Rugby: Close match for Stratford Thunder Div 1 v Southern

It was a close-fought match for Stratford Thunder Div 1 v Southern on Saturday.

With a finals placing in the bag, this week’s game decided the line-up for the semifinal.

The pitch was cold and windswept when Stratford Thunder Div 1 headed to play away at Hãwera on Saturday.

A strong wind blowing up the length of the pitch gave both teams kicking advantage in their respective halves, and on the day, Southern turned this to their advantage more than Thunder were able to.

The first half was low-scoring, with Southern taking an early penalty for three points and, soon after, another five from an unconverted try. This didn’t diminish Thunder’s resolve, and they took seven points in reply before the half-time whistle.

Once again, Southern took three points with the wind at their backs early in the second half, only for Thunder to reply with a converted try.

With the score poised at 14-11 to Thunder with 25 minutes remaining, the pressure was on for Thunder to hold off the Southern offensive until the final whistle, as at this point, only one try had been scored by the home team.

Unfortunately for Thunder, two further penalties were conceded without reply, so this took the final score to 17-14 to Southern.

This result means Thunder will be playing New Plymouth Old Boys at New Plymouth in the semifinal next week. Southern will be hosting Coastal in the other semi.

Players of the day were Gianni Pedemonte (three points), Henry Marchant (two points) and Shannon Haenga (one point).

Other scores:

Thunder Premiers 28-7 Southern, meeting Southern in their semifinal at Stratford.

Thunder Colts 37-12 Southern, meeting New Plymouth Old Boys at New Plymouth.