Rampant Ruapehu held to draw

It proved the most competitive Premier round of the season so far and left no team unblemished on the table as defending champions Ruapehu fought out a stalemate with Pirates at Spriggens Park on Saturday.

Tied 6-6 at the break, both sides managed a try each in the second stanza through Pirates centre Johnny Mow and Ruapehu reserve Karl Parker.

It kept Ruapehu from a fourth consecutive bonus-point win, while Pirates had their second draw against a top-of-the-table side in as many weeks, as last weekend's opponents, Taihape, played out another thriller by finally scoring a win away against Kaierau.

Grand Hotel Challenge Shield holders Border took a 12-point buffer into halftime at Ratana and that's the way it stayed, leaving their hosts on the outside looking in for the top four.

At Memorial Park, Utiku Old Boys could not right their ship as being only two points down at halftime extended out into an 11-point loss to Marton, who will take a lot of confidence from their first win of the year, when they face Ratana at home this coming Saturday.

In senior rugby, Taihape set the tone for their Premier men when they came from 10 points down at halftime to then hang on for a two-point victory from Kaierau, also securing themselves second spot on their points ladder.

Hunterville's 10-point win over Utiku OB keeps them on top of the heap on points differential, while Celtic are the only other unbeaten team after three rounds.

Incredibly, just like in Premier, the Senior Pirates and Ruapehu also fought out a draw at Spriggens Park.

Results

Tasman Tanning Premier, Round 4

Integrity Motors Pirates 16 (Johnny Mow try, Denning Tyrell 3 pen, con) drew with McCarthy's Ruapehu 16 (Karl Parker try, Tautari Rawiri 3 pen, con). HT: 6-all.

Taihape 18 (Jaye Flaws, Tremaine Gilbert tries, Luke Whale 2 pen, con) beat Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 17 (Stuart Brosnahan, Chris Harris, Jordan Farrington tries, Rhys Wylie con). HT: 12-all.

Grand Hotel Challenge Shield: Waverley Harvesting Border 29 (Sailosi Naqiso 2, Todd Cowan, Cole Baldwin, Lindsay Horrocks tries, Mark Davis 2 con) beat Harvey Round Motors Ratana 17 (Charlie Mete, Ihaia Tai, Sean van der Lubbe-Pikimaui tries, Western Hemi con). HT: 24-12.

Marton 34 (Matthew Haskell, Moli Sagapolutere, Tyler Rogers-Holden, Talo Mikaere tries, Lote Alona 2 pen, 2 con, Taiuriki Manawatu 2 con) beat Utiku OB 23 (Karl Farrell, Jerome Thomas, Terangi Tapu McLeod tries, McLeod 2 pen, con). HT: 17-15 Marton.

Grand Irish Bar MVP Points (Round 4)

At Spriggens Park: Peter Rowe (Ruapehu flanker) 3 points, Lasa Ulukuta (Pirates No 8) 2, Denning Tyrell (Pirates first five) 1.

At Kaierau: Jonathon Maxwell (Taihape flanker) 3, Joseph Lavin (Kaierau hooker) 2, Stuart Brosnahan (Kaierau winger) 1.

At Ratana: Fraser Middleton (Border fullback) 3, Ihaia Tai (Ratana winger) 2, Sam Madams (Border lock) 1.

At Taihape: Faamanu Manutuhiha (Marton flanker) 3, Adam Roe (Utiku OB flanker) 2, Lote Alona (Marton centre) 1.

MVP leaders (after 4 rounds): Fraser Middleton (Border) and Jason Hughes (Ruapehu) 6 points, Ace Malo (Kaierau), Lasa Ulukuta and Denning Tyrell 4 points, 10 players with 3 points.

Senior championship, Round 3

At Spriggens Park: Trans Pacific Pirates drew with Ruapehu 19-19. HT: 12-7 Pirates.

At Racecourse 1: Celtic beat St John's Tech 20-17. HT: 7-5 Tech.

At Racecourse 2: Counties beat Marist 28-25. HT: 18-10.

At Marton Park: Marton beat Border 32-6. HT: 7-6.

At Kaierau C.C: Taihape beat Kaierau 27-25. HT: 15-5 Kaierau.

At Taihape (Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield): Power Farming (PN) Hunterville beat Utiku OB 25-15. HT: 13-8.