Top four continue Tasman Trophy winning ways after early tussles

Round four of the Stuff Tasman Trophy club rugby competition at the weekend was a potential bogey round for the top four sides as they faced off their counterparts in the bottom four.

While several games started out tight, all four top-placed teams, Central, Stoke, Kahurangi, and Marist, came away with resounding victories.

Kahurangi 45 Nelson 15

Nelson’s club day was spoiled by a rampant Kahurangi on Saturday, as the visitors piled onthe points in the second half.

Successfully playing with early pace and width against the confrontational Nelson side, Kahurang got off to a quick start thanks to the returning talent of William Havili, who was fresh from finishing his Super Rugby duties with Moana Pasifika. But Nelson remained physical to put points on the board midway through the first spell. Kahurangi coach Brendon Smith said: “They were really physical and just kept coming, so we didn’t quite get them they way we wanted to”.

He said Havili, new team member Jack Gray, and player of the day Angus Fletcher were key contributors.

Kahurangi 45(Jack Gray 2, Thomas Robinson 2, William Havili, Stewart Cruden, Willis Scott tries; Stewart Cruden 5 Cons) Nelson 15 (Details unavailable)

Marist 52 Waimea 14

Marist continued their winning ways with a dominant performance over Waimea Old Boys at Tāhunanui on Saturday.

Playing on the front foot, Marist were able to have a complete performance for the full 80 minutes with both forwards and backs contributing to the win. Leading from the front, Jake Wetere had a strong game, continuing his form which saw him propelled into the Mako trial last weekend.

Coaches Con Barrell and Seta Sauira commented on the class shown by young playmaker Cooper Grant, to direct the Marist side around the park effortlessly, along with a standout performance from winger Tim Sauira, who was fresh off being named in the Mako wider preseason squad.

Waimea had a tougher day at the office with a consistent platform being hard to come by and the strong Marist defence not faltering. Coach Scott McKenzie, said: “Our scrum went well but our lineout failed a little bit. We played well, especially when we spread the ball but it’s tough to get through the Marist defence – they’ve got great line speed.”

Waimea were once again led by Kristian Hall-Smith and Codey Grimes, both having good days out on the beachside track.

Marist 52 (Netani Baleisomosomo 2, Manase Taufa, Bonowai Baledrokadroka, Teu Sami, Hennie

Fa’avae, Timoci Sauira, Copper Grant tries; Luke Kilworth 6 cons) Waimea 14 (Lee McBrydie, Tapuloa Uliano tries; Codey Grimes 2 cons)

Stoke 54 Waitohi 7

Stoke held onto second place in the standings after a gusty win versus Waitohi at Greenmeadows. Playing physical, with tough carries and dominating collision was the recipe for Waitohi early on, causing the game to be tight for the first half, with Waitohi fronting up up-front, disrupting a good percentage of the Stoke ball and capitalising on mistakes.

The second half was a different story though, with Stoke altering their game plan and executing far more of the opportunities presented to come away with a strong victory. Stoke coach Antonio Shalfoon said Waitohi were quite physical in the first half. “They dominated us in the collision and forced us into a number of mistakes and poor execution. In the second half we had a good resurgence, found our rhythm through stringing phases together, and scored a few more points.”

Standouts for Stoke were the Takaka twins, Connor Wilkins and Mason Lund, who had strong games

at centre and halfback respectively.

For Waitohi, the game slipped away after a great start. Coac, Tim O’Malley said the team used the ball well early on. “We were definitely chucking it around and finding space during the first half but slipped away in the second, which the score reflects.” He credited his forward pack for the way his side were able to play throughout the game.

Stoke 54 (Dougal Mcleod 2, Kendall Hodson, Colm Hogan, Taine Robinson, Corey McKay, Matt Graham-

Williams, Daniel Dwyer tries; Corey McKay 7 cons) Waitohi 7 (details unavailable)

Central 59 Moutere 10

In the battle of Blenheim, Central retained top spot after a convincing win over up-and-comers Moutere who had another tough but positive game back in the topflight.

The game was a hard-fought battle for the first 40 with Moutere applying pressure to Central with strong defence, leading to mistakes and poor discipline.

Central managed to alter their approach, upping the tempo and trying other options in the second

half, which found them success and led to a strong finish.

“It was a great tight tussle, and a great day of running rugby. Peni Fihaki was outstanding for us,

along with Hayward Kaloni, Nigel Satherley, and Cody Weir,” Central player/coach, Quentin MacDonald said.

For Moutere, it was another building block in their season, with a number of players returning and

experiencing life in the Tasman Trophy. Coach Jeremy Smith, complimented the competitiveness of his side in the first half: “We constructed some good rugby and played to our game plan, just once again we got torn apart by some individual brilliance.”

Smith cited further improvements in defence along with their attack structure and options. Top performers for Moutere were hooker, Monu Moli, and number 8 Charles Tupouto’a.

Central 59 (Penisimani Fihaki 3, Cody Weir 2, Nigel Satherley 2, Quentin MacDonald, Vailua Kaloni tries;

Mitchell Smith 7 cons) Moutere 10 (details unavailable)

Women’s Rugby

In the final round-robin games of the women’s Stuff Tasman Trophy competition, Marist looked to

solidify their credentials against an ever-improving Wairau Wāhine side but went down 33-17 in what was a 10-a-side contest.

Across the other side of the hill, Kahurangi built further momentum for the semifinals with a 29-10 win over Waimea.

Tasman Trophy Standings

Men: Central 20, Stoke 18, Kahurangi 18, Marist 17, Nelson 5, Waimea 5, Waitohi 0, Moutere 0

Women: Marist 36, Kahurangi 34, Wairau 19, Waimea 9

This Weekend

Men

Nelson vs Marist – Trafalgar Park 3:00pm

Stoke vs Central – Greenmeadows 3:00pm

Kahurangi vs Moutere – Cooks Reserve 3:00pm

Waitohi vs Waimea – Endeavour Park 3:00pm

Women – Semi Finals

Marist vs Waimea – Trafalgar Park 1:00pm

Kahurangi v Wairau – Cooks Reserve 5:00pm