By Peter
Jones [Marlborough App]
E’stel Tasman
Trophy rugby made a long-awaited return to rugby headquarters at Lansdowne Park
on Thursday night, with Marlborough rivals Waitohi and Central doing battle
under lights.
After a
traditionally tight battle, it was the Tohis whose Easter Eggs tasted better
after they completed a 28-5 bonus point win to stay on top of the sub-union
standings, alongside East Coast.
In a
scoring spree at the Seddon Domain, the Coasters got their nose ahead on the
line to pip Renwick 34-32. The game was locked up 17-17 at halftime and the
visitors led by five with four minutes to go before the Coasters grabbed
victory with a late converted try to their player of the day, midfielder Ben
Filipo.
At
Lansdowne Park, the first half belonged almost exclusively to Waitohi, Central
only crossing over the halfway stripe at kick off time following three Tohi
tries.
A fiery and
accurate forward display set up touchdowns for ever-impressive Tongan
international fullback Tuli Paea, equally sharp halfback Sosaia Tokai and busy
midfielder Daniel Samita. If Waitohi made mistakes they invariably happened
close to the Blues’ line, leaving the home team unable to exit any great
distance.
Up front
flanker Taine Cragg-Love continued to impress, as did hooker Taimi Fangatua,
new prop Duane Aholelei, and lock Jack Evans. Corey Bovey directed play well in
the 10 jersey, his goalkicking again at a high percentage, while midfielder
Tiare Tautari defended well, especially against the ever-dangerous Central
centre Timoci Tavatavanawai who rarely saw the ball in the first 40.
The second
half was a different story, Central playing with more fire and purpose, led by
flanker Braden Stewart, skipper Reyne Volvaola, hooker Jesse MacDonald, plus
replacements Peter Vakaloa, Mitchell Boyce and Francis Roebeck.
However, it
took them 70 minutes to get on the board, surges by Stewart and Tavatavanawai
earning the field position for Vakaloa to burst over.
Just when
it seemed Waitohi were going to run out of time to snag a fourth try, Bovey
intercepted a hopeful long pass and sprinted 80m to bag the bonus point.
He duly
converted to seal a deserved win for a team who have quickly gone from having
barely enough players to start the season, to genuine championship
contenders.
Player/coach
Jimmy Giles was happy to take away five points against “a very good Central side”,
especially as Waitohi have struggled to get a full complement to training this
week.
“We had
good structure in the first half, although we left a few scoring opportunities
out there.
“In the
second half we had to grind it out as Central came back but we were really
happy to get the bonus point try from Bovey.
“I’m rapt
with the way the boys played … it gives us an incentive to enjoy the long
weekend and hit Nelson next week over there.”
Renwick
head coach Glenn Blackmore was disappointed not to get the win at Seddon but
feels his teams are making steps in the right direction, despite having to deal
with a spate of injuries.
“I’m over
the moon with the effort and attitude. It was ding-dong battle, tit-for-tat
most of the way but we didn’t really have enough ball in the second half and
made too many errors at the end to deserve to get the result.
“We are
just in that space at the moment of not really knowing how to finish a game
off.”
Sam Lunn,
the East Coast coach, described it as “really good game of rugby from both
teams”. He praised the effort of first five Myles Hamilton and Filipo and the influence
of veteran lock Stu Campbell in the final stages.
Scores:
Waitohi 28
(Tuli Paea, Sosaia Tokai, Daniel Samita, Corey Bovey tries, Bovey 4 con)
Central 5 (Peter Vakaloa try). Halftime 21-0.
East Coast
34 Renwick 32 (Dion Nayaran 3, Ty Bampton, Josh Bason tries, Kurt Schollum pen,
2 con). HT 17-17.
By Jonty Dine [Nelson App]
Marist kept its unbeaten streak alive in the E’stel Tasman Trophy after defeating the defending champions 38-17 at Tahuna Fields on Friday afternoon.
A three-try blitz just after halftime took the game away from Nelson with Marist going to the top of the table. The team now has six wins from six - four points clear of the also unbeaten Waimea Old Boys.
Nelson’s scrum was under pressure early on and an infringement from their own put in allowed Taine Robinson to open the scoring.
A second penalty moments later put Marist 6-0 ahead, but Nelson responded with a slick backline move as Asher Wells crossed for the opening try.
Lock Connor Rhind continued his hot form after scoring a hat-trick last week, stripping the ball inside Marist’s 22 before feeding Saul Lewis who strolled over for Nelson’s second.
Marist would remain in touch thanks to Robinson’s boot, his third penalty put Marist just three behind at half-time.
The hosts would strike first after the resumption of play as Te Puhoe Stephens, fresh off a stint with the All Black Sevens side, powered his way over the line after a superb offload from winger Jamie Spowart.
The try clicked the green machine into gear and a second soon followed when Cleve Barrell snuck over from the base of a ruck as Marist stretched its lead to 11.
Nelson began to fall off first up tackles and Marist punished the defending champions. Sam Moli then crashed over the line as the hosts hit 30 points.
Nick Foxley picked up a late consolation try for Nelson, before another try from a quick tap by Taina Fox-Matamua sealed the win and a bonus point for Marist.
Skipper James Hawkey says after a quiet first forty minutes, his troops stood up in the second half.
“We just lifted the intensity; the boys were a bit quiet in that first half so we needed to step up and did.”
James says the side’s strong start to the season is a credit to its culture.
“We are a young side, but the culture is strong, we are all willing to play for each other.”
Scorers:
Marist 38 (Stephens, Barrell, Moli, Matamua tries, Robinson 3 cons, 4 pens)
Nelson 17 (Wells, Lewis, Foxley tries, Barry 1 con)
HT- 12-9 Nelson.
In other results from matches played on Thursday night, Waimea scored its sixth win of the season over Wanderers, Waitohi beat Central while Stoke went down in a try-less affair against Riwaka.
Results:
Marist 38 def Nelson 17
Waimea 29 def Wanderers 19
Waitohi 28 def Central 5
Riwaka 6 def Stoke 3
East Coast 35 def Renwick 32