CLUB RUGBY: Kamo forward pack leads way

Kamo are on a roll in the Southern Districts premier rugby competition after defeating old rivals Hikurangi 20-14 in a gritty encounter at the Hikurangi Domain.
The win on Saturday sees fourth-placed Kamo open up a three point lead over Hikurangi and leave behind a below par start to the season.
"It was a good, tight club game, nothing too fancy, just the nitty gritty out there - the boys were stoked to win because any match between Hikurangi and Kamo is going to be a big one ... and that was our second win in a row. We showed the same sort of spirit as we did last week and that gives us something to build on," Kamo skipper Scott Linklater said.
It was another willing encounter between the two clubs which saw the Kamo forwards dominate the Hikurangi scrum from the start while the tall Kamo lineout also made things tough for the locals.
That meant for much of the game the Hikurangi backs didn't have the kind of ball they would have liked from the set-piece. That turned out to be fortunate for Kamo because both Hikurangi tries came from the backs taking advantage of poor defence.
The other main difference between the two teams was probably goal-line defence. Hikurangi conceded three tries in similar circumstances, with Kamo getting the ball close enough to pick and go.
After a Tyler Landsdowne penalty, Kamo looked to cash in on their early advantage in possession and territory and Nick Collins bashed his way over from the blind side of a ruck shortly after the 20-minute mark.
Jared McKenzie's return to the side was rewarded with a similar try five minutes before the break and Kamo would have been well pleased with their effort if not for the fleet-footed Whiria Meltzer, who stepped through some flimsy defence to score a great individual try.
Henry Foy converted from the sideline to make it 7-15 at halftime, and the try and the break worked wonders for the home side, who started with their tails up and the breeze behind them.
Five minutes into the spell Rhys Lavavasau found himself unmarked on the wing after a period of possession and scored in the corner. After the conversion it was a one point game.
Midway through the second half Kamo mounted a couple of breakouts and put some pressure on the Hikurangi line. The forwards took over and carted the ball to the line and Danny Mason took the ball over for what turned out to be the winning try.
Hikurangi skipper Tim Dow turned the game on its head with a break from within his own half but his support was hauled in by the Kamo defence.
Dow said they had turned around their recent form by finishing the first half on a high and starting the second half positively but had failed to use the wind as much as they should have and that had cost them.
"The last couple of weeks have been poor for us but at least today we brought some intensity to our game," he said.
Hikurangi sorely missed the influential Rhyan Caine behind the scrum. The Northland halfback is recovering after a cartilage operation last week and Hikurangi will be lucky to see him back before the ITM Cup season starts.
"One positive was that young Tip [Tipene Rosenthal] went well at halfback and so did Henry Foy at first-five, so that combination is important to us and we'll need them to perform well if we're going to do well in the second round," Dow said.