Rugby: Kahukura have mud and glory

Kahukura comfortably beat rival Ngongotaha 34-0 on Saturday.

Kahukura are sitting in top spot on the Baywide Division One table after comfortably beating rival Ngongotaha 34-0.

Plenty of umbrellas were dotted around the Ngongotaha Domain for Saturday's match, which was played out in muddy conditions.

Kahukura have won all four of their matches this season and are on track to qualify for the playoffs come July.

Coach Ron Preston said his club had aspirations of moving up to the Baywide premier grade as soon as next year, and they were developing this season with that in mind. "Yeah, we are [going well] but we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We are just slowly building," he said.

"It was a good idea probably not to go up to premiers this year and stay in division one so we can build. If our young guys develop this year we will be looking to push to get up to premiers at the end of this year."

He said he was very happy with his team's efforts on Saturday in the derby against Ngongotaha. "These local derbies are always tough and Ngongotaha are no exception," he said.

"So it was awesome to get the win, and luckily enough we held them out."

Amid the serious side of the game on Saturday, the match also featured some classic moments of grassroots rugby.

On a few occasions the sideline referee could be spotted holding a flag in one hand and a cigarette in the other, as he patrolled the white line in his gumboots. The pitch had also deteriorated during the match to the point where it resembled a giant mud pit by the end of the 80 minutes, causing a few problems for both teams.

But some high-quality rugby was also on display with Kahukura especially showcasing their skills on attack, scoring five tries.

The final try was a brilliant individual play which saw Petelo Kelemete pounce on a loose ball in his own half and boot it down field, before kicking it twice more and diving on the ball over the try line.

-Kahukura 34 (Daniel Vercoe, Keegan Orr, Poto Thompson, Angus McKenzie, Petelo Kelemete tries; Petelo Kelemete pen, 3 con) Ngongotaha 0.