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All wrapped up. It was a tight match at Lyndhurst Park between the Wellington Centurions U18s and Hawke’s Bay U18s today. Photo: Stewart Baird.
- By Steven White & Scott MacLean
Two of today’s matches in Wellington went down to the wire, with the Wellington Centurions U18s holding off their Hawke’s Bay counterparts at the end at Lyndhurst Park and the Poneke Wanderers pipped by a point by Pakuranga in their National Knockout Cup U85kg game at Evans Bay Park.
Elsewhere there were wins in the U18s competition for the Wellington Māori and Wellington Samoans sides, the Wellington Centurions senior team closed out their season with a similarly close result against Canterbury B in Christchurch and Horowhenua-Kapiti beating Wairarapa-Bush in a jet-propelled lower North Island derby in Masterton.
In Christchurch, the Centurions men’s team beat Canterbury B 22-21 after being down 12-14 at halftime.
Try scorers for the Centurions were Chicago Doyle (2 tries), Hemi Fermanis and Pose Tuilaepa, while Sam Clarke kicked a conversion. Canterbury B scored three tries and kicked three conversions.
National Knockout Cup U85gs
Two losses for Wellington teams in the quarter-finals of the National U85kg Knockout Cup competition in two matches played today at Evans Bay Park.
In the first game, the Old Boys University Scallywags missed out to Christchurch’s High School Old Boys 25-7. In the second, the Pakuranga Panthers beat the Poneke Wanderers 28-27 at he death with a penalty from a scrum and winning kick under the posts.
The OBU Scallywags scored their first try of the game to cut the gap to 13-7 with about five minutes to play.
But a handling error by OBU inside their 22 presented the visitors with a chance to sew it it and they did so with a try from a blindside move off their next scrum . The conversion was made and at 20-7 the Christchurch side had the game in the bag. They added a fourth try in the corner on fulltime to take a 25-7.
Earlier, there was no scoring in this match until the 30th minute when HSOB scored a converted try under the posts. There was no further scoring in the first half and HSOB led 7-0 at the break. The Light Bears added two penalties in a continuing arm-wrestle to lead 13-0 until the home side finally got on the board late but it was too little too late.
With the visiting side pulling away late in the first game, the visitors overtook the home team and won with the final play of the game in the second.
Pakuranga’s forwards and strong scrum was their best asset all day and it won them the game despite Poneke’s beat efforts in holding on grimly and protecting a 27-25 lead. Pakuranga won a penalty off Poneke’s defensive scrum under the posts and first five Riley Harrison calmly slotted the kick to give them their one-point win and send them to Courtney Place happy for the night.
Earlier in the second half, Poneke had over-turned a 13-15 halftime deficit by scoring two consecutive tries in the 52nd and 56th minutes to go up 27-15.
After being held up twice in a row, Poneke weren’t going to be denied a third time with centre Nick Robertson breaking through from close range to put Poneke in front.
Poneke hooker James Yarndley regathered a box kick by captain and halfback Jimmy Lee-Hongara and stormed up inside the 22 to set up another strong period of attack for the home side. Once more, Pakuranga held on by a thread and exited with a goal-line dropout.
Poneke ran it back and first five Rique Miln found No. 8 Pasia Asiata on his inside and he powered his way to the line on a 20-metre run.
The Black Panthers then replied with two consecutive tries of their own in the 61st and 66th minutes to cut Poneke’s lead to 27-25.
The first was scored after a penalty and lineout in the corner and forwards drive and the second through the backs, to replacement midfielder Kobe Kay, after a run by fullback Regan McGregor.
The first half had been well-contested, with Pakuranga first five Harrison opening the game’s scoring with a penalty, before Poneke left wing Jacob Walmsley ran in the opening try to put them up 7-3.
Miln kicked a penalty to extend their lead to 10-3, before Pakuranga’s scrum dominance made itself felt for the first time near the line, resulting in their first try to cut the lead to 10-8.
Miln kicked his second penalty, before Pakuranga scored their second try and were good for their two-point halftime lead when No. 8 and captain Callum Diamond sparkled as the scorer of a pushover try.
The other two U85g quarter-finals today saw Auckland University beat Linwood 32-24, after leading 22-0 at one point, while Karaka beat Morrinsville 28-20.
Hurricanes U18 competition
For the second consecutive week, a Wellington Centurions team has won a match by defending their own goal line and winning a turnover with the last play of the game. Last week it was the senior side against Tasman B, this afternoon at Lyndhurst Park it was the Centurions U18s who held on and won a thriller at the death.
The visiting Hawke’s Bay U18s attacked with their full might and hunger for over a minute at the end, but the turnover was made and the Centurions came away with a 30-27 win to go two from two in the Hurricanes U18 Trustbank Central Shield competition.
The Centurions meet the Wellington Samoans U18s next weekend and a win will give them the Division A title honours.
The Samoans side beat the Poverty Bay U18s 50-10 in Palmerston North in the other top four encounter today.
In the second tier, the Wellington Māori U18s beat the Horowhenua-Kapiti U18s 54-26 in Levin and the Wairarapa Bush U18s beat the home team 36-19 in Whanganui.
