Three teams battle for fourth spot

HIGHLY REGARDED: New Pirates fullback Tupu Tavae scoring one of his two tries after joining the team for the win over Utiku Old Boys at Spriggens Park.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

IT WAS the most competitive round of the Tasman Tanning Premier competition so far with three teams now jostling for the priceless fourth spot on the ladder, while the competition's leaders could not easily shake the wooden-spooners at the Ratana Pa on Saturday.

PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape would have factored a probable cricket score to help lift their for/against tally when they defended the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield against Harvey Round Motors Ratana.

Instead, they were held to a 4-2 try match and just a 10-point winning margin by the home side, leading 17-5 at half time but with both teams scoring just once in the second stanza for 22-12.

Tryscoring No8 Hamish Bennett was game MVP, while Ratana's forwards stepped up, including hooker Scott Komene and flanker Charlie Mete, to make it the closest Ratana have come to success this season.

Black Bull Liquor Pirates got a much-needed boost in what was a do-or-die match at Spriggens Park, beating Utiku Old Boys 35-14 to stay in the hunt for fourth while consigning the other Taihape team to the reality of a struggling season.

Pirates winger Clive Stowers finished well with a hat-trick of tries as the standout player, while new fullback Tupu Tavae made an immediate impact with a double.

Again, Utiku were stronger in the second half, scoring two tries, but they continue to give head-starts to teams which can't be reined in.

With Pirates getting maximum points while McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu still picked up two bonus points in their narrow loss to Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau, both stay in touching distance of Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist, who were unlucky not to get even one point out of defeat to Waverley Harvesting Border on Friday night.

There has been a lot of movement on the Senior points table after competition leaders Kaierau and Celtic fell to their first losses against two of the sides most likely to test them.

Speirs Food Marton and Kelso Hunterville might be middle of the 12-team table, but unlike their Saturday opponents they've had the tough challenge of meeting Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri, while they have also not yet had their automatic five points for Ratana's defaults.

Marton pulled away from Celtic in the second half on the Racecourse ground to win 25-13, while Hunterville defended home turf against Kaierau 20-13 to stay in the Top 8.

Taihape were always going to move up to fourth by getting the Ratana default while Border were on the actual bye, and undefeated Ngamatapouri lifted up to second spot as an intimidated Ruapehu could not handle their Fijian outside backs, being hammered 74-19 in the latest Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield defence.

In the other games, Pirates beat Utiku Old Boys 25-20, while Counties accounted for the Marist Buffaloes 54-13.