Wellsford defence scramble to defend an OBM attack in Whangarei in a club rugby thriller won by the visitors 33-30.
Photo/Michael Cunningham
Wellsford defence scramble to defend an OBM attack in Whangarei in a club rugby thriller won by the visitors 33-30.
Photo/Michael Cunningham
It was fun on the park for some teams in Northland, notching up whopping scores during the weekly club rugby competition.
Kerikeri piled 103 points on Western Sharks while Mid Northern humiliated Hikurangi 66-17 in the Bayleys Premier Reserve matches on Saturday.
The other high scoring match was between Moerewa and Taiamai Ohaeawai in the Championship (Section B), with the former winning 77-7.
In the premier competition, a freakishly good and entertaining game between Old Boys Marist and Wellsford helped by a light breeze and clear skies was somewhat blighted by a litany of unforced errors.
But what would hurt hosts OBM the most was, with scores tied 30-all in the dying stages, their inability to close out the match and instead gifting the visitors the winning penalty from a handy position.
Wellsford were playing with 14 men at that stage after centre Rene Ranger was sin binned by referee Boris Jurlina for incorrect entry into a ruck.
Wellsford won the Bayleys Premier competition match 33-30.
It was a bruising encounter with the loosies hoeing in at the breakdown while the backs showed glimpses of brilliance to break tackles and make inroads down either flanks.
Most of their best rugby was down to the speed, skill and alertness of the athletes they possessed.
OMB fullback Kepa Wiki was one such athlete and nearly scored during a passage of play after scything through the opposition defence and darting down the midfield channel before being brought down in a desperate tackle by Wellsford halfback Brad Crosbie.
Wellsford pushed the limits with the offside line to put their defensive line on top of OBM and forced them into making decisions under pressure.
Wellsford halfback Brad Crosbie fires a pass from the base of a ruck in the Bayleys Premier competition against OBM.Photo/Michael Cunningham
Securing lineout ball was a problem at times for OBM and losing the ball in tackles added to their frustration.
The visitors opted for territory in the first half and forced OBM, playing into the sun, into mistakes.
Sloppy OBM defence allowed Wellsford No 10 Tim Blundell to scoot down the left flank and quick passing off the ensuing ruck saw right wing Jordan Hyland cut inside and race to the tryline in the first half.
Another passage of poor defending saw Wellsford launch a counterattack from its own half after gathering a big up and under from the OBM fullback.
A series of passes before Ranger raced down the blindside to score.
But OBM hit back just before the break to tie the scores 17-17.
Wellsford center Rene Ranger looks to offload in a tackle in their win against OBM.
Photo/Michael Cunningham
In heavy underfoot conditions mistakes crept in whenever both teams opted for quick ball off set pieces as the game wore on.
Wellsford raced to a healthy 30-22 lead after an adventurous 53m penalty was nailed by Blundell with 10 minutes to go but the host's wing Rayden Smith touched down in the corner minutes later.
A successful penalty following Ranger's infringement tied the game 30-all but luck deserted them in the end.
Wellsford coach Peter Firth said at 30-all, their plan was to hang on to the ball and try to score in the dying seconds.
"We kept our calm and tried to hang on to the ball and to get that winning score. The boys are looking forward to our last home game although we can't make the play offs now."
Firth was particularly impressed with Blundell and lock Shane Neville in such a physical match that forced errors from both sides.
