{"id":2340,"date":"2015-07-08T21:42:36","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T09:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/?p=2340"},"modified":"2025-03-03T22:29:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T09:29:22","slug":"kiwi-cruise-to-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/2015\/07\/08\/kiwi-cruise-to-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiwi Cruise to top"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kiwi15\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Kiwi \u00a0sealed \u00a0victory \u00a0in \u00a0the\u00a0Muir Trophy competition and top spot on the\u00a0accumulated \u00a0points \u00a0ladder \u00a0with \u00a0an \u00a0emphatic\u00a089-26 \u00a0victory \u00a0over \u00a0South \u00a0Westland.<\/p>\n

Kiwi, \u00a0unbeaten \u00a0in \u00a0the \u00a0five \u00a0Muir \u00a0Trophy\u00a0matches, raced in 13 tries and Todd Struthers\u00a0converted 11 of them to take his personal tally\u00a0to 121 points, against South Westland.<\/p>\n

Player-coach \u00a0Troy \u00a0Tauwhare \u00a0said \u00a0it \u00a0was \u00a0a\u00a0complete team effort but Struthers had made\u00a0a big contribution from fullback, his counter-attacking skills leading to several tries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was our most complete performance. A full\u00a080-minute eff ort and all the 50-50 passes stuck\u00a0for a change.\u201d\u00a0South Westland coach Grant Mathieson was\u00a0unavailable for comment.<\/p>\n

Kiwi 89<\/strong> (T Struthers, K Otimi 2, D Tauwhare,\u00a0J Ferguson 3, L Winter, M Olson, T Scadden,\u00a0D Thompson, S McClure 2 tries; Struthers 11,\u00a0McClure 1 cons) <\/em><\/p>\n

South Westland 26.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Ill-discipline \u00a0on \u00a0Saturday \u00a0cost \u00a0Blaketown \u00a0a\u00a0right royal chance of finishing as top qualifier\u00a0for \u00a0West \u00a0Coast \u00a0Rugby\u2019s \u00a0Taylorville-Wallsend\u00a0Cup semi-finals.The seagulls \u00a0outscored \u00a0Marist \u00a0three \u00a0tries \u00a0to\u00a0one \u00a0but, \u00a0with \u00a0the \u00a0referee \u00a0finding \u00a0fault \u00a0with\u00a0the black jerseys, Marist halfback Hugo Torres\u00a0kicked five penalties and a conversion to guide\u00a0his team to a 22-19 victory and take his personal\u00a0points tally to 133.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0results \u00a0mean \u00a0that \u00a0the \u00a0semi-finals \u00a0will\u00a0be \u00a0a \u00a0repeat \u00a0of \u00a0Saturday\u2019s \u00a0games, \u00a0with \u00a0Kiwi\u00a0playing \u00a0South \u00a0Westland, \u00a0and \u00a0Marist \u00a0meeting\u00a0Blaketown.If \u00a0Marist \u00a0took \u00a0all \u00a0their \u00a0many \u00a0chances \u00a0on\u00a0Saturday, the winning margin would have been\u00a0much \u00a0greater, \u00a0but \u00a0Blaketown \u00a0did \u00a0enough \u00a0to\u00a0prove that they are capable of turning the tables\u00a0next week, the bulked up scrum, in particular\u00a0holding its own for once.<\/p>\n

Gordon Iafeta, Alan Monk, Adam Torrance\u00a0and Brad Houston were busy in the black pack,\u00a0while fullback Robert Thompson ran with the\u00a0purpose of old and halfback Nik Davy used his\u00a0kicking game to good effect to keep the greens\u00a0at bay.Prop \u00a0Greg \u00a0Crampton, \u00a0followed \u00a0closely \u00a0by\u00a0hooker Ben Campbell, had a storming game for\u00a0Marist \u00a0and Welsh \u00a0second-fi ve \u00a0Brad \u00a0Lewellen\u00a0again pressed his case for a West Coast jersey\u00a0with a classy display.<\/p>\n

Marist \u00a0made \u00a0much \u00a0of \u00a0the \u00a0early \u00a0running\u00a0and \u00a0squandered \u00a0several \u00a0scoring \u00a0chances, \u00a0but\u00a0Blaketown \u00a0took \u00a0all \u00a0theirs \u00a0to \u00a0lead \u00a014-3 \u00a0at \u00a0the\u00a0break.At \u00a0half-time \u00a0the \u00a0penalty \u00a0count \u00a0was \u00a04-2 \u00a0in\u00a0favour \u00a0of \u00a0the \u00a0greens, \u00a0but \u00a0it \u00a0was \u00a014-4 \u00a0at \u00a0the\u00a0finish. Two late penalties to Blaketown (Marist\u00a0had already received nine more by this point)\u00a0allowed \u00a0the seasiders \u00a0to \u00a0draw \u00a0level \u00a0on \u00a0the\u00a0scoreboard, \u00a0but \u00a0another \u00a0to \u00a0the \u00a0greens \u00a0gave\u00a0Torres a kick right in front, which he gratefully\u00a0accepted to put his side in front.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0game \u00a0began \u00a0with \u00a0a \u00a0minute\u2019s \u00a0silence \u00a0for\u00a0Liam Richardson, his former Blaketown team-mates wearing armbands as a mark of respect.Blaketown \u00a0mounted \u00a0a \u00a0long \u00a0and \u00a0passionate\u00a0attack \u00a0from \u00a0the \u00a0kick-off , \u00a0which \u00a0was \u00a0nullified\u00a0when \u00a0Nik \u00a0Davy \u00a0elected \u00a0to \u00a0kick \u00a0ahead \u00a0when\u00a0Marist\u2019s defence was on the verge of crumbling.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0kick \u00a0gifted \u00a0Marist \u00a0possession \u00a0and \u00a0soon\u00a0the greens were hammering at the Blaketown\u00a0line, \u00a0Maleli \u00a0Mudu \u00a0and \u00a0Isei \u00a0Lewaqai \u00a0crossing\u00a0but having tries ruled out. Torres also missed a\u00a0penalty and a field goal before the blacks swung\u00a0back on attack and a short pass from Torrance\u00a0almost \u00a0put \u00a0Nik Cumming \u00a0over.<\/p>\n

