Clinical would be the best way of describing Eketahuna's 29-12 win over Stratford in their Manawatu premier division women's rugby match at Eketahuna on Saturday.
The result was a complete reversal of the first round clash when Stratford ran out decisive winners and it came about through Eketahuna dominatingthe forward exchanges and constantly being kept on the front foot by the astute tactical play of their inside combination
The Eketahuna forwards were particularly impressive with their ability to retain possession for long periods. Their unity in the many short passing rushes they employed to break open the Stratford defence was outstanding and the ball was often taken through five or six phases before being released to their backs.
Relishing the chance to feed off the hard grind done by those in the engine room were talented loosies Katie Turnbull and Emma Aldworth. Turnbull was a punishing runner with ball in hand, invariably leaving a couple of tacklers in her wake, and just as aggressive with her close quarter defence and while Aldworth left the field injured in the second half, she had already made a big impact with her high workrate on attack and defence. Koko Namana was another to shine in an all-round sense.
Black Fern Rebecca Mahoney was the guiding hand in the Eketahuna backline. Everything she did had a touch of class about it, particularly her ability to find the open spaces with her tactical kicks. Halfback Laura Gavin showed a swift, accurate pass and the willingness to run the ball back at the opposing forwards whenever the chance arose.
Stratford, who provide the bulk of Taranaki's NPC team, never really got out of first gear. They did look dangerous in broken play, where the pace of their outside backs was always evident, but they simply didn't have enough quality possession to make a close game of it.
