Wet-weather rugby is always a good day for loose forwards, and the visiting trio of Ben Whale, Beau Walker and the veteran Tremaine Gilbert had a hand in most of the action, Taihape experimenting by moving their new No 8 Yaca Savuro out to second-five in partnership with fellow Fijian Tawake Vuetibau.
Season MVP contender Peter Travis Hay-Horton had plenty of strong carries around the field, while it was good to see the return of Hoani Woodhead at prop after he dislocated his kneecap in the side’s first-round fixture, marking the occasion with a try.
Winger Ryan Karatau ran in a double, while first-five Dane Whale brought a tactical kicking and passing game that Ruapehu couldn’t match.
While the home side never quit trying, getting their second-half try through reserve Morvin Trow after a sustained build-up inside Taihape’s 10-metre zone, at times they looked like they were playing against themselves as much as the opposition.
Too many balls were dropped at first receiver, negating whatever planned move was coming in the next phase, although both teams found the ball to be like a bar of soap at times.
The scrum stood up well against a visiting pack filled with Steelform Whanganui incumbents, although the lineout was put under a bit of pressure.
Knowing a strong start to the second round was needed if Taihape are to get back into a home semifinal spot, coach Sefo Bourke was reasonably satisfied, given the tough conditions.
“Not too bad, when we started to get a little bit of space out there, those scoring passes, those offloads started creeping into our game, and we were dropping a couple of them,” Bourke said.
“I felt [we] left maybe two to three tries out there in the first half alone, so obviously trying to play to the conditions is what we should have been doing, but it was a wet, muddy sort of a game.
“But pretty happy, overall.”
After two losses in the first round, the message out of the Taihape camp had been improving continuity and combinations and, despite the wet ball, there were a number of well-executed passages with deft passes at speed to the support runners.
“Training’s been pretty serious for us, since the start of the year. We’ve had guys come in and out due to injury and unavailability,” said Bourke.
“We’re starting to get the boys back training and fighting fit as much as we can.”
Bourke also offered his northern neighbours the compliment of being brave, but Ruapehu coach Andrew Evans and his support staff are proud club men and want their squad to aspire to higher standards.
“We’re disappointed with our effort today. Taihape played well though, I thought, to a pattern, and we’ve got to look at that,” Evans said.
“Thought their forwards played together well, linked together well, whereas we probably let ourselves down.
“The boys will be hurting after today, I think.
“Ten minutes in that second half, at stages, we looked all right, but certainly we dropped a lot more ball than what we have been.”
Taihape made a lightning start as an attacking kick right into Ruapehu’s corner led to a turnover on the tryline, with chasing winger Tyrese Payne snatching up the ball to dive over in less than a minute.
Ruapehu losing possession in their own 30m had Taihape set again, as Gilbert carried forward and then prop Hadlee Hay-Horton dummied through into a half-gap, and from the ruck moments later, fullback Tyler Rodgers-Holden crossed in the corner untouched for 12-0 in as many minutes.
Dropped ball down the same far touch prevented Taihape from adding to their score until the 22nd minute when Karatau ran through a midfield gap and bounced off two tacklers to step inside and dash under the posts.
Ruapehu then dug in and defended stoutly, despite losing lock Ben Waiwai to an ankle injury, and if they had held out until halftime at 19-0, they might have had something to work with.
But after Vuetibau and Ben Whale linked up on the attack, Taihape recycled and lock Matt Brown charged through the middle, offloading to hooker Jaye Flaws to score only three minutes before the break, 26-0.
Although now turning to face the wind and the sleeting rain, Taihape were unfazed, running back Ruapehu’s clearances and eventually working close enough for Woodhead to take off and score in the 47th minute.
Ruapehu brought on some seasoned players in lock Nick Cranston and a returning Te Uhi Hakaraia at prop, after he missed the first round.
Taihape then scored the try of the match from halfway as Ben Whale set them off with a nice offload, before Dane Whale linked with Flaws outside him and Vuetibau shrugged out of the last dive tackle to run in at the corner.
Entering the final quarter, Ruapehu began to finally exert some pressure, with Taihape not able to clear far from their tryline, and after a quick-tap penalty, they reached the line and showed good composure to keep recycling and driving, with Trow eventually twisting through the ruck fringe defender to get the ball down, converted from touch by Logan Blackburn.
But Taihape immediately responded as they turned over the kickoff and Ben Whale put reserve halfback Aaron Chapman through a gap and, while stopped short, Taihape swiftly moved the ball through the hands for Karatau to run in at the far corner.
Quite sodden, neither side could make much more headway in the last 10 minutes.
Byford’s Readimix Taihape 41 (R Karatau 2, T Payne, T Rodgers-Holden, J Flaws, H Woodhead, T Vuetibau tries; D Whale 3 con) bt McCarthy’s Transport Ruapehu 7 (M Trow; L Blackburn con). HT: 26-0.
