Nireaha Carberry steps sharply to punch a hole for Dannevirke Under 13s through the Taradale defence.
Nireaha Carberry steps sharply to punch a hole for Dannevirke Under 13s through the Taradale defence.
Teams from as far as Napier came to do battle with the locals as five grades of junior rugby descended on Dannevirke’s Coronation Park earlier this month.
Four teams – two Under 11s, an Under 12 and an Under 13 side - played in the Hawke’s Bay competition while the juniors played as school-based teams from town and country in good numbers.
Puketoi's Norm Balfour tries to carve through a Ruahine/Norsewood defence in the little ripper grade.
The victorious Dannevirke Under 13s after their first win of the season.
There cannot have been many residents left in Puketoi or Maharahara on the day as several teams and parents from each area came to town, starting with the youngest “Little Rippers”, all dressed smartly with tags on their belts to be ripped off instead of tackling.
Coaches shepherded their proteges in the right direction on attack and assembled defence when defending.
The next grade up – the midgets – have graduated to tackle rugby with non-contested scrums. The Puketoi game against Ruahine was a great running game in which the players showed rugby was definitely in their DNA.
Midgets have scrums, tackling and rucks like in this match between Puketoi and Ruahine.
Patch Tenant of Porongahau proved to be an elusive runner in the Under 11s against Puketoi.
Dannevirke has two Under 11 teams that play in the Hawke’s Bay competition. Puketoi played Porongahau in an exciting match with a marked increase in teamwork and tactics, evidence the coaches are really making a difference.
While the Under 12s were playing away, the main game was an Under 13 fixture between Taradale and Dannevirke.
After three grading games, the competition was split into top and bottom teams and Dannevirke was looking for its first win after losing to Taradale 5-0 in the grading games.
To the coaches’ delight, Dannevirke put on its best display of the season forwards and backs combining to score some excellent tries. With a lead of 30-0 at halftime, the hopes for the second half were tempered by the expectation Taradale’s best players would be subbed on but it made no difference.
Dannevirke continued to win the contested possession and spin wide for the backs to have a great time the result being 55-0 at fulltime.
Porongahau and Puketoi 11th Grade teams relax after the game.
This side will eventually form the basis of the Ross Shield team and after this game it’s clear Under 13 coaches Scott Harvey and Tim Hogan have a lot of potential to work with before the club season ends.
