Metro run rings around Old Boys

GOT IT: Metro prop Laurence Webber (far right) has a grin coming as his try is about to be awarded despite being forced out after planting the ball by the Palmerston North Old Boys Marist defenders.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

WHILE coaches Darryl Malcolm and Carl Gibson will spend this week getting their charges' feet back on the ground, it was impossible not to be impressed by the new Wanganui Metro squad's first serious competition hitout as they destroyed Palmerston North Old Boys Marist 81-12 at Spriggens Park on Saturday.

Running beautiful lines against a visiting team with some heavyweight forwards yet little stamina, the fit Metro outside backs and cruiserweight-sized pack cooked up 13 tries across the park, blowing the score out with 55 points in the second stanza.

Malcolm said Marist would be about a "midway" team in the Manawatu Colts competition, so the true tests will be when the new squad matches up against the likes of Massey and Linton.

Unlike Marist, who had bulk and were looking for big hits and aggressive clean-out but could not handle Metro's stepping and up-tempo style, those others teams will also have towering players but better conditioning.

"You never get carried away with the first game," said Malcolm.

Yet Metro's ultimate goal is to get young men who might otherwise leave the game to stay involved and think about Whanganui adult club rugby in a couple of years, so Malcolm said it was a "thrill" for them to have this kind of encouraging performance.

"The biggest thing for us, we've got two guys in there, it's their first year of rugby.

"There's also two guys that haven't played since Under-16 ... and five to seven coming back from injuries."

When Metro play their home games at various grounds around town, the Tasman Tanning Premier coaches who keep an eye on them during their own squad warm-ups will want to draw a pencil mark around the name of fullback Terangatira Waitokia.

The young speedster scored the first two tries of the game and eventually made it four as the gaps opened up every time he entered into the backline.

Lock Sean Van Der Lubbe came into his own late in the match when Marist were out on their feet, powering over for consecutive tries, while both the props in Keanu Puki-Kaa and Laurence Webber dotted down, even if they would bear the brunt of some hard tackling and need ice packs on the sidelines.

Preparing for physicality was one lesson Metro need to remember as Marist scored two tries off the back of grinding by the likes of their big prop J Leno.

But it's clear when Metro can play their game that they love to run - spotting the gaps and rapid changes of direction their opposition could not handle.

Scoring so many tries gave Metro a chance to rotate goalkickers for some practice with first-five Hareangi Meihana relinquishing the role to three teammates at different stages.

-Wanganui Metro 81 (T Waiokia 4, S Van Der Lubbe 2, R Culver, C Warren, K Puki-Kaa, L Webber, C Weber, S Chadfield-Waitokia, J McCrea tries; H Meihana 5 con, S Hannan 2 con, Weber con) Palmerston North Old Boys Marist 12 (J Leno, D Stafford tries; Stafford con). HT: 26-7.