Heartland rugby: Thames Valley Swamp Foxes outfox Whanganui Butcher Boys

Whanganui No 8 Samu Kubunavanua scores against Thames Valley. Photo / Bevan Conley

In a match with five tries to each side, the Thames Valley Swamp Foxes beat the Whanganui Butcher Boys 36-33 at Cooks Gardens, Whanganui, in round 1 of the Bunnings Heartland Rugby Championship.

This was a superb game of rugby with Whanganui just ahead 14-12 at halftime.

At the final whistle, Thames Valley were crucially ahead by three points.

With 18 changes to the score during the game, the scoreboard operator had no time to relax.

After early Valley dominance, the home side chipped the ball into the corner for Alekesio Vakarorogo to score and with the conversion completed, it was 7-0 to Whanganui.

Alekesio Vakarorogo collecting the ball to take it over for a try. Photo / Bevan Conley

Thames Valley winger Fletcher Morgan then began his scoring spree with his first try, to make it 7-5.

Inventive Valley halfback Leroy Neels scored a converted try to leave Whanganui just ahead at the interval, 14-12.

The second half saw a rejuvenated Valley side led by lock forwards Sam Pou and Tim Erceg gradually take command.

The local River City TV commentator accurately described the Valley forward pack as “working harder than a pack of junkyard dogs”.

Ever so gradually, the Valley side crept into the lead and after 12 minutes of the second half were ahead 22-21.

Their lead then sneaked out to a handy eight-point margin - 29-21.

Timoci Seruwalu on his way to make a try but smiles for the camera. Photo / Bevan Conley

Then a piece of individual sparkle from Valley winger Harry Lafituanai, chipping the ball forward and regathering to close the game out.

Fletcher Morgan excelled with two tries, four conversions and a penalty for a stash of 21 points.

It was another piece of sporting history for Cooks Gardens to go alongside Peter Snell’s world mile record of three minutes 54.4 seconds on a grass track there in 1962, with Whanganui and Thames Valley the only two top-three ranked Heartland rugby unions in the country each year since 2018.

They had only met once previously on opening day and that was when the Butcher Boys carved up the Swamp Foxes by a record 65-18 margin in the inaugural Heartland series in 2006.

Although Whanganui have enjoyed a far superior record than the Foxes, with 31 victories from 39 games played since 1923 before this weekend, including 11 of 13 Heartland matches, the Valley have provided stern opposition since ending Whanganui’s golden era with a surprise 17-7 Meads Cup semifinal upset at Cooks Gardens in 2018, a first success in 17 years.

This Saturday, August 19, Thames Valley play Poverty Bay at Boyd Park, Te Aroha - kickoff is at 2pm.

- additional reporting JB Phillips