Poverty Bay scored 19 unanswered points in the second half of a bruising semifinal against Horowhenua-Kapiti in Gisborne yesterday, to earn a home third division rugby final.
The visitors threatened in the first 25 minutes and had Poverty Bay under the hammer a number of times, butdespite trailing 3-10 at the break the winners controlled the exchanges in the last 40 minutes.
In the first stanza, Horowhenua's well-drilled pack drove in unison and made big metres with snappy passing and hard running. They scored two grand tries and a vital penalty, while Poverty Bay's only reply was a penalty from first five-eighth Scott Leighton.
But the home side upped the tempo immediately in the second half with Leighton on song. He rifled four penalties, kicked a wonderful dropped goal and came close to scoring two tries. He finished with 17 points and has now scored 91 points from his six appearances for Poverty Bay this season.
