Te Awamutu Sports captain Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong makes a break against Morrinsville. Photo / Justin Miezenbeek
Te Awamutu Sports captain Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong makes a break against Morrinsville. Photo / Justin Miezenbeek
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports bounced back in style with a big win against Morrinsville, running away 55-14 winners at Albert Park this past Saturday.
Led by midfielder Shauncy Waho (three tries) and winger Cody Nordstrom (2), the team scored nine tries to two. Niah Church-Jones, Manahi Goulton, Westyn Cobb, and Jake Russ also crossed the chalk.
Pivot Logan Karl (4) and debutant Leo Scott (1) added conversions.
From the first kickoff, the visitors were under pressure as Sports came to play with strong carries and ball retention.
Church-Jones finished the first opportunity close through the ruck, converted by Karl for an early five-minute lead.
Waho continued his incredible eye for the intercept, picking off another wide pass to score from a distance.
He then scored his second try, both of which Karl converted, within 12 minutes of play, extending Sports’ lead to 21 points.
Although Sports pressed harder and were hungry for points, they met a stronger defensive line and were perhaps guilty of pushing one too many passes before Nordstrom struck with his first try in the 27th minute.
He followed up with an outstanding chip and chase solo effort in the 32nd minute, stretching the lead to 32-0.
Waho completed his hat-trick soon after, giving Sports a 37-0 lead. The visitors finally found some reward after a long period of time on attack right on halftime, with the score 37-7 at the break.
Te Awamutu Sports' Shauncy Waho grabbed a hat-trick against Morrinsville. Photo / Justin Mieznebeek
Sports hit the ground running in the second half, with Goulton carrying defenders over the line to score his first of the season.
From here, Morrinsville started to level the flow of the game, working hard to slow down the breakdown and earning some attacking opportunities but not being able to break through a strong Te Awamutu defensive line.
As the match worked into the final quarter, Sports struck again when Cobb took the ball down the left flank, stepped inside and burst through the defence to score out wide.
Morrinsville hit back through a well-worked rolling maul, but outstanding loose forward Jake Russ had the last say, crossing over close to the ruck with the conversion following by Scott, putting an exclamation mark on an outstanding win.
For Sports, it was an impressive all-round victory, with the forwards laying the platform for the backs to show their electric skills.
Skipper Latrell Smiler Ah-Kiong, returning to fullback, revealed in the extra space and showed what an immense talent he is, leading the way with a man of the match performance.
Winger Nordstrom was a constant threat with his speed and power, while hooker Sean Ralph continued his impressive form this season, getting through a mountain of work again.
Sports head on the road next, taking on Hautapu in Cambridge in a vital game to keep pace with the top five.
Te Awamutu Sports Development pivot Dillon Martin against Morrinsville B. Photo / Justin Miezenbeek
ECOLAB TE AWAMUTU SPORTS DEVELOPMENT
Ecolab Te Awamutu Sports Premier Development roared back to the top of the table after an outstanding second half turned a 7-5 grind into a 40-10 win over Morrinsville.
Tries from Zealin Prime, Clark Towers, Dillon Martin, Eli Adlington, Nikau Nolan, and Ty Demler-Findlay led the way, while Martin added five conversions for a personal haul of 15 points.
The first half started out as a real grind, with neither team really able to take the ascendancy and the forward battle even, but with the Te Awamutu backs looking the most likely.
Both sides shared a score, with only Martin’s conversion of Prime’s try separating the two at the break.
While Morrinsville struck first in the second half, the fireworks really started from there as the hosts’ forwards started to gain control and their backs cut the visitors to ribbons.
Towers was first on the end of a sweeping back move, followed by Adlington in the right corner.
Martin ghosted outside of his man, bursting through a hole to score from 30 metres out, followed by Nolan, who crashed through the defence.
The try of the game, however, came from Demler-Findlay, who, right on the stroke of fulltime, took the ball from his own half, leaving defenders in his wake and sealing the game on the highest of notes.
THE HONDA SHOP UNDER-21s
The Honda Shop Te Awamutu Sports Under-21s came agonizingly close to picking up their first win of the season but caught the sharp edge of the referee’s whistle in the second half, falling 17-14 at Waikato University.
Midfielder Callum Hall carried on his impressive form with another try, while halfback Riley Dixon also impressed, picking up a try and two conversions.
After conceding a try in the early stages, Te Awamutu gained control and found reward through a scoring surge over five minutes with tries to Dixon and Hall, both converted by Dixon, to take a 14-5 lead after 15 minutes of play.
However, from there, the overpowering sound of the referee’s whistle would be the lasting impression, with particular disdain found for Sports, as University picked up two penalty goals before the half to trail 14-11 at the break.
The second half followed the same script, and two more penalty goals from the students in the 45th and 53rd minutes were enough to take the lead and hold on to secure the victory.
