CLUB RUGBY: Wellsford see no need to hurry

Wellsford are a team on the rise in Southern Districts premier club rugby but they took Old Boys too lightly and almost paid dearly for it.
The visitors to Okara Park carried home a bonus point for their 25-5 win on Saturday, thanks largely to their late efforts in the game.
It might have been a different story if Old Boys had managed to force their way past the Wellsford defence in their impressive third quarter.
After having Old Boys on the rack for most of the first spell, Wellsford finally scored with time almost up on the clock to take an 8-0 lead. Old Boys won the ball back from the kick-off and the forwards bashed their way into the Wellsford 22 - for only the second time in the match - and then Troy Gilbert called for a blindside pass from halfback Scott Lewis before accelerating into a gap to score in the corner.
The home side was trailing 8-5 at the break but you would have thought they had won the first spell by their reaction at the half-time whistle.
Wellsford coach Haydn Ferris was clearly not as happy but he would have been pleased with the way they started the second spell. They tested the Old Boys defence until Ross Wright showed his ability to make headway in a packed contact zone by crashing over close to the posts. Simon Munro converted for a 15-5 lead but rather than tipping the game their way, the try energised the opposition, who spent the next 15 or 20 minutes camped in Wellsford's 22.
The visitors defended with steel and although the home crowd called for a penalty try and a yellow card or two, referee Dave Murray showed the same restraint he had shown in the first spell, when Old Boys were heavily penalised.
Wellsford finally cleared their lines and Northland hopeful Cole Campbell reacted quickly to loose ball from a lineout near the Old Boys goal-line, muscling his way over to kill the game off with less than 10 minutes to go.
Adding insult to injury Wellsford skipper Stu Oldfield used Wellsford's advantage at the set-piece to score off the back of a scrum, a minute or two before the final whistle. Oldfield said his side had been expecting a big effort from Old Boys but were still surprised.
"It's always hard coming here. They are tough in the forwards and in the first spell we had enough possession to score points but just couldn't seem to finish it off so they were still in the game in the second half," he said.
"We knew if we were patient and kept stringing the phases together, we'd get there eventually because we had it all over them at the set pieces, especially the scrums," he said.
Wellsford are now looking to move into the top four with four home games in a row. Oldfield said a lot would depend on how they travelled when they released their Taniwha players this week, but signs were good that they would be in good shape for the finals.
They could have won more comfortably but they missed regular first-five eighth Mike Wiringi - gone for the season after relocating to Taranaki - when it came to place kicking. Stand-in Ian Neal did well during the game but after striking his first kick perfectly, he missed everything thereafter until Munro took over. For Old Boys it was a great effort that deserved more but they proved they can match an excellent pack like Wellsford's for most of the game and with Gilbert running the show at first five, the backs might travel a lot better in the weeks to come.