Rugby: Five-try blitz from Qauqau

Southern first five-eighth Josh Ioane goes in low for a tackle on Taieri captain Charlie O...
Southern first five-eighth Josh Ioane goes in low for a tackle on Taieri captain Charlie O'Connell during a Dunedin club rugby match at Bathgate Park, in Dunedin, on Saturday. Photo by Craig Baxter.
Alhambra-Union winger Ben Qauqau stole the show when he scored five tries on Saturday.

It was the first time since 2008 (David Thomson, for University A v University B) that five individual tries had been scored in a premier club rugby game.

The record for individual tries in a club game is six, which has been done 10 times by University A players.

Dunedin lost its first game of the season when it was beaten 22-15 by Kaikorai.

The only unbeaten teams after four rounds are Kaikorai and Alhambra-Union. They share the lead on 19 points, followed by Dunedin 16, Taieri 15, Southern 13, University A 11, Zingari-Richmond 7, Harbour 6, Pirates and Green Island 0.

University 32 Zingari-Richmond 14

University was a convincing winner on the scoreboard but Zingari-Richmond earned top marks for effort at the University Oval.

University led 20-0 at halftime and seemed set to win by 40 points or more but spent much of the second spell defending desperately against a plucky Zingari side.

Only a lack of finesse by Zingari, and some excellent defence by the students, prevented a closer final scoreline. University forwards Josh Dickson and Tama Tuirirangi were both sin binned as Zingari laid siege to the line.

University scored five tries to two, and made better use of its opportunities, but it would have been disappointed with the quality of much of its performance, as it drifted in and out of the game.

Matt Faddes, Sam McLachlan and Gavin Stark were all accomplished finishers but they were not employed often enough.

Sione Teu showed immense promise from No 8 for University and made some nice off-loads, Dickson dominated his area of the lineouts and hooker Sam Sturgess put in a typically tenacious effort.

Zingari impressed with its never-say-die attitude, exemplified by second five-eighth Lachie Moore, who crashed over for two tries in the third quarter.

The forwards warmed to their work as they dominated territory in the second spell and were held up over the line at least twice.

Chris Bell was a workhorse from No 8, Tom Charteris a lively blindside flanker, Joe Latta and Colin Enright both had strong games at lock but it was an impressive second half performance by the entire pack.

University A 32 (Matt Faddes, Sam McLachlan, Shea Tucker, Gavin Stark, Josh Dickson tries; Fletcher Smith 2 con, pen), Zingari-Richmond 14 (Lachie Moore 2 tries; Shaun Driver 2 con). Halftime: University 20-0.

Taieri 18 Southern 14

It was a game of thrust and counter-thrust and no quarter was given as Taieri and Southern battled at Bathgate Park.

It was a stalemate at halftime, when the teams were locked 11-11.

Southern fullback Ben Patston gave Southern the advantage early in the second half when he kicked a long-range penalty goal.

Taieri took the lead midway through the spell when halfback Kurt Hammer scored after a prolonged build-up and a move that went through several phases.

Both teams had periods on attack in the final quarter but were not able to break the rugged defensive systems.

The Taieri backs always looked dangerous and were prepared to counterattack from deep within their own 22m. Willis Scott was the best of the Taieri forwards with his work at the breakdown and as a link. Lock Matt Davidson was effective in the lineout.

Aggressive left winger Shannon Young was the best of the Taieri backs.

Patston was the best of the Southern backs and added thrust when he joined the backline. Hanipale Galo was dangerous in the midfield and a rock on defence.

Lock Jackson Hemopo and hooker Ricky Riccitelli were the best of the Southern forwards.

Taieri 18 (Ben Miller, Kurt Hammer tries; Hayden Parker con, 2 pen), Southern 14 (Eroni Sotutu try; Ben Patston 3 pen). Halftime: 11-11.

Kaikorai 22 Dunedin 15

Kaikorai cemented its spot at the top of the table with a solid and efficient performance at Bishopscourt. Conversely, Dunedin seemed to be guilty of reading its own press and was nothing short of woeful for 60 minutes of this game.

Kaikorai played into a stiff breeze in the first spell but didn't seem to notice and led 13-3 at the break. It scored its only try when a Matt Te Tana break and quick ruck ball created space for Jayden Spence to score in the corner.

