Round 3 in the Goodyear Club Rugby Premier competition saw West Auckland rivals Waitemata venture over to Colin Maiden Park to take on the Varsity Premier side. Waitemata came into the game in red hot form, easily dispatching Waitākere in round one, before racking up 50 points on College Rifles at home last week. Varsity too was coming in on the back of some fine form but knew the threat that Waitemata posed should they fail to turn up to play on the play.

On an overcast and windy day, Varsity played into a stiff breeze into the first half. Varsity was awarded a penalty on their first trip into Waitemata territory 25m out and opted to take the regulation 3 points, however, first-five Tyrone Elkington pushed the kick to the right at point-blank range, letting Waitemata off the hook early on. Elkington would eventually make amends 5 minutes later with a penalty shot 35m out to make the score 3-nil Varsity.

It was a classic ding-dong battle for most of the first half, and while Varsity held onto the ball for long periods, they were being met with some ferocious Waitemata defence, who weren’t holding back anything. The sustained periods on attack would eventually lead to the first try of the day though, right-wing, Sage Shaw-Tait broke down the right sideline to find a linking George Emosi who did enough to dot the ball down in the right corner. Conversion unsuccessful, Varsity 8-nil.

Varsity’s second try came after what felt like an eternity given the amount of ball and territory they had, credit to the Waitemata outfit who were causing problems for Varsity at ruck time. Skipper Te Ariki Te Puni was the benefactor of a nice maul drive to dot down for Varsity’s second try of the day. Elkington put the balls through the sticks to take the scoreline to 15 nil.

Waitemata’s willingness to get off the line and take time and space away from Varsity was rewarded when Centre James Hickey latched onto a wayward Elkington pass after some sloppy play to score under the sticks. Fullback Josiah Unga added the extras.

HALFTIME: Varsity 15 – Waitemata 7

There were some honest conversations to be had in the Varsity huddle with a call to put the offloads away and be more decisive and utilise the wind to force the Waitemata team to play out the call.

Elkington opened up the scoring with another penalty 35m on the left to take the score out 18-7.

After a much cleaner start to the half implementing the necessary changes, George Emosi crossed for his second try of the day in the corner after a patient build-up. Kick successful from the sideline. Varsity 25-7.

Varsity started to find their groove, dominating territory with halfback Basil Aholelei showing great variation in his box-kicks, and Elkington finding plenty of grass – this is how the Varsity coaches draw up the game script. Sage Shaw-Tait was rewarded for a fine game with a try, debutant back Afa Molelei putting Shaw-Tait away with his first touch after another nice build-up. Elkington knocked it over from close range. Varsity 32-7.

Alfred Nonu crossed shortly after against a tiring Waitemata unit, that was beginning to show some wear and tear to take the score out to 37-7. Flanker and crowd-favorite Jonny Neary provided the Varsity faithful with the ‘grandstand moment’ of the day, latching onto an Elkington kick from 50m to win the race to dot down for this first try of the season. Conversion successful from wideout.

Waitemata scored two consolation tries towards the end of the match and to their credit, never lied down and kept coming back for more.

Standouts for the game included Number 8 Uini Fetalaiga who was a man possessed carrying the ball throughout the match, always getting over the gain line, and even putting his teams mates into space. Winger Shaw-Tait was classy on the right-wing and looked dangerous with every touch of the ball, unfortunately, he succumbed to a hamstring injury and had to leave the field with 5 to play. Flanker Nate Harris got through a mountain of work and was included in the coaches MVP points. Blues players Taine Plumtree and Marcel Renata took to the field and both had fine games.

Varsity faces their toughest test of the season next week vs. Ponsonby, a side they have not beaten since the Gallaher Shield Semi in 2017. Come on down to Colin Maiden Park and support the boys.

Article added: Wednesday 18 May 2022