Robert\u00a0Thompson scored soon after from a quick tap.\u00a0Phil Thompson converted but Torres closed the\u00a0gap to 7-3 with his first successful penalty of\u00a0the match.\u00a0With \u00a0time \u00a0almost \u00a0up, \u00a0Blaketown \u00a0only \u00a0had\u00a0enough time for one more play before the break\u00a0but \u00a0they \u00a0made \u00a0it \u00a0count, \u00a0reclaiming \u00a0the \u00a0ball\u00a0which \u00a0Rob \u00a0Thompson, \u00a0Houston \u00a0and \u00a0Brogan\u00a0Watt carried to the line before Torrance barged\u00a0over \u00a0from \u00a0close \u00a0quarters.\u00a0 Phil \u00a0Thompson\u00a0converted to give the blacks a 14-3 lead at the\u00a0break.<\/p>\n

Marist ignored an early penalty chance in the\u00a0second \u00a0half, \u00a0opting \u00a0instead \u00a0for \u00a0a \u00a0scrum \u00a0from\u00a0which \u00a0Josh \u00a0Costello \u00a0went \u00a0close \u00a0before \u00a0Mudu\u00a0went over and Torres converted \u2014 14-10.Three Torres penalties took the score to 19-14 \u00a0but \u00a0Blaketown \u00a0drew \u00a0level \u00a0with \u00a0a \u00a0late \u00a0try\u00a0to \u00a0bustling \u00a0wing \u00a0Brogan \u00a0Jackson \u00a0after \u00a0Nick\u00a0Cumming and Regan Stanton (showing good\u00a0hands) had worked him clear.<\/p>\n

Phil Thomson missed the difficult conversion,\u00a0which \u00a0would \u00a0have \u00a0put \u00a0his \u00a0team, \u00a0in \u00a0front \u00a0but\u00a0Marist \u00a0re-gathered \u00a0the \u00a0ball \u00a0from \u00a0the \u00a0kick-off \u00a0and \u00a0won \u00a0another \u00a0penalty \u00a0which, \u00a0despite \u00a0the\u00a0insults \u00a0and \u00a0obscenities \u00a0tossed \u00a0at \u00a0him \u00a0from \u00a0a\u00a0boorish \u00a0section \u00a0of \u00a0the \u00a0crowd, \u00a0Torres \u00a0guided\u00a0between the posts \u2014 22 -19.<\/p>\n

Marist \u00a022 \u00a0<\/strong>(M \u00a0Mudu \u00a0try, \u00a0H \u00a0Torres \u00a05 \u00a0pens,\u00a0con)<\/p>\n

Blaketown 19<\/strong> (R Thompson, A Torrance,\u00a0B Jackson tries; P Thompson 2 cons).<\/p>\n

\n

Wests piled on the points in the first half and\u00a0then hung on grimly as Grey Valley wheeled on\u00a0the heavy artillery in the second spell to their\u00a0game.<\/p>\n

Wests coach Dicey Davidson said lock Bazza\u00a0Slaven was their man of the match, while fellow\u00a0forwards Nick Monk and Lee Davidson toiled\u00a0well in the tight.<\/p>\n

Centre Elijah Matalomani was the best of the\u00a0backs \u00a0along \u00a0with \u00a0Geoff \u00a0 Garland, \u00a0who \u00a0added\u00a0some oomph when he came on.<\/p>\n

Veteran lock Peter Nicholls was Grey Valley\u2019s\u00a0player of the day, while Nick Makea controlled\u00a0play well from first-five.<\/p>\n

Valley coach Ben Ferguson said his side leaked\u00a0too many easy points in the fi rst half but won\u00a0the second stanza 15-3.<\/p>\n

Wests 32<\/strong> (M Cook, M Slaven, N Smith, M\u00a0Johnson, L Ross tries; Ross 2 cons, pen)<\/p>\n

Grey\u00a0Valley 20<\/strong> (B Morley, K McCleod, P Nicholls\u00a02, tries).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kiwi \u00a0sealed \u00a0victory \u00a0in \u00a0the\u00a0Muir Trophy competition and top spot on the\u00a0accumulated \u00a0points \u00a0ladder \u00a0with \u00a0an \u00a0emphatic\u00a089-26 \u00a0victory \u00a0over \u00a0South \u00a0Westland. Kiwi, \u00a0unbeaten \u00a0in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-club-rugby","category-west-coast-ru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8122,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340\/revisions\/8122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westcoastrfu.com\/wsct\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}