Ngātapa prop Campbell Chrisp scores a try in his side's 37-5 defeat of Tūranga Pirates at the Tiny White Opening Day for Poverty Bay Premier club rugby at the Oval on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard
Ngātapa prop Campbell Chrisp scores a try in his side's 37-5 defeat of Tūranga Pirates at the Tiny White Opening Day for Poverty Bay Premier club rugby at the Oval on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard
SCOREBOARD
Larsawn Ngātapa 37 (Campbell Chrisp, Ben Johnson, Hamish Chrisp, Mosese Bulicakau, Jack Hamilton, Fasi Lauti tries; Tim Haldane pen, Rian Norton 2 con) Kevin Hollis Glass Turanga Pirates 5 (Jesse Sweeney try). HT: Ngatapa 8 Pirates 5.
Kahu Scaffolding Tapuae 26 (Thomas Ormond, Wayne Hema, Keanu Taumata, Tatana Smith tries; Paoraian Manuel-Harman 3 con) Earthworks Solutions High School Old Boys 10 (Bryan Howard try; Matthew Proffit pen, con). HT: Tapuae 12 HSOB 3.
Tapuae, YMP and Ngātapa have formed the first winners’ circle of the Poverty Bay Premier club rugby season.
In Saturday’s Tiny White Opening Day at the Oval, defending champions Kahu Scaffolding Tapuae held off a spirited Earthworks Solutions High School Old Boys 26-10, East Coast Farm Vets YMP beat Enterprise Cars OBM 29-12 and Larsawn Ngātapa defeated Kevin Hollis Glass Tūranga Pirates 37-5.
YMP right wing Quaydon Chaffey-Kora won the Tiny White Medal for overall player of the day and the Taste One Most Valuable Player Award for his club. Openside flanker Jokatama Ciwa (OBM), blindside flanker Hamish Chrisp (Ngatapa), lock Charlie Kepa (Pirates), tighthead prop Iose Brown (Tapuae) and No 8 Siosiua Moala (HSOB) were the other MVP recipients.
Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union president Tom Crosby with YMP winger and Quaydon Chaffey-Kora, who was named winner of the Tiny White Medal as overall player of the day. Chaffey-Kora joined the club after his last year with Gisborne Boys' High First XV in 2024.
Tapuae player-coach Paoraian Manuel-Harman was happy enough with his Wairoa-based crew’s first hit-out against a HSOB side with two pre-season games under their belt, including a confidence-building 43-0 win over Ngātapa in the HSOB centenary match the week before.
HSOB captain and halfback George Halley said while beaten, he was “proud of our boys’ match effort”.
Having lost 55-20 to Tapuae in last year’s opening day, they owed them a good game, he said.
“And we did that, though our discipline let us down at times and we made some handling errors at both ends of the field.”
He was particularly pleased with their first 30 minutes on defence while camped in their own 22.
HSOB vice-captain Moala made several outstanding carries and tackles while lock Jack Willock was a “workhorse”, Halley said.
Former Ngatapa men – left winger Nashwen Mouton and reserve centre Anthony Karauria – scored on debut for YMP as they built on a 10-5 halftime lead after OBM went in front through a try to hooker Ilaisa Vunibola off a great last pass from centre Ale Paulo.
Vunibola and prop Ratu Nairoroi made hulking surges from the get-go but YMP fullback Taimana Teneti did well also, scrambling in defence and recovering to gather the ball and retain it under pressure.
OBM reserve right wing Maika Daveta’s classic break-out try in the 77th minute was a highlight.
New YMP head coach Willie Brown said: “It was good, tough rugby on a hot day.”
“We were a little bit rusty in our first game, but that’s okay. We’ll keep working.”
Ngātapa were excellent value in their 32-point defeat of a Pirates team who, while outgunned in the second half, never gave up.
The Ngātapa forward pack had ascendancy. They were mobile, aggressive and at times rampant in scoring four of the team’s six tries.
“That game represents a real improvement on what we did a week earlier. Everyone stepped up,” skipper and lock Jack Twigley said.
Gisborne Boys' High School students and referees who controlled the YMP Bumbles' 21-19 Senior 1 win over Ngātapa at Barry Park last Saturday are (from left) Jared Pearse, Joel Pearse (referee) and Ruan Ludwig. Photo / Stuart Pearse
Pirates fought hard and showed courage and commitment - Ngātapa’s 8-5 halftime lead testament to that.
Prop and captain Jesse Sweeney scored the Buccaneers’ only points, and he and vice-captain and first five Rico Walters showed they are capable leaders.
Openside flanker Paula Tatafu, Walters and fullback Isimeli Yavala gave their all and will play important roles in the team’s development.
“I’m pleased with the fitness of our boys, also with our defence in the first half,” head coach Anthony Kiwara said.
“Every team has its work-ons. We can always improve our discipline, but I’m delighted to say that this Pirates crew fought right to the end.”
All six Premier and six of the seven Senior 1 teams fielded quality veterans and new blood on Saturday.
Gisborne Boys’ High School students Joel Pearse (17), brother Jared (15) and Ruan Ludwig (16) have supplied new blood to the ranks of Poverty Bay’s officials. The trio controlled the YMP Bumbles’ 21-19 win over Ngātapa at Barry Park.
