Lock Tamatea’s milestone could not have been celebrated any better.
It started with him receiving a guard of honour from both sides as he ran on to the field and ended with him being presented a blazer to commemorate his mammoth achievement.
YMP coach Kahu Tamatea — Willis’s brother — knows well the threats lurking in the Waikohu side and the need to keep their attacking forces out of striking distance.
“With a good side like Waikohu we wanted to limit their opportunities in our half,” he said.
They did just that and responded in kind as the YMP forwards worked well to give their backline clean and go-forward ball.
“We like to move the ball around which starts off with good front-foot ball.”
YMP got out of the gates quickly, with Bartlett-Tamatea scoring two of his treble inside the first 10 minutes.
Openside flanker Seth Lundon and prop Hayze Nepia also scored first-half tries and first five Kelvin Smith sent over one conversion as YMP forged a 22-0 lead.
Waikohu ended YMP’s run on the stroke of halftime when they muscled their way into the 22, set up camp, then shifted the ball to the openside to fullback Ethine Reeves, who stepped a defender and crashed through a couple of tacklers.
Second five Jacob Leaf added the conversion and that was that points-wise for the hosts
Bartlett-Tamatea completed his hat-trick in a much closer second half and in-form fullback Andrew Tauatevalu also scored a try which he converted.
Leaf was Waikohu’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) recipient. He is fast and physical, looking to create opportunities or crash through the defence.
Lundon had an excellent game, particularly in defence, and was named YMP’s MVP.
YMP’s win was their seventh in a row in 2023 — all with bonus points for scoring four or more tries for a perfect table tally of 35 points.
WAIKOHU 7
(Ethine Reeves try; Jacob Leaf con)
YMP 34
(Genesis Bartlett-Tamatea 3, Seth Lundon, Hayze Nepia, Andrew Tauatevalu tries; Kelvin Smith con, Tauatevalu con)
■ Second-placed OBM made it six out of seven with a 48-5 disposal of HSOB but there was plenty of praise for the vanquished.
HSOB have had a hard road getting a full complement of players this season and OBM coach Dillon Dolman-Tuhou is well aware of their struggles.
“Good on them for putting a team together,” Dolman-Tuhou said after his team ran in eight tries to HSOB’s one.
“I want to thank them for turning up on Saturday and putting in the effort. We wouldn’t have had a game if they didn’t show up.”
Dolman-Tuhou was generally happy with his side’s performance
“Our set play stood out for me,” he said. “The lineout drive was good again. Our scrum was solid also.
“Defensively we were good but there’s always room to improve.”
Hooker Rikki Terekia led the tryscoring way with a double while the others were shared around.
HSOB lock Nelson Moran scored his side’s lone five-pointer.
OBM dominated territory and played much of the game inside the HSOB half. Consistent pressure eventually forced cracks in the defence and OBM took advantage..
Powerhouse prop Juston Allen was OBM’s MVP while impressive halfback George Halley got the MVP nod for the three points as HSOB’s best.
The Premier competition resumes in two weeks, with second-placed OBM’s clash with third-placed Waikohu the likely feature match.
This Saturday features the now King’s Holiday Weekend derby clash between Poverty Bay and Ngati Porou East Coast at the Oval.
HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS 5
(Nelson Moran try)
OBM 48
(Rikki Terekia 2, Reeftahn Brown-Terekia, Lance Dickson, Josaia Tikicidre, Josh Charles, Michael Fox, Keanu Taumata tries; Brian Whaitiri-White 4 con)
at Te Karaka on Saturday.