Waikato outclass North Harbour

By CHRIS RATTUE

WAIKATO 28 - NORTH HARBOUR 16

It's a favourite line of coaches faced with losing a top player.

As one door closes, another opens. One man's injury is another's opportunity.

Sometimes the coaches mean it, sometimes they don't. Some players are, after all, virtually irreplaceable.

Waikato faced a problem when Mark Ranby banged up his shoulder in the tackle of Southland halfback Jimmy Cowan eight days ago, leaving him sidelined for a month.

Second five-eighths Ranby is an unsung hero for the Chiefs and Waikato - the willing worker who takes the right options, even though he lacks some of the creative demands of the position.

Yet Ranby had hardly made it to the sideline against Southland before his replacement, Regan King, started making inroads with incisive running.

This is definitely an unheralded King. He played in Waikato's junior representative teams, but never at national level, and had played only a dozen games at centre when he stepped into the Waikato midfield.

King was worried that his slight 87kg frame was not up to the task in an era where many top-level centres tip the scales at 100kg.

But playing alongside Hautapu clubmate Keith Lowen - who moved in to second-five at Ranby's departure - King showed out again as Waikato put North Harbour away in Hamilton on Saturday night.

The main plaudits belonged to the Waikato forwards, with locks Royce Willis and Keith Robinson to the fore, as they overpowered North Harbour for long spells.

The 21-year-old King, a part-time maintenance worker at the Cambridge horse-racing track, definitely caught the eye in the backs, though.

He scored Waikato's first try after some wonderful slick passing created an overlap on the left.

And a rehearsed move, with King providing an unsighted flick pass to a charging Roger Randle, brought Waikato their second.

"I couldn't see Roger, but I knew he'd be there," said King. "We've practised that move many times."

King's father, Paul, was a Junior Kiwi loose forward. He is now one of Hautapu's co-coaches.

When injury and Lowen's absence with the Chiefs created a midfield gap, Paul King moved his son - who still lives at home - from fullback to the centres.

It was to be a temporary shift, and with Chiefs fullback Todd Miller also playing for the Cambridge club, Regan King thought he might end up on the wing.

Instead, he stayed at centre, was the club competition's top try scorer, and made the representative squad.

"I'd never been near the Waikato team before," said King, who played league until intermediate school age, when opportunities in that code dried up in Cambridge.

Just as King showed his paces in the centres, Waikato prop Michael Collins sped to score a crucial second-half try as Waikato beat back North Harbour's revival.

A wild pass from Harbour loosehead Tony Woodcock rolled towards the posts, but looked to be covered by defenders. Instead, Collins chugged past them all and slid over to give his side a 23-10 lead in the 51st minute.

Captain Deon Muir secured the bonus-point win in the final minutes with a try as the Waikato forwards piled over the line.

The two superb first-half Waikato tries and Collins' charge of the heavy brigade were the highlights in a game watched in the rain by a crowd of about 9000.

Waikato produced a vastly improved forward performance than in their win over Southland, dominating the first half when they forced an 11-3 penalty count in their favour.

And although the Waikato lineout was hardly perfect, it put enormous pressure on the Harbour lineout to force a string of turnovers.

A worry for Waikato, though, is goalkicking while Loki Crichton and David Hill are injured. Bruce Reihana landed an inconsistent three out of eight.

That apart, Waikato were most impressive, even though Harbour's forwards held sway for some of the second spell when referee Kelvin Deaker's penalty count evened up.

Harbour coach Russell Jones said: "The wayward pass [from Woodcock] didn't help, but even that came from the Waikato pressure.

"The big positive for us is that Waikato played very well and we didn't really wilt."

Waikato coach Ian Foster: "I was rapt with the defence. We scrambled very well. I'd love to see the tackle count of my locks."

On King: "After Mark Ranby's injury, we had to put him in there and he really delivered tonight. He showed some nice touches."

Waikato 28

Tries - R. King, R. Randle, M. Colins, D. Muir
Penalties - R. Reihana
Conversions - R. Reihana

North Harbour 16

Tries - H. Reid
Penalties - L. McAlister
Conversions - L. McAlister