Defending McNamara Cup champions Karaka held off a charging Patumahoe 21-19 in a terrific Thursday night spectacle under lights at Patumahoe Domain. Players got a rare chance to play club footy under lights with the Easter Weekend round played Thursday night.
The home side raced out of the blocks, piling early pressure on the Karaka line. It took them a while, but they scored the first try of the game and led 7-0 after 15 minutes.
But Karaka got into their work during the remainder of the half and threatened to run away with the game – scoring three tries to take a commanding 21-7 lead.
A Patumahoe strike before halftime gave Greg Stanford’s side something to build on as they turned to play towards the clubrooms in the second spell.
Patumahoe had more than their share of chances in the second half and drew to within two points. They turned down chances to kick for a lead and bombed a couple of would-be tries to allow Karaka to hold on.
“You always come over knowing it will be something like this. The Patty boys roll up their sleeves and give it to you,” a victorious Karaka coach Craig Hill told Counties Sports Hub.
“Patty came out well in that first 15 minutes – it was probably our back half of the first half where we played some pretty good rugby.
“The thing about playing Patty, when you come here and they’re playing towards the club rooms – it is always a hard job trying to keep them out.”
Hill was particularly pleased with the performance of Moana Pasifika centre Tuna Tuitama, who scored a brilliant solo try and was a handful on attack all night.
“Tui was all class – he was probably the difference. Jackson [Rainsford] was good at the back, Thomas Setitaia as well,” Hill added.
Pukekohe bounced back from an opening night loss to Ardmore Marist to beat Bombay 41-8 in a convincing showing at Colin Lawrie Fields. Last season’s runners-up looked solid enough first up but showcased their ability in a confidence-building win.
Manurewa accounted for Weymouth 80-6 at Mountfort Park to make it two wins from two for new head coach Kaino Kaino.
Ardmore Marist maintains a share of the competition lead after they thrashed Papakura 74-5 at Massey Park in Papakura.
Waiuku collected their first win of the Bob Chandler Cup Premier 2 season when they easily took maximum points against Manurewa with a 57-12 win at Mountfort Park.
Ardmore Marist blanked Papakura 55-0 while Karaka cruised to a 48-17 win over Patumahoe at Patumahoe Domain.
Pukekohe left if late but just managed to overcome Bombay 27-25 in a thrilling game at Colin Lawrie Fields.
