The Raiders went down 46-14 to the Cowboys at Elles Rd in Invercargill. The Cowboys were well-organised and their strong ball carriers were too difficult to contain, leading to points being scored regularly.
Centre Logo Peteru broke the line at will and scored two tries early. The effort required on defence led to a lethargic attack, and a bit of panic from the Raiders who began forcing offloads and trying to score from every play.
Injuries to Manassah Kutia and Ethan Ramage added to the Raiders’ woes, but they rallied well in the second half to score tries through Willie Time, Matthan Schaaf and James Piho down the right edge.
University conceded a try in the last minute of its match, allowing He Tauaa to steal the game with a 36-34 win. University dominated the first half of the match, utilising the space created from clever attacking shape to put points on their opponents frequently.
Winger Ro Allen stood out for the students, running with elusive footwork and a great turn of pace, and scoring two tries out on the right edge.
Second rower Josh McKenzie was also an attacking threat, constantly putting his nose through the line and challenging the ruck defenders, as well as racking up countless tackles himself.
McKenzie was injured early in the second half, after a head clash with team-mate Kinnon Nelson, who also had to leave the field, and it proved to be a turning point in the match.
He Tauaa capitalised on the reshuffled line-up, and managed to find gaps in the defence. Willie Pera led the charge for He Tauaa, ploughing through the defensive line with aggressive running and providing the platform for his backline to fire.
After a win by more than 100 points last weekend, the Dunedin Bears had another impressive performance, putting Cooks Rugby League Club to the sword, and winning 62-8. Cooks started strongly and opened the scoring with a well-orchestrated kick to the corner that centre Carlos Morrison caught and took over the line for a try.
However, once the Bears scored their first try, it was one-way traffic for the rest of the game. Bears forwards Ellery Fruean, Jimmy Etuati, Micah Lepaio and Camrin Brown ran rampant, getting line breaks at will, scoring seven tries among them, and setting the platform for the backs to score out wide.
Winton-City defaulted its scheduled fixture against the Kia Toa Tigers.
- Ricki Allan
