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The Longrun Spouting Whanganui Women will go into their North Island Series bye week in clear top spot on the table after earning a tough 29-23 away win over Thames Valley Vixens on Saturday.
Scoring five tries to four, Whanganui led 17-8 at halftime and then continued to climb into their work, getting out to a 29-8 advantage at Te Aroha’s Boyd Park.
But just like in the grand final last year, the Vixens reminded Whanganui they will never give up, scoring in the 57th minute and then twice inside the last 10 minutes to really close the gap and take second spot on the table through two bonus points.
Goalkicking proved important, as the home side could only slot a first-half penalty, while Whanganui’s new starting first five-eighths Armani Martin added a conversion in each half.
Whanganui’s wingers shone as Teresa Rennie scored a hat-trick to take her series tally to five in two games, while Kesaia Siganisucu dotted down on the other side.
Vice-captain and No 8 Hayley Gabriel scored for the second straight game, spearheading the forwards who set the platform.
“Our pack did an absolute amazing job on the weekend, they worked their butts off and freed up the outsides, which is essentially [the victory],” coach Junior Nepia said.
“Just the young ones really starting to step up, they’ve found their groove in the squad there, slowly finding their voice.”
The home side’s No 8, Anisha Rule, scored their first-half try, with prop Corryn Wilton, reserve forward Natasha Aupouri-Te Huia and fullback Maia Davis dotting down during the comeback.
“We probably lost a little bit of focus, midway through the second half, which allowed them to get back in the game, which was a bugger because we spoke at halftime about trying to close the game out early,” Nepia said.
“But really happy with how we tracked, and we had a great Friday night get-together once we were at the accommodation, and I think that set the tone for us – the team really ran it.
“The connection pieces on Friday night and we pushed that through to the game.”
Whanganui now take their bye in the five-team competition before hosting their sole home fixture of the round robin against the King Country Trailblazers on September 6.
“Just heading into that King Country game, we’ve spoken about not putting pressure on ourselves to make it a ‘must win’, but just to be home and in front of everyone again, that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
The Heartland Hurricanes Under-20s and their Whanganui contingent celebrated their first Central Regions U19 tournament win in two years in Palmerston North on Saturday.
The squad, made up of players from Whanganui, Wairarapa Bush, Horowhenua-Kāpiti and Poverty Bay, defeated Manawatū U19 by 25-19 at Ongley Park.
The Hurricanes led 17-12 at halftime, with both sides having scored two tries, and both teams scored a try each in the second stanza.
Goalkicking proved the difference, with the Hurricanes slotting a penalty in each half to go with their two conversions.
It is the first win in the four-team Central tournament for Heartland since they also beat Manawatū 34-10 in early September 2023.
Notably, five of the six Whanganui players in that 2023 team have gone on to play for Steelform Whanganui at first-class level or in pre-season games – Lafo Takiari Ah Ching, Mitai Hemi, Joshua Brunger, Atriane Marino and Chad Whale.
This season’s Whanganui squad members are Mat Hammond, Teina-Lee Phillips, Angus Wigglesworth, Mason Henry, Jahstice Metekingi, Tahatika Te Riaki and Jeff Dorset, while Waverley’s Todd Cowan is the assistant coach to Darren Larsen.
The team will now face Hawke’s Bay U19 this Saturday in Napier, after they lost their opening match away to Wellington U19 by 24-22.