They also had reliable set plays – No 8 Matt Brown snaffling attacking lineouts to feed representative prop Gabriel Hakaraia at the back of the maul to score one try and set up another to halfback Kahl Elers-Green.
Skipper Tyler Rogers-Holden chimed in from fullback at the right moments to score two tries, while openside flanker Beau Walker was the best forward on show – slicing through the line early for Taihape’s first try and working well in concert with energetic blindside Sam Reeves.
The side also welcomed 2015 Hawke’s Bay representative Kaleb Sweet off the bench.
Older brother Luke Whale rose to the moment, playing against incumbent Steelform Whanganui skipper Dane Whale, working well behind the stronger pack and coolly slotting five conversions from six attempts.
The best for the home side was unquestionably hard-working second five-eighths Fale Telea Lote, while No 8 Afano Tuika got his side some front-foot ball after Taihape’s rapid start.
Fullback Joseph Latu set up their sole try to winger Loki Peniasi, among several promising breaks, but Latu took it hard when he was sinbinned for referee backchat following Hakaraia’s try.
After so many injuries this season, Taihape coach Sefo Bourke was pleased with the settled performance, hoping they have timed it well enough to go on a playoffs run.
“I’m rapt with that actually, the fact we had no one get injured today but we had one or two come off the bench that have been injured for a long time and they pulled through that last 15, 20 minutes,” Bourke said.
“I’m not going to count my chickens, but obviously the last few weeks we’ve been building to try to play semis, and we’ve got one more game to go against Border over there, which is always a tough trip.
“I think that first 20 minutes or so, that’s the best we’ve played all season.
“We moved them around the park – which was the game plan – and we got a lead early, which was awesome.”
Marton coach Shane Ratima can now take stock of an up-and-down first season back in the Premier division, having reached as high as third on the table with some key wins in the first round.
“We had some results that could have gone either way – the Marist result, which was a draw we should have won, and then the Kaierau one was [a] last minute [loss],” Ratima said.
“We certainly made a fist of some of these matches, it’s just we didn’t quite have the finishing touches.
“Pretty proud of the group, to be fair, from what we come together at the start, there is quality across the field.
“It’s just trying to bring them all together. Man, the challenges of club rugby, I’d forgotten what it was like, so I’m re-living that now.”
No question, the recent departure of several Pasifika players at the expiration of their work visas had hurt, both for structure and roster depth.
“It was a thrown-together team, we had 10 at training on Thursday and didn’t know if we were going to front,” Ratima said.
“A game like that, we just had to chance our arm, and I think the way we played was about as good as we could, really, with what we had.”
Taihape 40 (T. Rogers-Holden 2, B. Walker, M. Brown, G. Hakaraia, K. Elers-Green tries; L. Whale 5 con) bt Marton 5 (L. Peniasi try). HT: 21-5.
