CLUB RUGBY - Top clubs struggle with minnows in close games

If the results from Saturday's premier rugby matches are anything to go by, the gaps between the haves and have-nots may be about to narrow in the second round of the Joe Morgan Memorial competition.
The competition's top clubs all struggled to put away their lower-ranked rivals, with the exception of Mid Northern, who gained momentum at the top of the table with a good win over Hora Hora.
Tenth-placed Old Boys went close to providing the upset of the competition to date, as they pushed competition leaders Wellsford hard at home before eventually coming up short 16-22.
Old Boys club's Mike Lee said the two teams were locked together 10-all at the break but that they choked, with victory within their grasp.
"We just didn't know how to finish it off," he said.
Before the game the general consensus among the supporters was that keeping the visitors to a win of less than 20 points would be a good result.
"I have to admit that we're quietly pleased with the way we played despite not getting the win and all the supporters are saying the same thing ... all you can ask is that the team improves from their first round result and they've certainly done that."
Wellsford coach Hayden Ferris said his players did not play well but Old Boys had used the conditions to their advantage and had played aggressively throughout.
The Western Sharks proved to be Hikurangi's bogey team for second time this season as the teams drew 13-all in Dargaville.
Hikurangi coach Stu Cook was relieved to hear the final whistle in the match.
"We were lucky to get away with a draw really. They were hammering away at our line for the final 15 minutes of the game," he said.
Mid Western had the run of the first half in their home game against Marist to lead 17-0 at the break but the visitors evened things up in the second spell and were perhaps unlucky not to get closer than the final score of 25-12.
Hora Hora took it to the home side at Hukeranui, scoring a couple of tries with their rolling maul effective early on in the match.
The home side remained in the game, thanks largely to the boot of David Howell, but in the second spell finally began to do what they do best and spun the ball wide to breach Hora Hora's defence, taking the game 43-17.
Vaughan Going, who took over the head coach's role this week, said being able to use some players coming back for injury helped his side to the win.
"Having players like Derek Carpenter and Brad Miller coming off the bench gave us some good experience and, in the end, that was enough to tip it our way," he said.
Kamo left it until the final quarter to distance themselves from a resurgent Waipu side that just would not go away. Waipu were largely starved of possession in the first spell, with Kamo dominating the set piece and exploiting some big holes in their midfield defence.
But the visitors to the Kamo Rec turned the game on its head with a great 15-minute spell on either side of the break, when they were trailing 29-7.
Tries to Samuel Abrahams and Toby Phillips made it 29-17 at halftime and when No8 Harley Murray crashed over the posts an upset seemed likely.
Kamo scored again to extend the gap to 10 points before Waipu came again to get within three points. With their scrum going backwards, Kamo's Nick Collins kicked a couple of penalties to extend their lead before the hardworking Daniel Mason and Ben Greyling touched down for Kamo in the final 10 minutes, to the secure the win 52-31 - much to the local fans' relief.
Waipu captain Daniel Boone was philosophical about letting the game slip away.
"It was our own fault we dropped off at the end. It was ours for the taking but we couldn't finish it off," he said.
The sentiment was a common theme throughout the weekend.