Defending champions Manurewa bounced back from a slow first round by their standards to beat Karaka 29-24 in their McNamara Cup clash at Mountfort Park on Saturday.
In veteran prop Lachlan Collier’s 150th Premier game for the club, the Manurewa side started with a hiss and a roar as they made full use of a gale-force wind in the first spell.
By halftime the home side were up 22-0 and cruising.
But Karaka fought back in the second half as they had the benefit of field position courtesy of the wind.
A late try set up a chance for the visitors to snatch it with time gone but Manurewa calmly took the kick-off and put the ball into touch.
“It was a good first 40 minutes with the win -man it is gusty – so we knew it would be hard to play into so we knew any points in the second half would be gold,” Manurewa coach Jeremy Clark told Counties Sports Hub.
“They started getting back into the game and then we scored that last try to put the game away.
“We have showed glimpses of what we can do but we just haven’t been able to put those performances together for long periods. We are only close to clicking so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”
Pukekohe continued their strong run of form as they ground out a 37-6 win over Papakura at Massey Park to move to the top of the standings.
Little separated the two sides for much of the game as Papakura were able to match their highly favoured rivals.
But as both sides went to their bench, the class of Pukekohe shone through, and they skipped away to secure a bonus point win.
“It was really tough conditions for both teams and the wind played a huge part in the game,” Pukekohe coach Michael Porter said.
“It was a pretty funny game really and came down to who could their opportunities the best and luckily for us, we could.”
Bombay maintained fourth place in the standings as they completed a 29-12 win over Ardmore Marist at Bruce Pulman Park.
Mike Tuiloma’s side never looked threatened, and a pair of late tries made the score look closer than it was.
But it was his own side’s second half performance that had Tuiloma smiling after the game.
“The second half switch has finally been turned on – that was always what we were looking for,” Tuiloma said.
“Now we need to work on keeping it on and, like always, our goal is to be better every week.
“From my point of view, we still have a way to go but we’ll take the points and get back to the drawing board.”
Karaka’s Bob Chandler Cup Premier Reserves side scored a 38-12 win over Manurewa at Mountfort Park to move back to a share of top spot.
Bombay defeated Ardmore Marist 22-3 to jump up to third on a congested points table, while Pukekohe got a win by default over Papakura.
Te Kohanga kept pace with the top four in the Sid Marshall Shield with a 29-19 win over Waiuku at Rugby Park.
It means that Te Kohanga are now just three points outside the top four.
Drury maintained their unblemished record this season with a 39-0 thrashing of Onewhero while Weymouth had to work hard to overcome Te Kauwhata 24-15 at Laurie Gibbons Reserve.
Manurewa proved too strong for Patumahoe 31-19 while defending champions Puni hammered Tuakau 39-0.
Manurewa secured an impressive 17-5 win on the road over Pukekohe in Massey Cup U21 action.
Patumahoe picked up a comfortable 34-5 win over Papakura while Karaka moved to a 7-0 record thanks to a 48-7 win over Ardmore Marist.
Patumahoe moved up to second on the U85kg table with a 34-0 blanking of Drury.
Karaka edged Beachlands Maraetai 12-10 in a closely fought battle at Karaka while Onewhero secured a 16-11 win over Pukekohe at Pukekohe.
Waiuku remain top of the standings thanks to a 24-0 win over Ardmore Marist. Patumahoe, Onewhero and Karaka complete the top four with Pukekohe, Ardmore Marist and Beachlands Maraetai nipping at their heels on a congested ladder.
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