellsford 23 Kamo 23, Sharks 29 Hikurangi 29.

Premier Reserve:
Waipu 25 Mid Northern 36, Kerikeri 58 Hora Hora 15, Old Boys Marist 48 Otamatea 22, Wellsford 20 Kamo 24, Sharks 18 Hikurangi 22.

North Zone Finals:
Moerewa/United Kawakawa 39 Awanui 20, Kaitaia 50 Otiria 26.

South Zone:
Tomarata 16 Southern 15, Mid Western 25 Pipiwai 19.