Ōhaupō B loosehead prop Met Camaibatiki on his way to scoring an 80m try against Suburbs B. Photo / Jesse Wood
Ōhaupō B loosehead prop Met Camaibatiki on his way to scoring an 80m try against Suburbs B. Photo / Jesse Wood
One of Saturday’s Waikato Club Rugby matches saw Ōhaupō B defeat Hamilton-based Suburbs B 40-19 while the Ōhaupō A side fell in an agonisingly close 28-22 game against their Suburbs counterparts at Flagstaff Park.
Winger Sebastian George grabbed a brace of tries for Ōhaupō B in the Division 1B game, while veteran first five-eighth Dane Murphy rewound the clock with a solid 80-minute performance.
Up 14-12 at the break thanks to tries by George and captain Bradley Parrott - both converted by Murphy - the match promised to be a close affair.
As the second half opened, so did the floodgates, with Ōhaupō B adding four more tries to their tally.
Outside backs Jeff Kite and Adam Kelly crossed the chalk, while loosehead prop Met Camaibatiki ran 80m to score after making a turnover.
Ōhaupō B pivot Dane Murphy palms off Suburbs B defenders before passing to Adam Kelly (in support) for a full-field team try. Photo / Jesse Wood
Suburbs B grabbed a consolatory converted try next before George sealed the victory with his second score.
“It was a bloody good effort from the team. We finally got that big score we know we are capable of. We started off a bit quiet, but managed to do enough to get on the board and keep the points ticking over,” Parrott said.
“We had great communications coming from the halves, which defined the performance - everyone knew where to be and our defence across the park was solid. Hopefully, it brings us some momentum into a couple of big games to end the first round and we have a few faces returning next week from injury.”
Stand-in lock Max Robertson was awarded man of the match, making his presence felt in the tight.
Ōhaupō B Points:
Tries: Sebastian George (2), Bradley Parrott, Jeff Kite, Adam Kelly, Met Camaibatiki.
Conversions: Dane Murphy (5)
Bevin Jenkinson of Bev’s Broadcasting was on-site to live-stream the Division 1 clash between Ōhaupō and Suburbs.
Left winger Roy Huggard added to his season tally, scoring within the first 10 minutes.
Reed Watson added the extras, putting Ōhaupō up 7-0.
Watson’s midfield partner Bronson Wilson-Beech was next to score for the visitors, breaking nearly 10 tackles to score beside the sticks a quarter of the way through the match.
Ōhaupō led for the whole half and were up 12-7 at the break following a Suburbs yellow card after consecutive penalties in the red zone and a try to Hamilton Boys’ High School alumnus Kevin Inoke.
Corney challenged the defence all day while Refoy was awarded Ōhaupō man of the match.
“It was a very tough pill to swallow, especially after getting off to a solid start, but I am proud of the way the boys dug deep and showed some resilience to score in overtime and claimed two points out of the game - which could be very important to us heading into the last two games,” Ōhaupō assistant coach Connor Larsen-Cross said.
“At the end of the day, it was a couple of key moments that cost us, and not being clinical enough in the final third of the field. This week will be focusing on tightening up in those areas and bouncing back in front of the home crowd.”
This week, the Ōhaupō senior teams face Tokoroa’s Southern United at Ōhaupō Memorial Park.
Ōhaupō Points:
Tries: Roy Huggard, Bronson Wilson-Beech, Ethan Refoy, Lucas Corney.
