A balmy early-autumn night of club rugby in Hawke’s Bay on Wednesday ended with 2022 trophy winners Napier Tech Old Boys and Taradale in the box seat to battle for Nash Cup honours and three teams all but disappearing from the race for places in the top six for the Maddison Trophy championship.
While the two unbeaten sides, holders of the Nash Cup and Maddison Trophy respectively, start the build-up to a possible crucial cup match between the teams three rounds away on April 29, it’s backs to the wall for former regular champion Havelock North, and Clive and Tamatea, all with four losses from four matches at the start of the season.
Tech scored five tries to four to beat Napier Old Boys Marist 34-22 in a cross-town Napier derby on OBM training ground Bond Field at Park Island, and at Tareha Reserve, Taradale, home side and Maddison Trophy holders Taradale scored nine tries in a 59-20 home ground win to inflict Clive’s third defeat in three games.
The winning sides, each with a bye in the opening three rounds, made it three-from-three played, with four-try bonuses each time out to lead the competition, with Napier Pirate also on 15 points, continuing their revival by scoring six tries to four in a third win in four games to beat previously unbeaten MAC 32-24 in the other game in Napier, at Ian MacRae Field, in the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union complex.
At Hastings’ Ellwood Park, Hastings Rugby and Sports tucked in one point behind with a third win in four games, scoring six tries to one in a 38-11 triumph in dealing Tamatea their fourth loss in four games, and at Central Park, Waipukurau, home side Central also kept on the tail of the top echelon with four tries to one 31-5 win over Havelock North, who were also left without a win after four games.