Western Sharks win battle of the forwards against Hora Hora

Hora Hora centre Reece Le Vavasour was a strong runner for the home side in their game against Western Sharks on Saturday. Photo / File

An outstanding solo-effort try from Hora Hora winger Dougie Te Puni wasn't enough to earn a win against the Western Sharks on Saturday as his team went down 29-15.

The fast-footed right wing beat four Western Sharks defenders to cross the line in the first half of the Bayleys premier grade competition game at the Hora Hora Rugby grounds, and could have been the spark for the home side with the scores level at 10-all.

Before that try the visitors had started strongly with a good line break from Western Sharks fullback Josef Glamuzina which led to the game's first try. A conversion and a penalty later from sharp-shooting centre, Josiah Povey, the home side were facing a 10-nil deficit early in the first half.

Glamuzina's success in the game was short-lived as not long after his try, a tangle contesting for the ball in the air between another Western Sharks player and a Hora Hora player, left the fullback on the ground and eventually off the field with a suspected concussion.

After two tries from the home side, it looked as though Hora Hora were back in the game with scores level, but simple mistakes and a strong opposition forward pack impeded their progress in the second half.

After his preseason work with the Blues, Western Sharks No 8 Matt Matich had a big impact on the game, both in action and in voice. Spectators could often hear his encouragement ringing out as his side made their way into Hora Hora territory.

Matich's work on and off the ball proved invaluable up against his opposite number in Jaycob Matiu, who was involved in much of Hora Hora's progress into enemy territory.

Despite the promise of a Hurricanes-esque attacking performance from Hora Hora, they couldn't hold on to possession long enough to have any real impact on the game.

The visitors had their fair share of knock-ons and turnovers, most of which being made within metres of the opposition line, but a consistent showing up front gave them the win by a two-try margin.

"It was a physical game, [Hora Hora] hit us pretty hard and we thought we started well but they were very strong up front," Western Sharks coach Brendan Nathan said.

Nathan was happy with his side's win away from home and said he was impressed with the leaders in his forward pack.

"Our captain, Michael Frood, and Matt Matich really stepped up in the game against a tough forward pack like that and for them to hold our structure was probably the key to staying ahead of Hora Hora."

Hora Hora coach Mark Wati said his side needed to clean up the simple mistakes to win against tough teams like the Western Sharks.

"It was a big improvement from last week from our guys and obviously we had chances that we could have won the game, but it was just those few mistakes [that hurt us]."

Wati commended Te Puni on his try and Matiu on his work up front and hoped the team could continue to lift their standard come Saturday.

In the other games, Old Boys Marist defeated Hikurangi 45-7, Kamo beat Wellsford 36-29, Waipū beat Kerikeri 40-7, and Mid Northern beat Otamatea 47-17.