Honours to Country as players give Bay selectors plenty to think about

Centre Taine Aupouri, above, scores one of Country’s eight tries in their 52-21 win over Town at Patutahi on Saturday. Picture by Paul Rickard

It’s a selection headache Poverty Bay Heartland squad officials are happy to have.

The rekindling of the Town v Country rugby match revealed plenty of talent, with a good number of players putting up their hands in the Saturday afternoon clash.

Country had the upper hand at Paddy’s Park in Patutahi, running out 52-21 victors.

Country coach Doug Jones said the match was physical but played in good spirit and players took the opportunity to showcase their skills.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Jones said.

“I think most players put their hands up, which gives the (Heartland) coaches a big headache.

“It would be pretty hard to leave anybody out of the (Bay) squad, especially for the King’s Birthday Weekend game against East Coast.

“It’s a good problem to have.”

Jones’ thoughts were echoed by Town coach James Grogan.

“Both sides obviously had the best of the best playing each other,” Grogan said.

There was “lots of talent” to convert to “a decent side” and players had made the most of their chance to impress, “which is cool”, he said.

“It does make life a lot harder,” Grogan said of the selection situation. “There’s a lot of young fellas knocking on the door and a lot of new faces as well from both Town and Country.”

Add to that the Turanga development side — a pathway for players to progress to Heartland selection.

Poverty Bay Heartland squad head coach Miah Nikora was impressed by a good day and what he saw on the field.

“It was a definite step up in terms of pace and intensity from our club stuff, so that was really pleasing,” Nikora said.

“There are a few guys who put their hands up for the upcoming Coast game; that’s for sure.

“You never really know if you haven’t seen them before, or rarely seen them at club rugby, whether or not they can make the step up.”

Retaining structure and information was a big factor when pushing for a Heartland jersey and Nikora was looking for that on Saturday.

“Seeing how much information guys can take in and then download in a short period of time — I think we saw that coming through on Saturday as well.”

Country ran in eight tries to Town’s three and had a healthy halftime lead in an entertaining affair for spectators.

Both sides produced outstanding attacks in a hard-fought battle, with the crowd reacting to each thumping tackle or sublime line break as players went toe to toe.

Among those to feature prominently were Town No.8 Rikki Terekia, who showed  consistency and strong leadership while  Country No.8 Stuart Leach hit the advantage line with every touch of the ball.

Ricardo Patricio played superbly at first five for Country, creating space and attacking the line.

His opposite, Braedyn Grant, fed his backline well, shifting the ball with speed and efficiency.

Town had the edge in the lineout while Country’s scrum was powerful.

Tries were scored all over the paddock  — a testament to players’ skill and willingness to run the ball.

Jones extended his gratitude for the  support from the Patutahi community.

“A big thank you to Ngatapa and all of their supporters for coming out and supporting Country.”

COUNTRY: 52 (Shayde Skudder, Taine Aupouri, KC Wilson, Andrew Tauatevalu, Te Peehi Fairlie, Stuart Leach, Jacob Leaf, Ricardo Patricio tries, Patricio 6 cons)

TOWN: 21 (Rikki Terekia, Solomoni Rasari, Salesi Niuvao tries; Matt Profitt 3 cons)