If the Ben Werthmuller and Matene Ruawai road show keeps on trucking, don't rule out Old Boys-Marist from the Hankins Shield semifinals as they set out to run down Te Kawau.
Te Kawau lead the mid-table logjam in fourth, but have Kia Toa, Feilding Old Boys-Ōroua and OB-Marist nipping at their heels. Winless Freyberg are at the bottom. OBM coach Reece Robinson said after the first round the side talked about goals and wanted to make sure they kept picking up points. “The goal is to get in the top four,” he said. “We ve got a bit of pressure on us now, but if we can play the way we did on Saturday in the weeks ahead, we’ll put ourselves in a good position.” Robinson said his side was keen to fight for fourth spot.
On Saturday Kia Toa had too much firepower for Varsity, although the students were willing. Varsity started well and scored the first try, with locks Kahurangi Sturmey and Aliena Wallis and prop Ngano Tavake making big carries. Their lineout was malfunctioning in the first half and Kias had an edge in the scrums. Varsity had long periods of possession in the first spell, riding on the back of penalties, but couldn’t break through.
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Kia Toa first five-eighth Carys Dallinger on the break against Varsity. They would work their way up field, before the ruthless Kias would undo the hard work with a break and gallop 50 metres, scoring four first-half tries to lead 24-5 at halftime.