Rangiuru have started the women's rugby season hot and showed no sign of slowing down during a 68-0 win over Whakarewarewa.
Yesterday'swin came on the back of a 98-0 thumping of Rotoiti the week before.
Like in any good side, it was the forwards who set the platform by dominating at set piece and the breakdown which allowed Rangiuru's electric backs to do their thing.
Rangiuru dominated territory and possession, but for the first 10 minutes of the game Whakarewarewa were able to hold them out with some inspired goal line defence.
However, the pressure was too much and it was Rangiuru first five Jimi Leigh McLean who made the breakthrough, throwing a big dummy before crashing through to score next to the posts. The try was converted and Rangiuru led 7-0.
Whakarewarewa were far from out of the game at that point, but little errors such as not finding touch with kicks allowed Rangiuru to continue attacking. After 20 minutes they were in again through second five Parekura Whareaorere to lead 12-0.
The shackles appeared to be off for Rangiuru as they looked to attack from any position on the field. In the space of 10 minutes they added tries to Anahera Mohi, Mystery McLean and Khytana Smith to lead 29-0.
One of the highlights of Rangiuru's game was their support play, nearly every time a player was tackled she had a teammate in support ready for an offload. It allowed them to rumble up field and tire out their opposition.
Whakarewarewa fullback Nadia Flavell makes a tackle against Rangiuru. Photo / Stephen Parker
McLean scored her second try, a fantastic solo effort from about halfway, to make the score 34-0 at halftime.
The first 10 minutes of the second half were the best Whakarewarewa played all game. They had a decent period of possession in the Rangiuru half but just could not make the break through.
In the final 30 minutes Rangiuru's superior fitness began to show as the score continued to tick over. They laid on six more tries, two each for Sapphire Tapsell, and Ora Williams and one each for Christie Yule, and Mohi, to secure a massive victory.
Rangiuru coach Jimi McLean said the players had worked hard on their fitness this season and it was paying off.
"That's going to be the key for us, we pride ourselves on our fitness. We went to another level late in the game. Our work-ons for this team this year were our set piece, work at the breakdown and line speed on defence to keep pressure on the opposition. Two games into the season I guess the scoreboard tells a story.
"You have to be happy with 68 points, but I think we lose concentration every now and then. There was a lull period in the second half where we sort of lost it, we want to keep the intensity for 80 minutes," McLean said.
A sign of a good team is when the opposition knows what they are going to do but still cannot stop them. Whakarewarewa coach Ron James said that was the case against Rangiuru.
"They played exactly how we thought they'd play, pretty quick and expansive. The positive is that even into the dying minutes we were still trying to have a crack. That shows that this team has some kind of potential, the attitudes there it's just about cohesion now," James said.
