Taihape in seventh heaven

IT WAS the perfect seven from seven for PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape to complete the first round of Tasman Tanning Premier rugby, but not without a gritty arm-wrestle at Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon.

Taihape hosted a much improved Black Bull Liquor Pirates, who have made some significant acquisitions out wide with new second-five Meki Magele and fullback Tupu Tavae " each giving first-five Denning Tyrell and centre Saena Vili more options to work with.

However, it may have already come too late because while Pirates are lifting from their earlier poor standard, dropped ball and set piece issues continued to dog them in the 24-12 loss and sixth spot is a deep hole to dig themselves out of to defend their Premier title.

Taihape, who did not have coach Kerry Whale (Alaska) or captain Tremaine Gilbert (Dunedin) at the helm, survived Pirates's crash and bash to play the smarter kicking game and wear the visitors down with speed " which comes from their squad's familiarity with each other.

If more could have been made from their long cut-out passes or the impetuous nature of fullback Dane Whale and his constant quick taps, Taihape would have earned a four-try bonus point.

Yet for both sides, the second stanza was a muddle with the lineouts turning into a giant roulette table " no matter which side put the white ball in it could come up for red or black " with Taihape eventually resorting to using halfback Brett Nicholls as a jumper.

Tempers simmered but fortunately never boiled over, other than Pirates flanker Brad Matthews being sinbinned for a dangerous tackle, with players on both the field and sideline keeping referee Mark Wilson abreast of their own interpretations.

"The ruck was a roulette," said Taihape prop and stand-in skipper Ritchie Iorns.

"It was tough all right, some very sore bodies.

"We dropped a fair bit of ball we could have scored from."

As one of the group of young players who first came into Premier under Kerry Whale a few seasons ago, Iorns was delighted to not only retain the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield but win the first round Paul Mitchell Cup with an undefeated streak - a first for the club.

"It's unreal, but in saying that, it's only halfway through the season.

"Good to get it without the captain and coach."

Taihape standouts in the pack were lock Johnson Hiroa and young No8 Hamish Bennett, who also covered hooker and despite coming straight out of school held his own against the veteran No8 Lasa Ulukuta.

Dane Whale and first-five Tom Wells carved out a lot of metres with the boot and spread the ball wide sharply, which eventually caught Pirates out.

Pirates coach Phillip Morris again had to note that despite having the home side on the ropes with smart back-to-back tries in the 15-20th minutes, they still could not maintain pressure coming out of halftime.

"We did show a lot more character today.

"Lineout let us down. We lost ball in contact, which is not like a lot of these guys.

"I'm more than happy with the second five and fullback. I thought the prop, Tololi Moala, had a magnificent game."

Taihape made the early running as after a Taylor Transom penalty miss, another penalty saw a quick tap and centre Jaye Flaws drove hard over the line.

However, hard Pirates tackling soon had Flaws limping off with a twisted knee, although Taihape having bench depth meant big Cyrus Paringatai jogged on and could match up with Pirates power in their outside backs.

Yet the visitors still hit back immediately as spilled ball saw Vili take off and then find Magele inside with a basketball pass to score.

Tyrell was dictating terms as Tavae would have scored in the left hand corner if not for an excellent Glen Horton tackle, but the ball went back the other way and hooker Jason Hauiti hit Tyrell's pass in the gap to go beside the posts for 12-7.

Taihape would then keep the ball in Pirates' half but find no way through on either sideline, until Dane Whale scooted through after a chip kick and deftly snatched the ball, finding Hiroa in support for Taihape to retake the lead before halftime.

Wilson was pinging both teams at the breakdown and everyone struggled to retain their lineout ball after the free kicks " throwing towards the back and turning the outcome into a lottery.

Taihape persisted with the long passes and this eventually stuck as Whale and Wells spread to both sidelines and then Hiroa put Horton outside of his marker Clive Stowers to beat him to the line, with Transom nailing the vital sideline conversion for 21-12.

The key Pirate in Ulukuta was starting to slow down while Taihape relied on Wells and Whale to kick them back out of danger, eventually getting close enough so the latest infringement penalty was within the kicking range of Transom to make the game safe inside the final 10 minutes.

Taihape 24 (Jaye Flaws, Johnson Hiroa, Glen Horton tries; Taylor Transom pen, 3 con) Pirates 12 (Meki Magele, Jason Hauiti tries; Tupu Tavae con). HT: 14-12.