Tasman Makos: News

Moutere set early pace in Marlborough Rugby
08-Apr-2010

MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS - John Alexander
Moutere are the only team with two wins after the second round of matches in the Wadsco Marlborough premier club rugby competition.

The Magpies edged out Renwick 18-14 in a scrappy match at Awarua Park, but the upset came at Car Horn Valley in Seddon where Awatere, in their season opener, stunned Harlequins 30-22, coming back from 5-15 down at half-time.

Last season's champions, Central bounced back from last weekend's defeat to Moutere to beat Waitohi 32-8 at Lansdowne Park.

AWATERE 30 HARLEQUINS 22

When George Millar scored a fine Harlequins try on the half hour and Martin Campbell converted to make it 15-0, most spectators at Car Horn Valley in Seddon were wondering, not if, but by how much the visitors would win.

However, as the match progressed, the wheels fell off Harlequins, poor discipline, a lack of urgency and accuracy and a fired-up Tussock Jumpers forward pack all adding up to much better news for the home side by fulltime.

Playing in excellent but cold conditions, Awatere started with more urgency, but Quins drew first blood via a Campbell penalty goal.

They then ran in a fine try to wing Greg Marfell, fullback Millar creating space with an angled run following a scrum.

Millar's try was a cracker, Joe Wheeler igniting the move and Fo'ou Tiueti carrying it on.

Six minutes from halftime, Awatere struck back, standout No 8 Paul Hickman barging over.

Harlequins' lack of discipline was almost farcical as they conceded a flood of penalties at the breakdown. The longer the game went, the more dominant Awatere's forwards became. Lock Hamish Blackwell closed the gap with a superb team try involving backs and forwards, then a turning point came when Quins' No 8 Wheeler was sin-binned by referee Mark Andrell for infringing.

Awatere certainly made hay in that 10 minutes, scoring 13 points, David Pope kicking a penalty then halfback Hamish Murray scooting over by the posts after his quickly taken penalty caught the opposition napping.

Pope landed another penalty and, with 10 minutes remaining, first-five Glenn Blackmore put the issue beyond doubt with a brilliant solo try, scything through from an attacking scrum to score by the posts.

Harlequins scored a consolation try near the end to Campbell following Wheeler's run off a scrum, but Awatere were worth every bit of their win.

Hickman was outstanding at No 8, leading the forward charges. Blackwell, flanker Andy Tusani and prop Lenny Basham all played well.

Halfback Murray was the class act, directing play astutely and sniping away at the Quins' defence, while Blackmore directed play well outside him and Pope's second half goal-kicking was a key factor.

Ad Feedback Harlequins were average to say the least, playing without much fire up front and had no answer to Awatere's more enthusiastic approach.

Millar was Harlequins most impressive back and Marfell played well on the wing. Up front, Ben Norton dominated lineouts, Wheeler showed some good touches and flanker Nick Allen had a strong first half.

CENTRAL 32 WAITOHI 8

An impressive forward effort paved the way for Central's well deserved win over Waitohi.

Experienced lock Bruce Bromwich was the key, leading many of the Blues' forward drives and scoring two tries himself. Daniel Crockett backed him up well in the close exchanges with Reyne Volavola and Adam Goldsworthy outstanding around the park.

Central coach Neville Saul was pleased with the performance, but suggested the game was closer than the final score indicated.

Central's pick and goes, and good support play by the backs, led by veteran Onolevu Temo, kept Waitohi on the back foot. Temo and No8 Masi Vunipola were Central's other try-scorers and Rawiri Tamati's goal-kicking provided the rest of the points.

Waitohi coach Murray Burgess fielded a side missing some key players, including Les Ivamy, Daniel Hawkins and Rory Wright, but he wasn't using that as an excuse.

"We played pretty average, really. They weren't playing brilliantly, either, but they had better team work and we tended to panic a bit."

Waitohi's backs didn't get a lot of attacking opportunities but managed one good try to fullback Hayden Woolley and their defence was sound. Skipper Kieran Gaudin was a standout at blindside flanker and his brother Hayden Gaudin played well at halfback.

MOUTERE 18 RENWICK 14

Moutere's superior forward power, especially at scrum time, spearheaded a good win over a Renwick team that their assistant coach, Robert Harrison-Jones, admitted fell off their game from the previous week.

Moutere's scrum, anchored by impressive props Wayne Caldwell and Joe Collins, was the dominant force in the match, the Magpies comfortably winning their own ball and making life very difficult for Renwick to win theirs. Renwick's chances were not helped when prop Ryan Holdaway was forced off in the first half with a calf muscle injury.

Standout forward of the match was Moutere hooker Vernon Fredricks. His skipper Stu Campbell rated him the "X-factor player" playing in the position where he is in contention for the Tasman Makos. Fredricks did his core job well and ran destructively, scoring both Moutere's tries.

First-five Liam Chennells impressed with a player of the day performance, keeping the ball in front of his forwards and landing the crucial goals.

For Renwick, midfielder Aaron Bancroft scored a try he started and finished with a kick and chase. Renwick had an opportunity to win the match near the end when Bancroft intercepted a pass and was caught just short of the line. Renwick turned down two close range penalties in search of a try, but Moutere's defence held.

First-five Kyle Marfell and flanker Hayden Marfell impressed for the Green Machine in a match where poor discipline let both teams down.