KEY POINTS:
Auckland
The Gallaher Shield kicked off yesterday just as Auckland's weather changed to a more traditional rugby serving of winter wind and rain, with University travelling to Waitakere City to try to repeat their victory earlier in the year.
However, it was Waitakere who played the smarter rugby and they eventually triumphed 14-7. University failed to capitalise on playing first with the wind and actually trailed 3-0 at halftime. In the second half, Waitakere were happy to work the ball up the sidelines and kick it out. Their lineout was functioning well with lock Logan Martin playing well.
Waitakere also managed to take points when they were on offer and with 10 minutes to go were 9-0 ahead. Winger Kyle Nuualiitia then broke clear and scored the only try of the game to seal the match. Varsity managed to score a consolation try but it was too late. University prop Donny Latu had a powerful game but he was not supported well enough by the rest of his pack.
The newly promoted teams showed they are going to find the competition tough but that they will have a lot to offer if they can learn from their losses. Although Mt Wellington competed well at times with Marist, they still lost 34-10.
At halftime they were ahead 10-7 but discipline cost the newcomers as Marist ran in three second-half tries while Mt Wellington had a man in the bin.
Pakuranga beat the other newly promoted team Manukau 38-16, in a scrappy game. Pakuranga dominated at the set pieces and Manukau sometimes struggled to keep up with the tempo of the match. Pakuranga flanker Paul Sale led from the front and had a powerful match both in attack and defence.
East Tamaki hosted Ponsonby and gave them a scare before eventually succumbing 26-10. East Tamaki's forwards brought a lot of passion to the game, with captain Lafaele Sefo having a storming game at flanker. Lock Richard Manua once again showed his consistency.
In their game out west, Waitemata and Grammar Carlton battled to a tough 7-7 draw.
The close nature of most of this week's games only serves to highlight how competitive this year's Gallaher Shield will be, especially once clubs lose players to representative duty.
North Harbour
Northcote's knack of snatching victories in the final few minutes came to an abrupt end in North Harbour premier rugby yesterday, with last year's champions, Takapuna, finding form at last with a 12-8 win.
Northcote lost their unbeaten record for the season but it was a near thing as Northcote took charge of the last 10 minutes and so pressured Takapuna that they were reduced to 14 men, with flanker Chad Dellow sin-binned for persistent infringements. But all Northcote could gain was a late consolation try to wing Steve Mutuliki and Takapuna, having matched Northcote's big pack for most of the game, were deserving winners.
National under-19 captain Chris Smith and representative prop Adrian Donald, back after a spell overseas, boosted the Takapuna pack. Fullback Jerome Smith also played well and one of his dashing runs created what proved to be the winning try after Takapuna had battled strongly against the wind to take a crucial 5-3 halftime lead.
Marist, celebrating lock Damian Albert's 100th game for the club, increased their lead on the championship table, gaining maximum points through five tries in a 29-8 win over Glenfield. Fullback David Falealili used his considerable pace to score.
Massey also had a century of games to celebrate, by prop and captain Chris White, but were pushed harder than expected by Mahurangi before winning 22-18.
Blues Super 14 player George Pisi returned to the Massey backline and picked up two tries.
East Coast Bays were another to be extended, handicapping themselves with their errors to win by only 25-12 over Kumeu.
Silverdale were the day's most impressive winners, piling on six tries through their pace out wide to nullify James O'Brien's off-day with the boot to beat Helensville 42-6.