Cam Rutherford, in his 100th game, scored the rest of the first-half points with a conversion and two penalties.

Kaikorai should have been up by 20 at the break, such was its dominance. Dunedin was simply awful in the first spell. It turned over six lineouts, even with a massive height advantage, and did not get the ball through more than one phase without either dropping it or turning over possession.

Dunedin bought on Hugh Blake in the second spell and he nearly turned the game single-handedly. The Sharks scored two tries, one to Blake and the other to fullback Rowan McKenzie, to get within four with 15 minutes left.

But Rutherford steadied the ship with three penalties for Kaikorai to destroy Dunedin's 18-game winning streak. Interestingly, that streak started with a win over Kaikorai last year.

For Kaikorai, Te Tana and Rutherford marshalled their backs superbly on attack and defence. Nathan Hull, Kyle Harris and Marcus Balchin dominated the loose for much of the game and turned over a lot of possession. Lachie Landis was the epitome of solidity up front.

Blake might have only played for 40 minutes but he was Dunedin's best player. Sam Anderson-Heather tried hard up front and young winger Sam Weber looked likely when given a chance out wide.

Kaikorai 22 (Jayden Spence try; Cam Rutherford con, 5 pen), Dunedin 15 (Rowan McKenzie, Hugh Blake tries; Greg Dyer con, pen). Halftime: Kaikorai 13-3.

Alhambra-Union 57 Green Island 5

Winger Ben Qauqau scored five tries and played a key role in Alhambra-Union's nine-try romp at the North Ground.

He was difficult to stop inside the 22m and was like a cannonball when he saw the tryline in front of him.

Qauqau made the most of the scoring opportunities given him by a fleet-footed Alhambra-Union backline.

Alhambra-Union scored three converted tries in the first 24 minutes but the floodgates opened in the last 45 minutes, as the side scored six more tries and 36 more points.

Alhambra-Union maintained its structure and discipline when it got on top and continued to play attractive rugby.

A feature was the use of width and the speed of the pass to beat the man and create gaps in the defence.

Caleb Gray and Peter Breen were an efficient inside back combination and Tili Puloka was a strong tackler in the midfield. Left winger Zeb Laqekoro was dangerous with the ball in hand.

No 8 Ty Pelasio was the best Alhambra-Union forward and was backed by prop Witana Pretley and hard-tackling flanker Brandon Olsen.

The best Green Island forward was openside flanker Luke Johnston, while halfback Tala Fagasoaia and centre Fapene Popoali'i were the best backs.

Alhambra-Union 57 (Ben Qauqau 5, Corey McFadzean, Witana Pretley, Zeb Laqekoro, Tili Puloka tries; Peter Breen 6 con), Green Island 5 (Tala Fagasoaia try). Halftime: Alhambra-Union 28-0.

Harbour 39 Pirates 0

A five-try second-quarter blitz from Harbour, into the teeth of a strong southerly, sealed Pirates' fate, and made Poamo Aiiloilo's 50th appearance for his side less than memorable.

Pirates kept Harbour locked inside its own half for the first 20min but failed to penetrate past the 22m or turn any chances into points.

Inspired by first five-eighth Joe Collins and halfback Nick Ealey, Harbour burst into life and appeared to score at will, as its forward pack gained good go-forward ball though locks Charles Elton and Ben Whale and props Matt Kiore and Peter Mirrielees.

Flankers Hadleigh May and Ratu Dawai also featured as Pirates was locked into defensive mode.

Harbour scored in the first minute of the second half, blowing the score out to 34-0, and it gave all its reserves a run.

The game went into a holding pattern where Pirates remained camped inside Harbour territory but failed to turn anything into points.

Harbour bookended the second half with a try to Mike Henty on the stroke of fulltime. The final score could have been greater, as Harbour was successful with only two from eight kicks at goal.

For Pirates, prop Hamish Clapp and lock Ben Sexton stood out, while in the backs, Paul Tupai made the best of his opportunities.

Harbour 39 (Joe Collins, Mateo Malupo, Matt Kiore, Hadleigh May, Marckis Schaaf, Sala Halaleva, Mike Henty tries; Joe Collins con, Nick Ealey con), Pirates 0. Halftime: Harbour 29-0.

Add a Comment