Division B will be decided next weekend when the Wellington Māori side hosts Wairarapa-Bush.
At Lyndhurst Park today, the fulltime whistle was sounded under the Centurions own posts.
Only a few minutes prior, Hawke’s Bay had perhaps done enough to win the match when a short pass in centre field put left wing Charles Withers into a hole, and he careened through to score to put them up 27-23. This try had come hot on the heels of two missed opportunities by Hawke’s Bay in the preceding period of play – a penalty kick from in front that hit the posts and bounced back inside the field of play and a penalty and kick for a lineout in the corner that went dead in-goal.
Following Withers’ try, the Centurions chased the re-start and new NZ Barbarians Schools flanker Drew Berg-McLean won the ball back for his side, and they poured on to attack. In turn, they were awarded a penalty and kicked for a lineout in the far corner. Hawke’s Bay stole the lineout and the chance was apparently lost, but their next exit kick was sensationally charged down by lock Harry Law who leapt in hope and flung his long arms out to stop the kick and scored what proved to be the match-winning try.
Earlier, Hawke’s Bay had scored three unconverted tries to the Centurions’ one, to lead 15-13 at halftime.
Playing into a light wind in dry, cloudy conditions, Hawke’s Bay opened the scoring with a well-constructed team try in the corner to hooker Joseph-Jyrah Lilo-Iosefo.
The next Centurions re-start failed to go 10 metres and Hawke’s Bay attacked with vigour from the ensuing scrum on halfway but were kept out. The Centurions regrouped and established possession and territory, and from a subsequent attacking scrum, they ripped the ball wide to Wellington College right wing Shea Boshier who scored in the clubrooms corner. St Pat’s Silverstream’s first five Liam Slight slotted the sideline conversion to put the Centurions up 7-5.
Hawke’s Bay replied with their second try, to left wing Withers in the same corner following another strong build-up with ball in hand, and a tap penalty that stretched the home side out wide.
In the 23rd minute, the Centurions were awarded a penalty and Slight kicked it from a handy distance to make it 10-10.
Hawke’s Bay put themselves back in front with their third try and second to hooker Lilo-Iosefo, off a penalty and textbook lineout drive in the same corner as their first two tries.
Right on halftime, Slight stepped up and kicked his second penalty, a 38-metre strike on the angle, to cut the deficit to two points.
The Centurions made a roaring start to the second half, giving the visitors a taste of their earlier pattern of play by building phases with ball in hand, leading to a try in the righthand corner to second five Te Aowera Para. The Centurions now led 18-15.
However, Hawke’s Bay retook the lead with their fourth try of the afternoon. Following an attacking scrum on the far side, they brought play towards the middle of the field and first five Luke Thomas put in a kick behind the defensive line, where his opposite Slight was caught by the attacking players. A turnover was made and penalty awarded. Hawke’s Bay tapped quickly and No. 8 Metu Manase scored to put them in the lead 22-18.
With time running down, the Centurions sensationally retook the lead by scoring the best try of the match when they won a turnover from a scrum on the visitors’ 22 on the far side of the field, and then packed down their own scrum and the backs went wide to right wing Boshier who scored in the same corner as their previous try. The Centurions now led 23-22.
The action was far from over, with first Withers for Hawkes Bay, and then the charge-down try by Wellington College lock Law for the Centurions who put their teams back in front respectively, but it was the Centurions who would ultimately be the team in front at the fulltime whistle.
Heartland Championship
If it was tries you were after, Memorial Park in Masterton was the place to be with no fewer than 15 scored as Horowhenua-Kapiti kept Wairarapa-Bush winless at home with a 62-45 win.
The early omens weren’t good for the hosts and memories of their capitulation against North Otago a fortnight ago as they fell behind 0-21 inside 12 minutes with Esi Komaisavai pulling the strings and repeatedly catching the Bush offguard with quick taps. Wai-Bush pulled one back through skipper Logan Wakefield and then No8 Joe Tako, before Komaisavai scored his second off a length-of-the-field effort. Brandyn Laursen chipped over a penalty before prop Poleka Itielu crashed over after throwing an outrageous dummy. Needing something before the break the Bush got it, as Tako barged over for his second.
The second half saw the hosts start the better, with Wakefield scoring his second and Tako completing his hat-trick to narrow the gap to 31-38. But as would be the case every time they got close, the visitors would kick again with Kapu Winterburn-Broughton grabbing his second. Soli Malatai pilfered an intercept to bring the hosts close, with Malakai Masoe responding off a lovely Laursen inside pass. Alec Odell scored the hosts seventh, but Horo-Kap’s response came from a delightful cross kick for Winterburn-Broughton to run onto for his third. Laursen would complete the scoring and a perfect 10-from-10 off the tee with a 78th minute penalty.
Elsewhere in the Heartland it was more high-scoring. Unbeaten champions South Canterbury came from behind to beat neighbours North Otago 44-31, with Whanganui in second after beating Mid-Canterbury 48-26 in Ashburton. Thames Valley got the points in Ruatoria 60-45 over East Coast, King Country beat West Coast 43-17, and Buller topped Poverty Bay 36-28.
