North Otago fly high as ugly ducklings

Rugby romantics continue to be wooed by a team widely tipped to be the ugly ducklings of the second division.

North Otago were expected to be out of their depth after winning promotion for 2003, but they have turned heads by making a seamless transition to the higher ranks.

Their honeymoon period continued when they piled on the points in the second spell to beat Thames Valley 40-18 in Oamaru.

That was after their shock win a week earlier over Counties-Manukau, a result no one had dared contemplate.

North Otago, who have a near-perfect start to the season by earning nine points from two outings, are joined at the top of the standings by Nelson Bays and Hawkes Bay, who boast identical records.

Nelson Bays were too good for Marlborough in Blenheim, their 31-10 win securing the Seddon Shield, and Hawkes Bay won their own derby match by beating Manawatu 24-18 in Palmerston North.

Stung by the indignity of defeat against North Otago a week earlier, Counties-Manukau responded in the best possible manner to over-run Mid Canterbury 65-6 in Ashburton.

North Otago were outplayed in the first half by Thames Valley and were lucky to lead 14-13 at halftime.

But after Thames Valley scored a try within 30 seconds of the resumption, North Otago took control of the game. They were given more space and played the game at pace, scoring four more tries to extinguish the visitors' fire.

North Otago have the bye this weekend and the break could not have been better timed because halfback Ryan McCarthy, centre Mike Mavor and flanker Ray Ofisa are nursing injuries.

Counties-Manukau were in a different class to Mid Canterbury.

They scored 10 tries, with winger Setiveni Sivivatu and fullback Sailosi Tagicakibau picking up doubles.

The result was a foregone conclusion as early as the sixth minute, by which stage Counties-Manukau were firmly in command at 15-0.

The second half was all one-way traffic, with Counties-Manukau employing strong counter-attacking play and getting good possession from the forwards.

In Palmerston North, both teams scored two tries, but accurate goalkicking by Hawkes Bay fullback Tim Manawatu, who contributed 14 points, was a decisive factor in his side's success after they led 19-10 at the interval.

Manawatu enjoyed much the better of the second spell before Hawkes Bay second five-eighth Amasio Valence scored an intercept try to make the game safe at 24-13.

Marlborough went into the Seddon Shield game after a difficult week during which coach Alex Wyllie had his contract terminated and his successor Dennis Brown met the players for the first time only on Thursday night.

That all seemed irrelevant when they made a promising start to dominate the opening quarter against their neighbours.

Significantly, they failed to put any points on the board during this period and it was left to Nelson Bays No 8 and captain Mark Bright to open the scoring when he strolled over the tryline from a simple scrum move.

A try to midfield back Aaron Kimura extended the difference before Regan Dixon responded with a penalty to see Marlborough trail 14-3 at halftime.

They narrowed the difference shortly after the resumption, courtesy of a brilliant try to wing Sam Gibbons following a breakout by Eddie Hekenui.

Marlborough then suffered a big blow when captain and No 8 Laurie McGlone left the field injured.

- NZPA