RUGBY UNION
Bay of Islands seniors
Ohaeawai 0 Kerikeri 7: The top two teams delivered the crunch match anticipated at Ludbrook Park on Saturday in the ultimate round (week 14) of the Bay of Islands senior club competition.
The game remained scoreless to the 78th minute as both sides' forward packs threw themselves into the fray while the back lines probed the opposition defences to within a metre of scoring, and a player from each team visited the sinbin in the second half.
Kerikeri struck in the final play, rewarded for controlling a series of phases in a massive offensive at the Ohaeawai gate when Jack Ram plunged over in the corner, the ref blowing full time after Sam Boyd's conversion.
Manager Ally Fletcher said Kerikeri - who last won the Bay championship shortly after the turn of the new century, and the North Zone senior club title at the end of the old one - said this was the best game of rugby she'd seen in her eight years involvement with the club.
"It pretty much was a final. Seriously, it should have been a draw, it was that amazing. Quality rugby, really really good defence from both sides. We dominated the scrums, they dominated the lineouts. Injuries [to both sides] weren't too bad, considering the intensity of the game. It was sudden death, at least we got to know how to win, right to the end. We are just getting huge amounts of support." Kerikeri player of the day was lock Teo Fudakowski.
While both sides had a good chance of securing a home venue for this Saturday's semi finals, finishing the season in top spot meant the difference between hosting either Moerewa or Kaeo ... quite a difference.
South Hokianga 51 Otiria 5: Otiria eventually ran out of steam against superior numbers in beautiful conditions on Beach Road. Natives manager Thomas Rogers was pleased with the performance, "The boys played well as a team."
Tries by Carl Browny 3 (the lock, and captain, getting a POTD citation), Michael Crouch 2 (also a standout), Cam Marshall 2, and Koby and Tahu Warmington; while also notable was Herewini Pawa in the backs.
Otiria kept their heads up [continuing a remarkable never-say-die season for the club which will feature in the Age in the near future] with the side's sole try coming from Ray Tamihana. The standout for the visitors was prop Son Son Haenga but again it was the younger players singled out for praise for stepping up by management, including Wyatt Ngawati (his first game at senior level), brother Jacob, and Bailey Cherrington.
Kaikohe 3 Moerewa 98: A rampant Moerewa using the homeside - as it did with Otiria by 100-nil the previous weekend - as target practise ahead of a heavy metal semi-final in Ohaeawai this Saturday. Moerewa's Paul Owen thanked Kaikohe for refusing to take the easy option and defaulting; thus allowing Moerewa some form of preparation before meeting its arch-rivals.
He also noted Moerewa had been eyeing up a top of the table finish to the season but was only ever likely to leapfrog into second place on the standings if the loser from Ohaeawai v Kerikeri failed to earn a bonus point (admittedly an unlikely scenario).
Kaeo 20 Okaihau 0(by default): the Kaeo match report noting this was a bit of a bummer to head to the semis without a game and with a band jacked up for a knees-up afterwards to celebrate the last home game of the season which had to be called off. "But we will survive, and look forward to Kerikeri next week." Okaihau, meanwhile, were expected to front up and host Kaikohe in the first bottom four semi being played at Ohaeawai as a curtain-raiser to the top four semi this coming Saturday.
Final standings: Kerikeri 62 points, Ohaeawai 59, Moerewa 58, Kaeo 42; Okaihau 28, South Hokianga 24, Kaikohe 6, Otiria 6. Full standings available on the NRU website.
The draw for the semis was self explanatory from the above but also features on page 13. A preview of the four games will feature in Thursday's Age.
Review from games in the third-to-final round of the Mangonui senior club competition feature on page 14