Rugby: Yellow cards prove costly for Mount

Otumoetai College proved too strong on home soil in their last game of the season against Mount Maunganui College on Saturday. Photo / Andrew Warner

Otumoetai College have seen captain Matt Ensor off in style with an entertaining 29-19 home win over Mount Maunganui College.

Neither side had the chance of reaching the semifinals, meaning the match took on a festival atmosphere in which young players on both sides gave the ball plenty of air.

The two sides seemed to have different priorities at times, with the hosts intent on taking the winner's points while the Mount seemed to flit between attempting to win the game and doing damage with their shoulders and little else.

In the end that was likely the difference.

Three yellow cards for tackles that were either dangerous, late or both meant the Mount were never able to build enough momentum to seriously challenge their rivals.

Mount captain Kruzzyn Heriman's impact on the match is difficult to judge. He was his team's outstanding player and scored a wonderful individual try, but also accounted for two of his side's three yellow cards and was a spectator when Otumoetai scored its final try to put the match away.

Earlier Aidan Blair scored a double as part of a dominant Otumoetai forward pack that supplied their backs with plenty of quality ball.

The five-tries-to-three margin was a fair result, Mount first five-eighth Xavier Kaweroa showing enough silky touches to suggest he would be a handful with a steady diet of front-foot ball. The results mean both Aquinas College and Bethlehem College will host semifinals. Te Puke High School 2nd XV beat their Otumoetai counterparts 23-21 in the day's other match.

Otumoetai College 29 (Aidan Blair 2, Benny Ngahe, Isaiah Duncanson, Kalani Rawlinson tries; Jack May 2 cons) Mount Maunganui College 19(Kruzzyn Heriman, Seren Marsh, Xavier Kaweroa tries; Kaweroa 2 cons)