Rugby: Wellsford run free in try fest

Wellsford beat Kamo 66-22 during round four of the Bayleys Southern Districts Premier competition.

A rampant display of running rugby saw Wellsford beat Kamo 66-22 during round four of the Bayleys Southern Districts Premier competition.

Although Wellsford travelled to Kamo Sports Park knowing they were likely to capitalise on Kamo's poor start to the year, Wellsford coach Ross Neal said his side were not getting ahead of themselves before the kickoff.

"[We] definitely didn't want to take them lightly. Last year we had a good battle against them up here and they beat us. We put on our strongest team like we do every week."

With showers abating for the afternoon clash between table leaders Wellsford and the last-placed Kamo premier side, the stage was set for an entertaining match.

Both sides took advantage of good running conditions, but sloppy ball handling saw both teams cough up errors during key attacking phases.

Wellsford's quick hands and confident midfield, however, continued to build a stable scoring platform as they ran in several tries before halftime.

"We've got quite a strong midfield with Cam Barbour in 12 and Dylan Rangi, number 13. [They're] pretty good ball runners," Neal said.

Another key attribute to Wellsford's commanding first half, lead of 20-plus was the performance of loose forward Connor Lawson, who is new to the squad this year after playing for Warkworth in the North Shore competition.

He ran in two back-to-back tries before the halftime whistle after storming through Kamo's frail defensive line.

"I think he's keen to stick around, he's a pretty good ball runner," Neal said.

Kamo showed more commitment in the second half and restricted the deficit for a good while. But a well disciplined and better drilled Wellsford team ran away with the match.

Kamo coach Rod Hudson said his side have "got to work smarter".

"The first 15 minutes was actually quite good [but] after that it just turned to custard. We've got to work on our scrambling defence.

Despite standing atop the Southern Districts premier leaderboard with four wins from four games, Neal said his Wellsford side would come up against stiff competition as the season progresses.

"We had a tough game against Mid-Northern, they're looking quite good this year," he said.

"I think it's going to be a tight comp this year, some of those other teams are yet to fire."

Despite this, he's content his current squad can maintain their consistency.

"We've got a good solid forward pack which sets a solid platform for our game plan."