Acting skipper and openside flanker Jack Kinder was the willing recipient of the 5m charge-down to catch the ball and dive over beside the posts, but it was his blindside partner Beau Walker who deserved highest praise for his outstanding workrate – receiving Player of the Day recognition from both teams.
Like a diesel engine that just grinds the opposition down, especially through the midfield, Taihape managed to get a tiring Kaierau to move away from the high-speed ruck recycles and immediate transfers to the fringes where they saw so much success, especially in the first half, to lead 24-12.
Evergreen winger C.J. Stowers justified his return from the Division 2-based Pirates club to dash in for a hat-trick of tries, while new lock Edward Erskine impressed around the ruck with strong carries and short offloads to keep defenders guessing.
The home side were without new skipper Sheldon Pakinga, so instrumental in the 2024 night game with his tactical kicking, so the captaincy was split between prop Raymond Salu, who also took on the lineout throws, and halfback Cody Mitchell, the 2025 Steelform Whanganui import now coming in as a local player.
Second five Nemia Adrole and new midfield partner Mitai Hemi both scored tries in a ding-dong battle with Tasi and his try-scoring partner Tiari Mumby.
“We were sort of backs against the wall a little bit tonight, just with a few injuries from last week and a few fellas unavailable,” Bourke said.
“We had a couple of guys from our senior team who we thought really stepped up, brought a lot of energy from off the bench, but some of our leaders were really, really awesome.”
With a larger and longer club season in 2026, Bourke knows the ability to close out wins late in games will prove crucial, given they just beat newcomers Counties the week before with a last-minute try.
“I think Counties, just like these [Kaierau] fellas with some of their guys that have left and others that have come in, it’s going to be tight like this every week with every team.”
Kaierau coach Danny Tamehana had to credit that while it was a much higher-scoring game than the 2025 final, Taihape once again stopped Kaierau searching for width and invited them to get physical up the middle.
“I think we fell into their trap, let them play their game. Once we’re in their half, we’re a really good side and we’re hard to stop.
“I think we spent half of that second half in our 22m when we should have been kicking out on our terms, but back to the drawing board.”
