Rugby: Kamo humbled at home

Old Boys prop Phil Kite steamrollers up the park. Photo / John Stone

This was a game between a freakishly good and a relentlessly bad side.

How else could one explain the 95-0 scoreline - the highest so far in the Bayleys Southern Districts Premier competition - between hosts Kamo and Old Boys Marist on Saturday?

"We've just been taught a lesson," Kamo coach Quentin Cherrington summed up the mood post-match.

Missing up to four key forwards through injury, Kamo had no answer to the guile and tactical nous of their opposition who scored in the opening minute of both halves.

Old Boys Marist forwards cranked the handle at lineout and the tackled ball while its backs, led ably by fullback Monty Lama and inside centre Troy Gilbert, ran the game with aplomb.

They kept it mostly simple - play in the right areas, stay patient, and ask questions through clever grubber kicks and wide passes, knowing there was a fair chance Kamo wouldn't have the answer.

At times when their backs had the ball, their skill level bordered on freakish.

With just a solitary loss from seven matches, Old Boys Marist came prepared to graft and grind, to front Kamo physically and slug it out for 80 minutes.

They kept the ball, ran straight and were patient. That was enough to flummox the hosts who rued their sloppy defence, handling errors, ill-discipline which reduced them to 14 players on two occasions, and lack of precision at set piece.

Kamo's injury toll exacerbated further with Kamo lock Todd Scotland injuring his shoulder and had to be replaced in the final quarter on Saturday.

Old Boys Marist wing Dan Cotton drew first blood in the opening minute after Kamo spilled the ball in their own half.

Eight minutes later, barnstorming No8 Taniela Manu scored his side's second from a quick tap five metres from the Kamo tryline before drifting to his left until he found a gap right under the posts.

Tamaiti Hendrix and Gilbert also got on the scoresheet while the last try of the opening half was scored by right wing Robbie Rollo who grabbed a cross kick from the other end of the field before planting the ball down.

Old Boys Marist fed off Kamo's mistakes and the second half started pretty much the same way as the first.

A knock on from kickoff allowed lock Paul Leyland to offload the ball to Rollo who ran at an angle before crossing over for his second try.

A long, hard slog of chipping away was what Old Boys Marist did until eventually the holes opened up as legs began to weary.

Kamo players began slipping off tackles and tries began piling up.

Cherrington said it was pretty hard to play against a side with a lot of depth in their squad.

"They were up for this game. They wanted to prove a point and I think they did," he said.

Kamo is away to Wellsford next week.

Old Boys Marist coach Greg Shipton was happy with the win, especially their defence, but said there was still room for improvement.

"We try and get better and better all the time".

His side will host Mid Western this weekend.