Waitokia picks up hat-trick

ON ATTACK: Whanganui Metro Colts fullback Terangatira Waitokia is proving a try-scoring machine, dotting down three times in his team's 27-9 win over Massey Ag at the weekend.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

WHANGANUI Metro Colts fullback and vice-captain Terangatira Waitokia is proving a thorn in the side of rival teams in the Manawatu Colts division rugby competition.

Waitokia made his usual probing runs, was a brick in defence and was rewarded for his hard graft with three tries in the 27-9 win over Massey Ag in Palmerston North at the weekend, the fourth round of competition.

Massey Ag is one of the three teams Massey University has entered and last Saturday's match proved to be another hard-fought battle with the Metro Colts' fitness prevailing in the end, wearing down the bigger country boys.

Darryl Malcolm, Metro co-coach with Carl Gibson, gave the halftime chat when the score was 8-6, captain Keanu Kaa and Waitokia did some soul-searching and the team responded outstandingly, putting phase after phase together and being rewarded with three unanswered tries in the second spell.

One went to Laurence Weber and two to Waitokia that brought up his triple.

Malcolm said a highlight of the day was seeing the scrum work put in by the boys at training paying dividends and the defence holding.

"Our front rowers, Kaa Weber and hard-running Corban Warren, proved they're more than a match for any front row," Malcolm said.

"First-five Karihi Potaka-Osborne Whanarere had a confidence-building game kicking a penalty and two conversions and linking with the elusive outside back Shayden Phillips setting up two of Waitokia's tries, while lock Stefan Hannan is taking great lineout ball week in, week out, ensuring we continue to have quality possession."

Meanwhile, the Wanganui High School 1st XV playing in the same competition had a 57-17 win over lowly rated Feilding Old Boys Oroura Colts.

This weekend Wanganui Metro Colts play Feilding Old Boys in Feilding, while Wanganui High School clash with Freyberg at home with kick off at 1pm on Saturday.