Youthful Swords set team example

The Northern Swords 15s led the way for their older counterparts, securing their second win of the representative season in the National Competition with a 32-14 win over Waicoa Bay Colts at Moerewa's Simpson Park.

After trailing early, the Swords played a confident, well-structured game for the 60 minutes.

It was a huge team effort, executed without key player Kadince Christensen who is managing an injury niggle. James Fisher-Harris in the front row and centre Harerei Te Whata stepped up in the match and shone.

Meanwhile, both the Northern Swords Premiers and 17s had losses yesterday and remain winless after five of the seven-round competition, with the 17s going down 12-38 to their visitors Waicoa Bay, while the premiers lost 4-40.

The Premiers pushed their case hard in the first spell, coming out strong - they had targeted this game at last week's training.

The Swords trailed 4-16 at halftime, and despite a good team effort, fatigue had set in, and the wet weather played havoc as they made too many handling errors.

Missing two key playmakers - Steve Rau (collar bone) and Tiemi Ransfield (concussion) took its toll on the team who put in a huge effort against Counties Manukau last weekend in Pukekohe.

"The team was a little bit flat although they did put in the effort. We tried to stick to our game plan but missing two key players along with the wet weather and too many unforced errors cost us," team manager Scott Hutchison said.

Next week all three Northern Swords teams have a bye in round six of the national competition.