League: NZ Residents come out on top in tight game

PACE: Rotorua Boys' High School pupil Rayna Whakaari makes a break for the New Zealand Residents Under-16s against the New Zealand Maori Under-17s at Puketawhero Park on Saturday. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

Spectators at Puketawhero Park enjoyed an afternoon of silky skills and big hits when the New Zealand Residents Under-16s took on the New Zealand Maori Under-17s.

Prior to kick-off yesterday the two sides faced off with goosebump-inducing hakas and the scene was set.

The Maori put themselves under pressure early on as they knocked the ball on inside their own half.

The Residents took full advantage as they worked their way upfield before halfback Simi Sasagi threw a dummy and sliced through a gap to score the opening try.

The Residents started to get a roll on as they showed they were not afraid to give the ball some air on attack, despite wet, slippery conditions, and exhibited exceptional tackling technique on defence.

Ten minutes into the half they had their second when hooker Temple Kalepo scooted out of dummy-half and caught the defence napping to score next to the posts.

After a slow start the Maori began to find their feet and after a period of sustained pressure inside the Residents half they had their first try as hooker Tyrin Ona-Murphy replicated his counterpart's efforts with a try out of dummy-half.

Maori forwards Usaia Teu Fonongaloa and Nitika Taniwha came off the bench to great effect as their gut-busting efforts up the middle gave their side some real go-forward.

Shortly afterwards the Maori scored their second when Jordan Riki crashed over and the game was tied 12-all.

They then took an 18-12 lead into halftime as fullback Uenuku Malesala stood in a tackle and produced an offload to put his winger Te Mana Te Maari over in the corner.

The Maori continued to put the Residents under pressure in the second half and were rewarded when halfback Wipere Takitumu produced some brilliant footwork to go through a gap and score.

Losing 24-12, the Residents kicked into gear and set about launching a comeback.

Residents forward Caleb Pesi showed great strength to score under the posts before Caius Faa'tili bulldozed his way over for another try - both tries were converted and the score was 24-all with 20 minutes to play.

The Residents took a 30-24 lead when Sasagi scored his second, before kicking a penalty from right in front to take an eight-point lead.

The Maori scored an unconverted try right on fulltime, but it was too little too late with the final score 32-28.

Speaking after the game, Residents coach Andrew Auimatagi said it felt great to get the win.

"We identified some players after high-performance camp and named a wider squad, it's been a few months in the making I guess, but it was good to finally get out there and see the boys do their stuff.

"It's a great opportunity for our boys to take that first step into the rep programme - the game is in a good place looking at the talent on display today.

"If we give the 16-year-olds more opportunities to test themselves against quality sides like New Zealand Maori 17s we're going to set ourselves up well for the future," Auimatagi said.

Maori captain Jordan Riki said he was "really proud of the boys".

"We really stuck it to them.

"We lost it a little bit in the first half and end of the second half, which was a bit unfortunate, but a big congratulations to the NZ Kiwis they played well," Riki said.