Rugby: Central battle winds to win

The Central Bay of Plenty under-15 rugby team overcame blustery winds to beat a fired-up Corinthians 10-0.

Playing into the wind for the first half, Central, with home-town advantage, battled hard in the rugged conditions but managed to keep the Eastern Waikato side scoreless in the Chiefs franchise under-15 competition at Marist rugby grounds at the weekend.

Part-way through the first half the game was suspended for 20 minutes after a Central player took a knock to the rib cage in a legitimate tackle.

As a precaution, the two sides waited until an ambulance was called to treat the injured player, who was taken to hospital for observation.

After the game resumed, both sides continued the battle and although the visitors had most of the territory they could not take advantage and the game was tied 0-0 at half time.

After the break, the home side looked to work as a tight unit and took full advantage of the strong wind to keep Corinthians camped inside their 22. The pressure paid off with Central's Bradley Munroe nailing a penalty.

Munroe's penalty gave Central the momentum they'd been looking for and the home side found themselves back on attack.

A fine forward effort soon had Central pushing Corinthians off their own ball, which was spun through the backs who finished the move off with a try to Munroe, who sealed the victory 10-0 with the conversion.

Central Bay of Plenty coach Bede Murphy said he was pleased with his team's win.

"We played very well considering the wind was atrocious. We held it together, played very good on defence and were the most structured we have been all season," he said.

Team manager Ross Everiss said the way the team stuck together was a key factor. "There was a real sense of camaraderie, they functioned well as a team and that's what got them the win."

Corinthians coach Darin Perrott said his side failed to take the opportunities offered to them in the first half.

"We started off great, got enough breaks but we were just not polished enough to finish it.

"We came back strong in the second half but, unfortunately, CBOP came back stronger."

Both Everiss and Murphy found it hard to single out players who stood out but agreed prop Owen Jensen had an outstanding game. The coaching teams from both sides praised Corinthians players Zane Crosswell, Daniel Thornton and Cole Tuhakarina for their contribution to the Waikato squad.

The two teams have a break this week leading up to the finals day on September 29. With results still pending, the teams are nervously waiting to see whether they will make the top of their pool and get a crack at the very first Chiefs franchise championship title and the opportunity to be selected in the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Chiefs under 15 squad.

Scorers:

Central Bay of Plenty 10 (Bradley Munroe 1 try; Bradley Munroe 1 pen, 1 con) Corinthians 0. Halftime 0-0.