A late penalty goal took Horowhenua-Kapiti to a narrow one-point win 44-43 over Thames Valley in the final round of the Bunnings Heartland Rugby Championship. The match was played at Boyd Park, Te Aroha, and featured a points-laden first half, with the scoreline of Thames Valley ahead 34-31 at the intermission after Valley had ripped out to a 14-0 lead after only nine minutes. Then Horowhenua cruised to a 24-17 lead with four tries, and Valley managing only a penalty goal. In total a whopping nine tries were scored, four to the Valley and five to Horowhenua-Kapiti, in the action-packed first half.
In stark comparison, the second half saw only one try to Horowhenua, and the lead changed four times in the second half as penalties were exchanged, until Horowhenua-Kapiti clinched the game at the final whistle after kicking a late penalty.
The result left Thames Valley in third position in the Heartland Championship, and their fate hinges on this week's semifinal, when they travel to second-placed Whanganui for a Meads Cup semifinal on Saturday. The other semifinal is between South Canterbury and King Country.
