CLUB RUGBY - It may not be pretty but Hikurangi sneak victory

Hikurangi burst Mid Western's bubble on Saturday by sneaking a narrow win in a low-scoring and often dour Southern Districts Premier clash.
Hikurangi's defence proved too good in the end for the Mid Western side, who have recruited well over the off season. With new Northland first-five Lachie Munroe running their backline - albeit from second five-eighth - the crowd at the Maungakaramea Reserve were expecting another win.
Despite dominating territory and possession in the first spell, the home side had only a tight 11-10 lead at the break.
Hikurangi came back and a penalty by Henry Foy allowed them to snatch a 13-11 win. The kick went over with about 10 minutes to go and t the Hikurangi pack ran the clock down.
Hikurangi captain Brad Christensen agreed the game wasn't always pretty but he was pleased with the way his forwards finished it off. "It was a hot day and everyone was blowing, so I thought we'd keep it in the forwards for a bit more ... and once we started getting through a few phases, we were able to string some yards together," he said.
The No8, standing in for the injured Aaron Wright as captain, said some of the team thought they might have easy day of it when halfback Rhyan Caine opened the scoring in the fifth minute from a defensive error - but the Hikurangi forwards made easy work of driving over from a line-out in the corner, with Caine adding the final touch. Any thoughts of following that up with a few more faded quickly as Mid Western starved them of possession.
A Munro penalty got them on the board before they took the lead 8-7 with a Adam Clark try after a patient build up in the Hikurangi red zone.
The kickers swapped two more penalties but it proved to be Hikurangi's defence near their line that won them the game after they repelled a number of good Mid Western opportunities to cross their line late in the spell.
Second five-eighths James Thompson was the stand-out in the Hikurangi back line. He distinguished himself by running at gaps in the Mid Western line, often making good ground before linking up with his forwards. The No12 also came up quickly to help shut down the home side's backs.
"We didn't really have any choice but to try and get up and put pressure on them because when we didn't, he [Munro] peeled off the yards at will," Christensen said.
On Friday night, Marist supporters might have hoped that David Howell had retired from all forms of the game, instead of only representative rugby, as he ran Mid Northern's 34-13 victory.
The visitors to Hukeranui put up a good fight in the first spell, trailing 3-8 at the break before Howell and company wore them down in the second spell, out-scoring their rivals by four tries to one.
Mid Northern were joined at the top of the table by Wellsford, who thumped Hora Hora 60-0. Kamo also grabbed their second win of the competition but were pushed all the way by Old Boys, eventually winning 22-17.
Western Sharks are the other unbeaten side in the competition after they also got among the points with a 44-17 drubbing of Waipu.
* Northland results
• Southern District Premiers:
Mid Northern 34 (K Pita, Q Cooper, V Going, D Carpenter, L Goodin tries; D Holwell 3 conversions, 1 penalty) Marist 13 (K Wilson try, T Jurgesson 2 pen 1 con).
Wellsford 60 (JJ Ranger (4), R Ranger, A Davis, M Wright, R Neal, J Moimoi; M Wright 6 con and pen) Hora Hora 0.
Old Boys 17 (T Cullen, T Gilbert, K Haitana tries, S Pou con) Kamo 22 (H Kingi, J Williams, B Graylon, D Vewet tries; T Van Loggerunberg con).
Mid Western 11 (A Clark try, L Munroe 2 pen) Hikurangi 13 (R Caine, H Foy con, 2 pen) .
Waipu 17 Western Sharks 44, (P Tau, M Onesi, B Nathan, T Herman(2), M McCully(2), S Takalua tries, S Takalua 2 con).
• Premier Reserves:
Mid Northern 49 Marist 0; Old boys 23 Kamo 0; Mid Western 23 Hikurangi 12; Waipu 0 Western Sharks 55; Wellsford 25 Hora Hora 24.