Te Awamutu Sports' Niah Church-Jones in action during the semi final against Hamilton Marist. Photo / Justin Miezenbeek
Te Awamutu Sports' Niah Church-Jones in action during the semi final against Hamilton Marist. Photo / Justin Miezenbeek
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports’ charmed season came to a close on Saturday, falling to a rampant Hamilton Marist side 43-19 in the semifinal at a packed Albert Park.
While the disappointment of the loss will sting in the short term, the development of the young side into a heavyweight in the Waikato Premier Rugby competition cannot be emphasised enough.
The future is overwhelmingly bright for the seasons ahead, especially with the outstanding play of the development side, who with their big win booked their spot in the Premiership B final.
Both sides’ run into the playoffs this season, highlighted by both hosting semifinals, has pulled the community along into a wave of support, with all three senior games (premier, development, under-21) and the invitation juniors game featuring a wall of supporters enclosing each field.
The rugby defied the incredibly difficult conditions it was played in, constant rain over recent months reducing most fields to mud.
Niah Church-Jones led the way for the premier side with two tries, while captain Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong picked up the third. Sam Toa and Logan Karl both added conversions.
Out of the gates hot, the hosts took quick control of the match, sweeping movements back and forward held off only by the desperate scrambling defence.
Then winger Stacey Daniel scythed through a gap, finding front rower Mimio Fuimaono who offloaded to Smiler Ah-Kiong, deftly drawing the last defender to put Church-Jones over to open the scoring. The try was converted by Toa from out wide for an early 7-0 lead.
Te Awamutu Sports winger Stacey Daniel in action during the semi final against Hamilton Marist.
Unfortunately from there, the mammoth Marist forward pack took control.
A side built to control games in the heavy conditions, they slowly ground down the Sports side to find their first points through a penalty try in the 20th minute, then again from a lineout maul to take the lead, 7-14.
Sports had chances in the lead-up to halftime, but the defensive line held them out.
Marist struck a telling blow on halftime, their pick-and-go game was too strong, scoring beside the posts for a 7-21 lead at the break.
As the field conditions deteriorated, the Marist forwards turned the screws, riding a dominant scrum and unstoppable rolling maul to score three more tries before the hour mark, essentially putting the game beyond doubt with 20 minutes to play at 7-38.
Te Awamutu didn’t lay down, going up a gear in desperation and were rewarded for their control and physicality through their forwards with Church-Jones’ second try beside the posts. Karl’s conversion closed the gap to 14-38.
Marist replied, scoring another down the short side with 10 to play and the score sitting at 14-43.
To Sports’ credit, they had the final say, with winger Cody Nordstrom taking an offload after a penetrating run from loose forward Jake Russ, and chipping ahead for Smiler Ah-Kiong to win the race to the ball in the corner.
This drew the curtain on a match where they were outplayed in the end but gave everything they had to reward the massive crowd, who were thoroughly entertained by two high-quality sides whose skill level and control belied the conditions underfoot.
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports Premier Development has been one of the two pace-setting sides in Waikato Premier B rugby this season, and a dominant performance at Albert Park on Saturday sees them meet top-placed Hamilton Marist this weekend, after rolling over Hamilton Old Boys B 46-24.
Doubles to prop Iosefo Vulu and lock Gelestino Kiutau led the way, while loose forward Cameron Reynolds (in his 50th match for the development side), winger Richie Kuresa and midfielder Joshua Bennett also crossed.
Te Awamutu Sports Development's Cameron Reynolds during his 50th match in the semi final against Hamilton Old Boys B.
Pivot Dillon Martin added four conversions to take his season haul to over 150 points.
The early stages saw Old Boys dictate play, but were met by a committed defensive line that held firm, then struck with their first opportunity.
Kiutau crossed in the seventh minute, followed by Vulu in the 13th, with Martin’s conversion ensuring a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes.
A serious injury for one of the visitors meant an extended delay, then eventually a field swap which seemed to invigorate the Hamilton side.
They set up camp in Sports’ quarter, grinding away and were finally rewarded with a score beside the posts, followed closely by a penalty goal to leave the game poised delicately on a knife’s edge 12-10 at the break.
Te Awamutu have made a habit of starting strongly in the second stanza and did exactly that, hitting the ground running from the kickoff through a barnstorming Sala Kuresa break, who beat his man, brushed off another and exploded downfield.
Carrying defenders with him, the quick recycle ball resulted in Reynolds cutting inside the drifting defence to score and give Sports some breathing room.
With a final spot in sight, Sports lifted the tempo again to cross five minutes later through Vulu’s second of the day before Kuresa pounced on Hamilton’s desperation to keep pace, intercepting a wide pass and running 50 metres untouched.
This turned a narrow two-point lead at the break into a 21-point lead ten minutes later.
Old Boys desperately clung onto hope of a finals berth and went up a gear themselves, maybe catching Sports resting on their lead.
They scored immediately after, then again five minutes later to close the gap to seven points with 20 to play and create a wave of anxiousness around the ground.
Like he has all season, captain Martin stepped up to slot a penalty goal to give them some breathing space before Kiutau crossed for his second with 10 to play, to all but book their spot in this weekend’s final.
Not finished though, Sports kept attacking, midfielder Elijah Mataira sparked another move down the left flank, putting winger Clark Towers in space who drew the last man to put Bennett in under the posts.
This sealed a famous victory in a wonderful game of rugby where the skill level far exceeded the conditions.
THE HONDA SHOP UNDER-21s
The Honda Shop Te Awamutu Sports Under-21 team fought hard against local neighbours Pirongia at Albert Park on Saturday, but tries on either side of the half proved to be their undoing, falling 3-10 in extremely wet and heavy conditions.
Playing on perhaps the worst affected field of the recent weather, Te Awamutu quickly adjusted to the conditions and picked up an early penalty goal to halfback Riley Dixon for a 3-0 lead after 15 minutes.
They wouldn’t trouble the scorers again despite some promising attacking raids, with pivot Austin Frederick featuring heavily, only to be, held out by a stout defensive line.
Sitting in sixth spot, Pirongia are a strong side and ground down the hosts’ defence, crossing for their first score in the left corner on the stroke of halftime to take a 3-5 lead into the break.
They struck again 10 minutes into the second half to extend their lead but both sides were outstanding in defence, the score remaining 3-10 at the close.
