Two major upsets and an 11-try blitz by Wanganui marked the opening round of the Heartland Championship rugby competition today.
West Coast, with three tries from No 8 Ofa Misa, beat usual frontrunners Wairarapa-Bush 37-31 in Masterton and King Country thumped Poverty Bay, one of the better-performed lower
division sides, 18-0 in Te Kuiti.
Cameron Crowley crossed for four tries and John Mow added three more as Wanganui outplayed East Coast 71-6 in Wanganui to signal their threat in the competition to such teams as North Otago.
Buller's 18-17 win over South Canterbury at Westport was a significant result for the South Island west coasters even though their opponents scored three tries to two.
In the other matches, North Otago beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 32-11 in Oamaru and Mid Canterbury left Thames Valley's challenge at Ashburton by the wayside 49-20.
Crowley, one of the two players to bag four tries in the opening round today, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather Sean junior and Sean to play on the wing for Wanganui.
He made his debut a memorable one with four tries in one of the biggest wins in the revamped competition.
Wanganui captain Denning Tyrell also scored in a match that was over as a competition by halftime when the homeside led 38-6.
Both West Coast and Wairarapa scored five tries each but Corey Simpson's boots made the difference. Wairarapa kicker Dean Grant had an off-day with his goalkicking.
A new Nonu-Umaga midfield combination emerged in the game.
Jack Umaga and Manase Nonu were in the midfield for Mid Canterbury's comfortable win. Nonu scored one of their eight tries, with openside flanker and co-captain Jason Gill also bagging four tries like Crowley to kick off the competition.
- NZPA
