Waimea Old Boys and Marist remain undefeated, East Coast lift John Goodman Challenge Trophy off Stoke
BY Jonty Dine [Nelson App]
Marist and Waimea Old Boys are set for an almighty clash on Saturday as both sides kept their unbeaten records alive in the E'stel Tasman Trophy at the weekend.
After a slow start in trying conditions at Tahunanui Fields Marist ran in seven tries to register a comfortable 45-23 win while Waimea were in dominant fashion against Moutere.
A Marist mistake from the kick off gifted possession to Central who took advantage through hooker Jesse-Lee MacDonald who powered over for the opening try.
Central made all the play early on, the hosts spoken to about repeated infringements after conceding four penalties in the opening ten.
Referee Gary Reily eventually lost patience and sent Jamie Spowart to the bin when he played his opposite on the ground.
Mitch Smith converted another penalty into points as the visitors were rampant in the opening exchanges.
Following more than fifteen minutes on defence, Marist finally entered Central territory following a strong surge by Te Puoho Stephens.
After a sustained attack, skipper James Hawkey waltz across and converted his own try for Martist’s first points,
Both sides handled well in the wet but Marist continued to be hampered by ill-discipline, Smith adding another three to the tally.
Sam Moli reduced the gap after a rampaging rolling maul before Hawkey took the lead for the first time in the game.
The green machine's monstrous forward pack started flexing its muscles as Taina Fox-Matamua strolled in off the back of a dominant scrum.
Marist started the second half as the first, a bonus point try to prop Jake Wetere stretching the lead to 26-13.
Mistakes crept in for both teams as substitutes and a greasy ball disrupted the flow in the second. Central would fall off a number of first up tackles and Joe Taylor picked up a fifth for Marist followed soon after by a second for Wetere from another rolling maul.
Halfback Cleveland Barrell got in on the action, sneaking over from the base of a ruck as the score began to blow out.
However, Central weren’t done with just yet, responding with the try of the match to Braden Stewart after a storming run down the sideline by prop Peter Vakaloa. They would have the last say too as Vakaloa powered over for Central’s third.
Marist coach Gavin Briggs says despite the slow start and finish, it was a satisfying win against a competitive Central outfit."It was going to be a tough ask, we knew the weather would play a part."
He says his side showed great character to score at crucial times. Gavin says discipline will continue to be a work on for his side as they prepare for a showdown with the also unbeaten Waimea Old Boys next weekend.
By Peter Jones [Marlborough App]
Waitohi and East Coast continue to punch above their weight in the E’stel Tasman Trophy rugby competition, defying the pre-season odds to be the best-placed of the Marlborough teams.
On Saturday, the Tohis and Coasters scored away wins to keep them well in contention for semifinal places.
With all five matches being played in Nelson the pressure was on the visiting teams to lift their game and buck the trend of Nelson-based dominance, but just two of the Marlborough sides were able to do so.
The match at Greenmeadows was close throughout, Coast leading just 5-3 at the break before but the visitors pushed ahead 17-5. However, this season East Coast have shown that they have the mental strength to win the close ones and they soon levelled the scores with tries to lock Jordan Judge and winger Sione Veau.
With 10 minutes to go the reliable Myles Hamilton landed a penalty to give them the go-ahead points and the resilience that has marked their three home wins this season allowed them to hold on for their first away victory.
Head coach Sam Lunn said his team’s performance, “wasn’t great, but we got it done”, on a wet track.
He praised the work of locks Jordan Judge and Stu Campbell, plus lightweight loosie Michael Ryan, as well as fullback Sam Westenra.
Waitohi scored a comprehensive 28-7 win over Nelson at Neale Park while East Coast eased past Stoke 20-17 at Greenmeadows, picking up the prized John Goodman Challenge Trophy in the process.
Their efforts have propelled them into third and fourth places respectively on the standings, a fair distance behind unbeaten front-runners Waimea Old Boys and Marist, but right in the mix for play-off positions with four weeks before semifinal time.
Before the season kicked off in mid-March that situation seemed highly improbable for a Waitohi side content at that stage to scratch a premier side together, admitted player/coach Jimmy Giles.
“The first goal, seven weeks ago was just to get a competitive team on the field.
“We haven’t got a big squad, only about 19 players. We aren’t doing anything flash, just trying to nail the basics and turning up for each other.
“To be sitting third after seven rounds is unreal … more than I would have wanted.”
Waitohi had a rampaging first half performance to thank for their victory, the Picton side leading 21-0 after 40 minutes, albeit with a stiff breeze at their backs.
Although Nelson came back at them they were able to restrict them to a single second half try, while picking up their fourth touchdown to secure a valuable bonus point.
“We lost the toss or we would probably have played into [the wind],” said Giles. “We just played in the right areas, they made mistakes and we took most of our opportunities.
“We knew we had to grind out the second half into the wind but we played the conditions better. The forward pack just ground it out and did a really good job. No-one shirked their duty.”
Flankers Rocky Leofo and Taine Cragg-Love, plus front-rowers Taimi Fangatua and Manu Mataele toiled hard up front while fullback Tuli Paea continued his exceptional form and first five Corey Bovey again directed traffic inteligently.
In other matches, Moutere went down 64-33 to the high-flying Waimea Old Boys combination at Jubilee Park while Central lost to Marist 45-23 at Tahunanui and Renwick bowed to Wanderers 34-21 at Brightwater.
Tasman Trophy results
Marist 45 Marist 45 (Jake Wetere 2, James Hawkey, Sam Moli, Taina Fox-Matamua, Joe Taylor, Cleve Barrell tries, Hawkey 5 cons) Central 23 (Jesse MacDonald, Braden Stewart, Peter Vakaloa tries, Mitch Smith 1 con, 2 pen). HT: 21-13 Marist
Waitohi 28 (Tuli Paea, Sosaia Tokai, Daniel Samita, Taine Cragg-Love tries, Corey Bovey 4 con) Nelson 7. HT: 21-0.
East Coast 20 (Jordan Judge, Sione Veau 2 tries, Myles Hamilton pen, con) Stoke 17. HT: 5-3 East Coast.
Waimea Old Boys 64 Moutere 33
Wanderers 34 Renwick 21
Standings after seven rounds:
Waimea Old Boys 32*, Marist 30, Waitohi 21, East Coast 20, Kahurangi 19, Wanderers 18, Nelson 15*, Stoke 10, Central 10*, Renwick 4*, Moutere 3. * still to have a bye.
Tasman women’s competition results
Moutere 29 Wanderers 10; Waimea Old Boys 50 Awatere 0.