Bring on the Lochore Cup

Poverty Bay wing Te Peehi Fairlie runs over the try line to score as teammate and lock Morgan Reedy celebrates. Poverty Bay lost to visitors South Canterbury 41-31 at Paddy’s Park in Patutahi but they have done enough to contest the Lochore Cup this weekend in Oamaru against North Otago in one of the semifinals.Picture by Paul Rickard

Poverty Bay have done enough to continue their Heartland Championship campaign and contest the Lochore Cup.

Top-of-the-table South Canterbury beat the Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay Wekas 41-31 at Paddy’s Park, Patutahi, on Saturday. But at times the visitors’ winning streak looked under threat ... it now stands at 29 games.

Poverty Bay scraped through to the Lochore Cup rounds on points differential.

The Bay, Mid Canterbury and King Country each had 16 points.

The first tie-breaker option, head-to-head comparisons, could not be used because

King Country had played neither of the other teams.

South Canterbury head coach Nigel Walsh described Saturday’s spectacle as “a great game”.

“We knew Poverty Bay would bring it,” Walsh said.

“We expected a tough battle and we got it. The conditions were pretty windy and a bit damp as well.”

He said South Canterbury wanted to lay a platform in the first 20 minutes and get themselves in the right area of the field to play the game.

“We actually did that this week and we were ahead at halftime for a change, so that was quite pleasing.”

The back-to-back Meads Cup champion coach had nothing but praise for the opposition.

“Kudos to Poverty Bay, they played very well,” he said.

“They brought it to us and then took it to us, as well. I wish them all the best if they get into that Lochore Cup. It’s one hell of a competition for Heartland. They obviously have a target on their back, and everybody wants to beat us.”

Ngatapa Rugby and Associated Sports Club hosted the match at Paddy’s Park and Walsh said it was a “great day, great set-up” and he took his hat off to the rugby club for putting on the day.

Poverty Bay captain and hooker Shayde Skudder said he was proud of his men for taking it to the best in the competition.

“South Canterbury have been at the top of this competition for the past three years or so,” Skudder said. “I am proud that the boys pushed them this far . . . we gave them a bit of a fright.”

The Bay forwards had a dominant scrum, more often than not holding their opponents or pushing them back.

“We had a bit of emphasis on our scrums — they have been going well this year,” Skudder said.

“We have been trying to target that area to try to wear out other teams and create openings in other areas. They have good players all around the paddock. They managed to get into the right places at the right time and they jumped on a few of our mistakes.”

Poverty Bay coach Miah Nikora said he knew South Canterbury were a big team with big ball-carriers.

“We knew we had to put them under pressure,” he said.

“We couldn’t let them settle into any momentum. I thought the boys started well and we probably coughed up some soft tries.

“We still showed a lot of heart in our defence. The three soft tries sort of caught up with us in the end.”

The Bay’s discipline was a vast improvement from the beginning of the season. One penalty was given early in the first half, and none were given within striking distance again.

“That was something we addressed at halftime,” Nikora said. “Tidy up our discipline, tidy up our breakdown — we were letting them get their hands on the ball a little too much.

“I thought the boys did better in the second half.

“I thought we had a lot of the momentum and played a lot of that rugby in the second half. It was just unfortunate we didn’t come away with a win against the top Heartland side.”

South Canterbury opened the scoring with fullback Liueli Simote scoring a try and first five-eighth William Wright converting.

South Canterbury added a try to wing Clarence Moli, which Wright also converted.

The Bay hit back and got on the scoreboard when prop Jarryd Broughton crossed the line. Ricardo Patricio converted.

Soon after, Simote scored the second of his treble.

Poverty Bay winger Joe Tikicidre scored a try in the corner and Patricio nailed the conversion.

Momentum for South Canterbury began to build as No.8 Siu Kakala scored a try, converted by Wright for a halftime score of 26-14.

An opportunity for points came for the Bay and Patricio took full advantage, taking the three points.

Putting in another solid performance, second-five Jacob Leaf scored a try and landed the conversion.

South Canterbury hit back, replacement hooker Graison Dale scoring and Wright converted.

Bay winger Te Peehi Fairlie scored a try and Patricio’s conversion put the Bay within two points of the visitors going into the final 20 minutes.

Feeling the pressure, the Southerners earned a penalty, which Wright converted into points to relieve some tension at 36-31.

In the closing minutes, South Canterbury finished the match with a try to Simote that completed his hat-trick.

Poverty Bay travel to Oamaru this weekend to take on North Otago in their Lochore Cup semifinal.