Fullback Dominic Devine attacked the fringes with impunity and had lots of goal-kicking practice, finishing with a 15-point haul.
Other standouts were hooker Atriane Marino with a double, in the absence of two injured halfbacks, Wineti McDonnell stretched his versatility to cover the No 9 jumper, while Paiki Ponga took over as chief playmaker at first-five.
Come the second half, with the change of ends and hurt pride propelling them, the predominantly young Ruapehu team finally began to shut down Marist’s rapid transfers and got back to their preferred game of solid carries through the middle.
The Te Riaki brothers – centre Tahatika and try-scoring flanker Te Orangi – were excellent in both halves while reserve halfback Archie Harding unleashed his speed to score two tries, the second a straight 75m drag race after stealing a loose ball at the back of an attacking Marist scrum.
Whether seventh-place Ruapehu stay in the Premiership or become title contenders for the middle-tier Championship grade, coach Chris Winter is thinking long term.
“We’re stoked with how the boys are going, especially how young our team is, and we’ve had seven-odd injuries during these games.
“But the boys who have stepped in and come to training, it’s been good – a good learning curve and good for the future.
“Probably us adapting to [Marist’s width attack] a lot quicker would have been better for us today.
“I thought second half the attitude changed a bit, the boys actually came on and played well – it was good to see.”
Marist coach Steelie Koro concurred despite the big scoreline.
“Don’t take anything away from Rua; they got a good, young team, and I believe in another year or so they’ll probably be the team to look out for.
“Game of two halves, and I said to the boys – ‘when balls stick, you start trusting the game plan that we set out,’ and we’re playing the rugby we want to play.”
Koro was delighted that, despite a few chops and changes with certain players, the first-half attack flowed well.
“During the week, it was a bit of a headache, trying to work out how to keep connections and keep the same game plan with a few people not playing.
“But it gave us a good look at certain players, obviously – Wineti playing halfback and coming up from Celtic, so that was a big void to fill, and a couple of other young fellas putting their hands up.”
Koro also heaped praise on McLean-Wanoa, who should no longer be Marist’s best-kept secret.
“He’s playing some great rugby and is still trying to find his feet too because naturally he’s a loosie, but still filling the void in the lock position, and that’s the benefits we have with our players – versatility.”
