Saturday 23^rd April saw the Premier side make the short trip out East to Bell Park to play neighbouring rivals Pakuranga in both side's last pre-season game of 2022.

Pakuranga came into the game following a narrow loss 10-5 against defending champions Eden, in a hard-fought opening round of the Waka Nathan Cup. As always, Pakuranga was always going to get up for this fixture and the spectacle did not disappoint.

All week, Varsity talked about Pakuranga coming out of the gates firing and the decision-makers weren’t wrong. Some impressive lineout work from the Pakuranga forward enabled their midfield of Aki Kauamave & Desmond Spooner to create some serious momentum, and on occasion, breaking through the middle of the unsuspecting Varsity defensive live. Ironically, it was Kauamave who crashed over for the first try of the day off a set-piece scrum, Kauamave got on the outside of his defender to cross the line – Pakuranga 5 nil. Pakuranga quickly found themselves back down on Varsity’s line, eventually crossing for a sneaky pick-and-go try by halfback Polynesia Chrichton to put Pak up 12 nil.

Varsity knew they would have to absorb the initial punch from the Pakuranga team but did not expect to be down 12 nil after 20 minutes of play, with momentum favoring the home side. However, Varsity managed to claw themselves back into the game dominating territory and an increased supply of possession. Varsity’s mobile forward pack began to roll their sleeves up and their slick backline began finding space on the edges, but it simply was one of those days where Varsity created several opportunities to score, but the last pass would end up on the ground. It wasn’t until the 30^th minute when impressive winger Noah Foster finally crossed the Pakuranga try-line through some nice interplay down the wide channel with fullback Liam Brady. First-five Tyrone Elkington converted from out wide into a stiff breeze to make it 12-7 Pakuranga.

HALF-TIME Pakuranga 12 – Varsity 7.

Some stern words from the Varsity coaches were expressed at half-time – more energy, accuracy, and a call to continue to move the big Pakuranga forward pack around the park were echoed in the huddle. Fortunately, the Varsity side responded, and despite still making the odd error at crucial times, Varsity began to build their way back into the game with the wind behind their backs which resulted in a large share of territory.

A failed box-kick attempt from Pakuranga allowed Varsity to swing the ball from side line-to-side line to the hands of Noah Foster who showcased a clean set of heels and strength to cross for his second try of the day, Elkington was unable to convert from wideout. Scoreline, 12 all.

Both sides rolled the subs on, but it was Varsity who would keep the momentum. No. 8 Uini Fetalaiga crossed for a 5 pointer, and winger Sage-Shaw Tait dotted over in the corner to round out the scoring for the day, Eli Margison added the extras from wide out to make the final score 26-12.

It was far from a vintage performance from Auckland University, where the students would have been rueing the number of errors and missed opportunities. But nothing should be taken away from a strong Pakuranga side, who were efficient in the lineout, strong at scrum time, and impressive in the carry, particularly the midfield of Kauamave and Spooner.

However, players to impress included winger Noah Foster, who continues his outstanding pre-season form and takes his try-scoring tally to 10 tries in 5 games. Young Fullback Liam Brady was dangerous with the ball in hand, creating plenty of opportunities for his outsides. Forwards Kalin Felise and Jonny Neary got through a mountain of work. First-five Elkington found plenty of grass with long-raking kicks often catching the Pakuranga back 3 unaware.

The occasion marked the first appearance of the year for new skipper Te Ariki Te Puni, who got through 40 minutes of work. It was also good to see prop Takaji Young-Yen take the field for 15 minutes, a great sight for the propping stocks.

With pre-season over, Varsity shifts its focus to round 1 against old foes and defending champions Eden. Varsity is well aware of the task at hand, and where Eden’s strengths lie, but it will be up to the 23 on the day to step up and try to claim the big scalp of Eden first up away at Gribblehurst next week.

Article added: Tuesday 26 April 2022