THE battle for fourth spot and the fight to top the table will be the two most intriguing battles in the Tasman Tanning Premier competition when the second round of qualifying begins in just under a fortnight.
In the big game at Kaierau Country Club, visitors Waverley Harvesting Border closedout the first round with an important 39-25 over Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau, confirming their spot as clear second place and leaving the young home side with the knowledge they are good, but still have a lot of work to do to be true contenders.
Kaierau's first round was book-ended by losses to the top two teams, while Border and Paul Mitchell Cup winners PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape fought out a thriller on April 30, which will make their June 25 rematch the likely decisive game for who will top the table heading into the semifinals.
At the Country Club, Border pulled away after leading by seven at halftime, with try-scoring second-five and captain Fraser Middleton having a strong match, while winger Tom Symes grabbed a double. Kaierau still scored five tries but could not add any conversions, with two of their best being former Border and Ngamatapouri player Ben Aiken, and young centre Ethan Robinson.
Border's bonus point moved them slightly closer to Taihape, who did not pick up any extras in their rugged win over Black Bull Liquor Pirates. With Pirates now behind the pace for making the semifinals, Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist and McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu will be likely to jostle for fourth spot after both picked up bonus point wins over cellar-dwellers Utiku Old Boys and Harvey Round Motors Ratana respectively.
Marist got home 36-19 over Utiku at Spriggens Park, after taking a commanding 24-0 lead into halftime as game MVP Simeli Koniferedi scored a hat-trick and winger Simon Dibben added a double. Again, Utiku were stronger in the second half, winning it with tries from Josh Brennan, Archie Toseland, and Willie Hirini. In very windy conditions at the Ratana Pa, Ruapehu did what they needed to and came away with a 32-10 victory in a typically scrappy match. Centre Troy Brown scored down the sideline for the first of his hat-trick of tries, then grabbed his second for 10-0 before Ratana equalised near halftime through loose forward Charlie Mete's try and two kicks by Te Tua Kemp.
The Ruapehu forwards created the chance for big No8 Campbell Hart to regain the lead just before the break, and in customary fashion Ratana ran out of puff in the second half, the visitors adding three more tries.
Hooker Roman Tutauha again made a difference, while young prop Gabriel Hakaraia took his opportunity, and Brown led the line breaks with Dee Cameron and Corey Carmichael. Ruapehu stay within three points of Marist while Pirates, now nine points behind, need to have a virtually flawless second round to make the semifinals. In senior rugby, Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri continued their unbeaten run to take over the top of the leaderboard from Kaierau, courtesy of a 60-14 hammering of Border in the home defence of the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield. Kaierau had to dig in during the second stanza of their game at the Country Club with Counties, chipping away at a 10-point deficit to win 18-15. Picking up some steam were Taihape and Speirs Food Marton, who accounted for Pirates (40-7) and Utiku Old Boys (36-0) respectively. In the battle of Marist, Celtic comfortably accounted for the Buffalo's 44-17. Word Count 632 Edition A Page A20 Caption GOING TO GROUND: Kaierau winger Stu Brosnahan caught in a tackle in the game against Border at the Country Club. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO
