Vakarorogo’s second try came after two audacious flick passes from Horrocks and reserve flanker Samu Kubunavanua, earning Whanganui’s bonus point and taking them to a comfortable 29-3 lead entering the final quarter.
To this point, playing without inspirational halfback Sam Parkes, East Coast had looked like the team that lost 54 straight games over nearly a decade but, suddenly galvanised into action, they transformed back into the side which won the 2022 Lochore Cup and holds the Bill Osborne Taonga.
Hitting Whanganui hard at the advantage line and starting to get a few more penalties in their favour, the East Coast forwards drove reserve front rower Jaya More over, and then second five Tuetere Waenga broke tackles to score.
A third try off a quick tap, which led to a short melee in-goal between the heated teams, gave East Coast a sniff at 34-24 - veteran first five Te Rangi Fraser slotting all four of his kicks in quick fashion.
But Whanganui had composure enough through Whale, as three times during East Coast’s rally the home side managed to trap them in the ruck trying to run out of their half - the skipper slotting two penalties from close range as well as going to the corner for fresh reserve hooker Alesana Tofa to score off a slick lineout play.
Whale finished with six kicks from nine attempts, but won’t mind one of his misses as the ball holding up in the breeze in the first half fell awkwardly near the posts for East Coast to spill it and Horrocks to score his first try.
“I really put it to the boys to play into that wind in the opening 40, when we won the toss, that’s what we were going to do,” the skipper said.
“Real proud of the boys to give us that base effort from that first 40 and then build into that for the second half.
“We knew we had a strong bench to come on. There was a little bit of heat from coming from [East Coast], and our penalty count was probably quite high for that second half.”
But unlike the Thames Valley loss, on the times when Whanganui got hit hard behind the advantage line, they had the bodies to protect the ball and get momentum going again down another fringe.
“I think the boys are finally picking the right options, they get us over that advantage line and then building that pressure so we either get a penalty or we’re playing out the back, so it is coming together,” Whale said.
While the final quarter was concerning, coach Jason Hamlin was pleased his team had prevented East Coast from playing their kind of rugby until it was ultimately too late.
“There’s a real emphasis for us around trying to contain them as much as we could around their pick-and-go game, I thought that’s where they’d be, and I thought that first 40-60 odd minutes the boys did that really well,” Hamlin said.
“I’m surprised it actually got out to that high a score, I didn’t think it was going to be that high-scoring of a fixture, but it was probably a credit to that work in the first half.
“A try off a kick-chase, but you’ve got to put yourself in places to do it, and that try just before halftime via Alekesio was worth its weight in gold.”
Having leapfrogged East Coast into third place and now three points shy of second-placed Thames Valley, Hamlin wants to iron out any issues in the final two round-robin games when the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup will be on the line.
“We set our standards for these boys really high, and towards the end of the game we weren’t really meeting them, that was probably the disappointing factor because this team can do a bit of damage if it gets itself together.”
Whanganui 40 (L Horrocks 2, A Vakarorogo 2, A Tofa tries; D Whale 3 pen, 3 con) bt East Coast 24 (J More, T Waenga, Unknown tries; T Fraser pen, 3 con). HT: 17-3.
Happenings
HURRICANES: Five Whanganui Collegiate First XV players have been named for the Hurricanes Under-18 Development camp. They will be among 50 who will attend the camp on October 3-6, based at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation & Sport in Trentham. On October 7, a playing group will play the Crusaders U18s in Blenheim. The players are Pita Manamanaivalu, Rudy Ioasa, Oscar Mabin, James Hardy and Jack McCarthy.
HEARTLAND HURRICANES: The Heartland Hurricanes Under-20s and their Whanganui contingent of players were able to retain the Glen Osborne Cup in a thriller with the Heartland Chiefs on Friday night. A conversion from the sideline sealed a 24-22 victory. Whanganui’s Todd Cowan was assistant coach, while Chris Back was manager.
NZ UNDER-18 MĀORI: Three members of the successful Chesters Plumbing & Bathroom Whanganui team have been selected for the New Zealand Under-18 Ngā Māreikura Girls team for their fixture with the New Zealand Barbarians U18s in October. They are Anahera Hamahona (Ngā Tūwharetoa/Ngāti Hine/Ngāti Maniapoto), Hayley Gabriel (Ngā Rauru) and Waimare Rauhina (Te Iwi Mōrehu/Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Tūwharetoa/Te Atihaunui-A-Pāpārangi).
UNDER 18: The Air Chathams Whanganui Under-18s bounced back from their heavy loss to Hawke’s Bay Saracens U18s to defeat Horowhenua-Kāpiti U18 by 34-12 at Spriggens Park on Saturday. The team will conclude their season against Wairarapa Bush U18 in Masterton on Saturday.
UNDER 16: The AGC Training Whanganui Under-16s followed up their 1-1 record at the Heartland tournament the previous weekend with a 33-24 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti at Spriggens Park on Saturday. The Longrun Spouting Whanganui U16 Girls have had a very busy week of games. After victory over Thames Valley last week, on Wednesday night the side played Taranaki in Waverley, losing 27-19. On Saturday, the team defeated Wairarapa Bush 63-12 at the Kaierau Country Club.
WAQAICECE: Former Whanganui Collegiate First XV back Epeli Waqaicece has been named in the Fijian Drua for next season’s Super Rugby Pacific competition. Part of Collegiate’s 2020-21 teams, Waqaicece moved to Manawatū, making the 2022 New Zealand Under-19s and playing for the Manawatū Turbos.
