Draws prove costly for Wanganui

ALL EQUAL: Poverty Bay and Wanganui line up side-by-side for their Central Sevens game at Massey University. Fourteen minutes later nothing could split them, drawing 26-26.PHOTO/POVERTY BAY RUGBY UNION 041214WCSUP03

There were some harsh lessons in closing a match out for the new Wanganui sevens team after they were unable to qualify for the national tournament at the Central Sevens in Palmerston North on Saturday.

Wanting to finish in at least fifth position to get to the nationals, Wanganui were beaten 38-5 in the second-tier semifinals by Hawkes Bay - the only one of the four ITM Cup union teams who did not advance to the Top Four playoffs.

Wairarapa Bush sprung a surprise by beating Manawatu 15-7 in the first game, on their way to making the Top Four semifinals, while Horowhenua Kapiti pulled the other surprise by beating Hawkes Bay 15-10 in the playoff for 5th-6th.

Taranaki won the tournament, beating Manawatu 40-33 after extra time in a thrilling final.

Those two teams along with Wellington, Wairarapa Bush and Horowhenua Kapiti will now go into the national finals in Rotorua in January.

Wanganui had a rough start on Saturday morning, beaten 33-0 by Taranaki.

However, the true disappointment came in their next two matches, as they were held to a 26-26 draw by Poverty Bay in their other pool game, before going into the cross-over round with Horowhenua Kapiti and again drawing 28-28, when they were leading by 14 points before being run down.

Manager Gareth Hagan said they initially thought they may have won the Poverty Bay game, until it was confirmed the Bay had kicked three successful conversions instead of two.

It had also been hard adjusting to a three-pool tournament, as the East Coast team included invitational players so their points did not count, while Wellington went straight into the Top Four semifinals without a cross-over match.

"It was more fun and games working out who you're going to play," said Hagan.

"It's been a while since we've been there.

"The guys were disappointed with the draws because we led both games," he said.

Against Hawkes Bay, the team was flat and facing a score of 20-0 down, they were not going to come back.

Hagan said the preparation and fitness levels of the squad were good, it was just getting used to facing a higher calibre of opposition players.

The team lost Kameli Kuruyabaki in the first match with a shoulder injury, while veteran Ace Malo stepped up and did well.

Wanganui's forwards like Ben Whale and Tremaine Gilbert had a good tournament, while City College schoolboy Jona Nareki was impressive against Horowhenua Kapiti.