Natives fire first shots in Civil War

BACK TO THE WALL: The Okaihau goalline under seige by the visiting Ohaewai during the round 4 of the Bay senior club rugby at Okaihau on Saturday. Ohaewai eventually won 44-7.

Bay of Islands
Kaeo 26 Kaikohe 25 (ht 7-13): The highlight from round 4 of the Bay of Islands premier senior club rugby championship was an intense contest at Waikoura Domain and played in sublime autumn conditions on Saturday afternoon. Allen Martin's match report on behalf of the homeside noted this was, as the score indicated, an honest to goodness thriller.

"A beautiful day for rugby, conditions were great but you held your heart in your hands 'til the final whistle blew for the duration of this one. Scoring first, Kaeo seemed to have sat on their hands for a great part of this game. Kaikohe dotted down twice before the half to lead, while another two tries after halftime propelled them to a 7-25 lead and the win looked out of reach. Second wind kicked in for Kaeo and they chipped away, with a crucial conversion from out wide by young gun Troy Hughes proving the difference. Bad luck, Kaikohe, but a good wake-up call for us."

Kaeo tries by Nathan Williams 2 (and named best back player of the day), Mykal Williams, Brandon Rudolph, with Troy Hughes 3 conversions; also notable, Robert Whiu (best forward) and Troy Hughes (best overall).

Kaikohe coach Lee Maihi agreed it was a humdinger of a game but one which the visitors may have let slip through their fingers.

"We lost the game, they didn't win it," he said, adding that his team, a mix of new and veteran, was starting to gel. "It's a gradual process as long as we are developing, we are improving. We are slowly getting some structure." Standouts included fullback Ngapuhi Rogers with three tries, and a new Fijian player making his Bay senior club rugby debut at No6.

Okaihau 7 Ohaeawai 44 (0-34): The visitors marched out to a big halftime lead at Okaihau on Saturday which allowed them to rest some key players but also let the homeside come back with renewed vigour in the second spell. The Ohaeawai match report summed up proceedings by noting this was the proverbial game of two halves.

"Okaihau came back with a bit more grunt in the second half although Ohaeawai was able to take advantage of its lead by subbing its two most prominent backs, Josh and Davion Young, along with some front rowers," the report noted, and praised the homeside for refusing to cave in.

"Okaihau also emptied their bench, disrupting Ohaeawai's patterns while Okaihau standout was 'Eveready Battery' Todd Campbell who threatened to score the whole game, and was eventually rewarded with a try close to the posts which Sam Baird converted."

Ohaeawai tries by Brett Curtis 3, Joshua Woodman, Inoke Taufa, Paul Maihi, Jordan Otene and Trey Hemopo, with Brendan Green kicking 2 conversions.

Despite the final margin, Okaihau manager Doug Morgan (unable to make Saturday's game) said the majority of players this year were aged 26 or under, and despite sitting at the bottom of the standings, the side was eyeing the remainder of the season with some degree of optimism.

"We are like anyone else, we are struggling. It's a young team, [but] we are doing all right."

Moerewa 60 Otiria 0: For Moerewa coach Paul Owen, this big win on home turf at Simson Park over their closest neighbours was very welcome following the previous week's loss, although the champions remain third on the Bay standings.

"Got a bit frustrating at times, but boys came around with a good win," he said. Owen also offered praise for the young and enthusiastic Otiria side, which fielded more players than most Bay sides could boast of this year; and this should hold the team in good stead as they look to shake off the 'cellar dweller' tag in seasons to come.

Moerewa tries by William Cherrington 2 Ra Litton 2 (loosie named forward POTD), Rhys Te Nana, Jim Anderson, Lia Gatz, Steve Watene (overall POTD), Kane Brooks (the halfback also kicking a conversion to earn the back POTD), Chaz Watene (and 2 conv) with Henare Cherrington adding 2 conversions.

UK 15 Kerikeri 25: Kerikeri holding off UK at Kawakawa Domain. No comment received from either club.

- Standings, all played four: Ohaeawai (for/ against 106/61) 16 points, Kerikeri (124/80) 15, Moerewa (161/54) 14, Kaeo (94/86) 14, Kawakawa (116/81) 12, Kaikohe (78/89) 10, Otiria (46/153) 1, Okaihau (34/155) 1.

Mangonui
Natives 20 Motukohu 28 (ht 20-10): This match at Taheke on Saturday living up to hype as the Battle Royale from round 4 of the Mangonui senior club rugby championship.

Civil war in the Hokianga between north and south is always hard-fought and so it was on this occasion, Motukohu overwhelmed in the first quarter as the Natives came out firing to post a 20-nil lead. Motukohu managed to reply with two tries, both unconverted, to build a foundation for their second-half domination with two more tries, a conversion and a penalty sealing the result.

Motukohu's John Guest said it was a great match played in nice weather and on a good paddock at Taheke, but "our boys were a bit slow to start".

Tries by Rob Harris, Alan Guest, Michael Crouch (also two conversions) and Nathan Hauraki, and a penalty by Rob Harris, while standout player was 1st five Hepa Matthews.

After the game, ref Gary Steed was highly complimentary about the Natives' performance, noting the vast improvement the side have made since he covered their first game in Mangonui club rugby at Rally Day last month.

Te Rarawa 28 Aupouri 10[21-0]: Te Rarawa convincingly repelling the north tribe invasion in postcard-perfect, crisp autumn conditions at Ahipara on Saturday. However, Aupouri player coach Pocko Still was nevertheless really pleased with his side's ongoing improvement.

"Stoked with our forward play, just pushed them around. First half, it was back and forth, second half we got on top of them a bit more I think," he said, going on to note the beautiful conditions and good crowd present. Tries by Johnny Boy Slade and Kevin Jobe, while standouts were fullback Stu Jobe (best back) and No6 Jeff Popata (best forward), while No8 Aaron Munro ("he had a "blinder") and hooker Ian Spicer were also mentioned.

Rarawa tries by hooker Jared CONTINUED - PAGE 11