YOU GOT IT: Expat Whanganui representative Waisake Naholo is lifted up by his delighted All Blacks teammates after bulldozing over for the cruicial try in the victory of Wales.
YOU GOT IT: Expat Whanganui representative Waisake Naholo is lifted up by his delighted All Blacks teammates after bulldozing over for the cruicial try in the victory of Wales.
It was a mixed bag on the weekend for the two Whanganui international rugby exports who made their first-class debuts while still at school in this town.
Waisake Naholo celebrated his All Blacks comeback with two tries in the new-look squad's 39-21 win over a brave and inventive Wales atEden Park.
While it was not a perfect match for Naholo with some fumbles and positional issues, the quick finisher delivered when it counted - scorching on to an inside ball from Aaron Cruden after Ben Smith's excellent bomb disposal and dash to coast under the posts.
Then, in the second half from a quick tap, Naholo burrowed his way through three Welshmen for the try that gave the All Blacks back the lead which they did not relinquish.
A few hours later in Manchester, England, the spotlight was on Stephen Perofeta as the young man took over the starting No10 berth for the New Zealand Under-20s in their Junior World Cup game against Ireland.
Perofeta started kicking well in open play as New Zealand took an eight-point lead, but the Irish hit back with two rolling maul tries to lead 20-14 at halftime, and the 'Baby Blacks' could not peg it back in a 33-24 loss.
New Zealand must now beat Wales on Thursday, NZ time, and hope they are the best runner-up from the three pools in order to make the semifinals.
