Rugby: Wellsford duo fight Pryors with own fire

Wellsford coach Mick Sweetman was happy with the game outcome. Photo/Thinkstock

Wellsford did more than just stand up to the Pryor brothers in their Bayleys Southern Districts Premier match against Old Boys Marist - they won.

Having two ITM Cup flankers in the same club pack is rare for any team, but Old Boys Marist loosies Dan and Kara Pryor weren't enough to make any difference as their team lost 27-22.

Wellsford coach Mick Sweetman said he was glad to see his openside Mitch Fleming and Ross Wright stand up to the Pryors on Saturday.

"Ross Wright really led the forward pack. In the face of those Pryor brothers we needed someone to stand up to them [and he did]," Sweetman commented on the game at Old Boys. "It was good to see Mitch Fleming at number seven contending with the Pryors too. He's a little ferret and gets in there and steals.

"Old Boys Marist is a good side, [but] they definitely benefited from having the Pryor brothers there. They won a bit more ball than they should have around the breakdown area."

Along with Wright and Fleming, Sweetman added centre Eddie Hay to the list of players who stepped up.

In what was a pretty even affair, Sweetman said it was their intention to run Old Boys Marist off the pitch as the evergreen Mark Seymour lined up at second-five.

"We were trying to play at a faster pace. They had Ziggy Seymour there and we knew if we played at a higher pace they'd struggle to stay in the game.

"The longer the game went on, they began creaking at the seam. We spent the last part of the second half at their end," Sweetman explained, adding that they were denied a bonus-point try due to a controversial ruling where a try was reversed.

Sweetman continued to say that while he was happy with the win and the start to their season, there was still plenty to work on.

"We still make too many mistakes and let teams off. We back them into that corner and we make a mistake. We've got to learn to stick to our procedures and patterns. I think we try [to] press it too hard.

"I think I can see plenty of potential for us to get better. You look at some sides and you see they're playing at their best - we know we've got more in us."

Results:

Southern Districts Premier

Otamatea 50 Hikurangi 22

Hora Hora 20 Kamo 8

Mid Northern 25 Western Sharks 22

Wellsford 27 Old Boys Marist 22

Mid Western 33 Waipu 13.

Southern Districts Premier Reserve

Otamatea 16 Hikurangi 36

Hora Hora 22 Kamo 17

Mid Northern 22 Western Sharks 0

Wellsford 18 Old Boys Marist 25

Mid Western 10 Waipu 11.