League: Tigers tamed by focused Eagles

The East Coast Eagles proved they are no pushovers by beating Kia Toa 26-20 in Dunedin on Saturday.

With a vacant interchange bench, the Eagles played the whole 80 minutes with the same line-up, making their tackles count and taking every opportunity.

East Coast had a shortage of numbers due to injuries and study commitments, with the University of Otago holding graduation over the weekend.

Dave Broughton has recently stepped aside as head coach of the Eagles to concentrate on playing and leading out on the field, while injured player Hyrum Martin runs the sideline alongside Tiwini Hemi.

''We have worked hard on our team culture, particularly after the game against South Pac a few weeks ago,'' Broughton said.

''I have moved more into a consultant role while Hyrum and Tiwini run the sideline.''

Kia Toa has been impressive this season but was caught out by an Eagles squad that is making its mark in the Otago competition, even if it is lacking numbers.

''This team has massive heart,'' Broughton said.

The other game was played in Invercargill, where the South Pacific Raiders travelled to take on a Cowboys squad also hurting from a long list of injuries.

The weather was a factor but the Raiders managed to grind out a 10-8 win in less-than-favourable conditions.

Cowboys coach Caine Aati was eager to get players back out on the paddock after injury.

‘‘We are starting to get a few players back. We are slowly building back up our momentum and we should really be finals contenders,'' Aati said.

‘‘Taina Tamou was carving up in the centres and Billy Cooper at hooker was huge on defence for us.''

All teams in the competition are fairly even. Kia Toa, the Eagles and the Cowboys have all picked up wins against each other, keeping everybody in the finals hunt.

- Andrew King

 

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