Taihape secure fourth spot on Premier rugby table

There was no quarter asked or given when Pirates narrowly defeated Ruapehu at Spriggens Park on Saturday.

PGG Wrightson-Ballance Taihape have got themselves in the catbird seat in their mini-tournament for the fourth playoff spot in Tasman Tanning Premier after holding back Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 33-26 at Memorial Park on Saturday.

Taihape have picked up narrow wins over both Marist and Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau in the last two weeks to create a six point gap on the table, which could prove vital as they must now play them on their own home grounds in the second round.

At Memorial Park, Taihape were able to call on the goal kicking of former Utiku Old Boys player Dylan Ratana, who made an 18-point haul.

Three first half tries had them up 22-12, with the bonus point try taking them to 27-19 in the second stanza, as Ratana added two more penalties to stay out of Marist's clutches.

Marist are significantly short of backs, and have been hit hard with the news that talented first-five Sam Monaghan has withdrawn from club rugby with concussion, as coach Jerome McCrea said he is advising Monaghan to retire after multiple concussions in the last few years.

Marist did have a noteworthy name as Eru Milner-Skudder, brother of Taihape-born All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder, joined them and got on the tryscorers sheet, while Cameron Crowley picked up a double.

After the heart break of losing back-to-back in the dying minutes against Marist and then Taihape, Kaierau picked themselves up off the deck to register a comfortable 43-12 win over Harvey Round Motors Ratana at the Country Club.

While Kaierau needed a bonus point win to boost their stocks, they did not have it all their own way, with Ratana scoring two first half tries through prop Shade Tuaine-Whanau and first-five Mikaere Penetito, to only trail 24-12 at the break.

Kaierau halfback Cameron Davies got a double, while the home side were also advantaged by an automatic seven-point penalty try.

In the Senior competition, Kelso Hunterville have now moved a clear point ahead of Marist Celtic, but only just as lower-tier Kaierau came back at them hard in the 32-29 loss at the Country Club.

Similar to their April 7 victory over Border, Kaierau were trailing 25-8 at halftime, but scored multiple tries to just one conceeded in the second half to all but pull off the upset of the season so far.

Celtic had a tough assignment, meeting Border in another away night game this season, but prevailed 18-7 after a strong final quarter on Friday in Waverley.

Border were defending their 7-3 lead for a long time, but got trapped in their own half as Marist scored three late tries in the dark corner of Dallison Park.

Speirs Food Marton stayed in touch with the Top 2 but did it the hard way in their Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield defence against Counties at McNab Domain, winning 15-12.

Down 6-5 at halftime, Marton look the lead but were sweating on a missed penalty by Counties with time up on the clock which would have drawn the match.

At Memorial Park, home side Utiku Old Boys came from behind to beat Marist Buffalo's 27-26 in another thriller, while Seales Winslow Pirates kept alive their chances of staying in the Top 6 with a strong second half to upend Ruapehu 57-12.

Results, May 5

Tasman Tanning Premier, Round 7

Waverley Harvesting Border 47 (Harry Symes 2, Tietie Tuimauga. Lindsay Horrocks, Angus Middleton, Anaru Haewera, Nick Harding tries; Harding 6 con) bt Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 10 (Penalty try; Josaia Dawai pen). HT: 28-3.

Grand Hotel Challenge Shield – Black Bull Liquor Pirates 12 (Elijah Ah Chong, Fa'alele Iosua tries, Iosua con) bt McCarthy Transport Ruapehu 10 (Campbell Hart try, Mitchell Millar pen, con). HT: 7-0 Pirates.

Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 43 (Cameron Davies 2, Eric Sagapolutele, Karl Pascoe, Alex Mulipola, Shandon Scott tries; penalty try; Scott 3 con) bt Harvey Round Motors Ratana 12 (Shade Tuaine-Whanau, Mikaere Penetito tries; Aaron Paranihi con). HT: 24-12.

PGG Wrightson-Ballance Taihape 33 (Dylan Ratana, Jaye Flaws, Dylan Gallien, Matt Brown tries; Ratana 3 pen, 2 con) bt Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 26 (Cameron Crowley 2, Eru Milner-Skudder, Aiden Fitzgerald tries; Josiah Bogileka 3 con). HT: 22-12.

Senior Championship, Round 8

At Dallison Park: Marist Celtic bt Border 18-7. HT: 7-0 Border.

At Spriggens Park: Seales Winslow Pirates bt Ruapehu 57-12. HT: 15-7.

At Country Club: Kelso Hunterville bt Kaierau 32-29. HT: 25-8.

At McNab Domain (Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield): Speirs Food Marton bt Counties 15-12 (1). HT: 6-5 Counties.

At Memorial Park: Utiku OB bt Buffalo's 27-26. HT: 21-15 Buffalo's.

Bye: Taihape.