Border winger Isaiah Hooper prepares to meet the challenge of his Pirates opposite Elijah Ah Chong in Border's crucial win at Spriggens Park on Saturday.
Border winger Isaiah Hooper prepares to meet the challenge of his Pirates opposite Elijah Ah Chong in Border's crucial win at Spriggens Park on Saturday.
Well, Waverley Harvesting Border is back in the conversation.
The opening game for the second round of Tasman Tanning Premier saw two different winners than the corresponding matches back on opening day in March, as Border regained the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield from Black Bull Liquor Pirates 26-13 at Spriggens Park.
Both teams have now beaten each other in away Shield fixtures, as Border came from behind at halftime to score three second half tries to one, including an automatic seven points for a penalty try.
With cloudbursts throughout the previous two days, the mud and rain was a bit of a leveller, negating Pirates expansive style, and with Border now able to field an all-Steelform Wanganui front row, they had the parity up front missing from their defeat in March.
The match also had its rough moments with Pirates centre Vaovasa Afa and Border No8 Angus Middleton getting yellow cards following a confrontation with jersey pulling from both squads.
Border's bench came through with two of their tries, including Tom Symes in his comeback game after being injured since the first Pirates match.
The win swept Border to the top of the table, because down the road at the Country Club, Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau ground their way to a thrilling 10-5 upset win over McCarthy Transport Ruapehu.
In the race to finish fourth for the semifinals, the logical bet was Kaierau fading away, following two recent heartbreaking losses in the dying seconds to Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist and PGG Wrightson-Ballance Taihape, with a defeat to Ruapehu likely leaving them too far back.
Instead, on another muddy track, Kaierau hung in there with the defending champions, swooping on a Ruapehu error to get winger Karl Pascoe away for a 7-0 lead at halftime.
Knowing they would struggle to match Ruapehu's physicality, Kaierau made a good call to move Irishman Shandon Scott to fullback and he responded with a faultless, Northern Hemisphere-style kicking display – putting the ball back over Ruapehu's heads so they had to keep trucking their way out from their corner flags.
However, the visitors managed a second half try from winger Shaquille Waara and with time nearly up they were set with a 5m scrum from Kaierau's line, in what was looking like a replay of the same game in 2017 when flanker Jamie Hughes scored to steal the match 17-15.
But after having no luck at all in their last two matches, Kaierau survived as Ruapehu's front row was pushed up and penalised.
Wanganui players Josh Lane (Kaierau) and Gabriel Hakaraia (Ruapehu) both made comebacks from injury.
Kaierau were buoyant post match in their clubrooms, as they will now look to Ruapehu to do them the favour in games with Marist and Taihape, which the Ohakune club needs to win if they want a home semifinal.
It will set up a tight finish to Round 2 as Kaierau, Marist and Taihape will all play each other over the last three weekends.
Ruapehu prop Te Uhi Hakaraia is tackled by Kaierau halfback Cameron Davies, with defenders Joe Edwards and Cade Robinson arriving in Kaierau's shock upset at the Country Club.
The one result which did go as expected was Taihape's trip to Marton Park, as they scored six tries for a comfortable 36-0 win over Harvey Motors Ratana.
There was another comeback to Premier rugby as talented midfield back and 2016 Meads Cup winner Kameli Kuruyabaki has joined Taihape after transferring from the Palmerston North Old Boys Marist Club.
Kuruyabaki, a former Pirates and Kaierau player, could well have designs on rejoining the Wanganui representative squad, and had some success in the Manawatu after he was named in the New Zealand Marist XV last year.
There was also an upset in the penultimate round of the Senior competition before the split into championship and consolation grades.
Kelso Hunterville's Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield tenure was shockingly ended at seven days as Counties had their biggest win in several seasons, upsetting the unbeaten table leaders 18-17 at McNab Domain.
Hunterville still stay on top of the table, while Marist Celtic restated their position as the most likely rival for the championship by hanging on 20-17 to beat Speirs Food Marton on their home ground.
On the bubble for making the top six or having to settle for the consolation group, Utiku Old Boys and Taihape did what they had to do with bonus point wins over Kaierau (24-18) and Ruapehu (33-24) respectively.
Taihape had nervous times as they scored all their points in the first half before watching Ruapehu, buoyed by their first win last weekend, put 19 unanswered points on them in the second stanza to close the gap.
Ironically, the Challenge Shield could actually end up being defended in the consolation group as even Counties great upset still saw them slip a spot to sixth place because Utiku got the bonus point with four tries on their trip to the Country Club.
Nothing is for certain as Counties have an away match with Marist Buffalo's, who did win the Shield earlier in the season and on Saturday managed to come from behind at halftime to hold fourth-placed Border to a 22-all draw at Spriggens Park.
Two points back, Taihape still have their destiny in their hands when they meet Marton.
Counties and Utiku's wins did signal the end of Seales Winslow Pirates aspirations for the top six, as they were on the bye and are now too far back in eighth place.
Results, May 19
Tasman Tanning Premier, Round 8
Grand Hotel Challenge Shield: Waverley Harvesting Border 26 (Lindsay Horrocks, Tom Matthews, Tom Symes tries, penalty try; Nick Harding 2 con) bt Black Bull Liquor Pirates 13 (Brad Matthews, Fa'alele Iosua tries; Iosua pen). HT: 10-7 Pirates.
