Arrowtown’s faithful fans were beginning to wonder if they would ever cheer their team to victory again when they came up trumps last weekend, pulling off a handsome 29-7 win over Cromwell, their only other success in 2025 being against Matakanui Combined on March 22.
Team captain Ryan Egerton, frustratingly sidelined with a knee injury, was thrilled to bits with his team’s performance.
"Everyone contributed.
"It was one of the better 23-man performances I’ve seen from the Arrowtown Bulls. Everyone who came on from the bench played a quality role.
"It’s a morale booster with the local derby coming up."
Arrowtown will need to lift their game still further if they are to come out on top of Wakatipu, who have won eight and drawn one of their past 10 games against their neighbours.
Wakatipu also turned in a memorable 23-man performance last weekend, converting a 12-13 scoreboard into a decisive 29-13 victory in the final quarter thanks to the impact of their bench players.
Paula Tuala and Don Lolo were two who had a massive influence on the outcome after coming on as replacements, the Maniototo scrum being blown apart in the final stages.
The race is on to see who can become the first individual to crack 100 points for the season.
It should be Alexandra’s Tyler Ford, who has amassed 97 points, 11 more than Wakatipu’s Rube Peina. He gets his opportunity against Maniototo at Ranfurly.
Peina remarkably scored all 23 points in his team’s recent win over Matakanui Combined and represents a major threat to Arrowtown.
Meanwhile, when it comes to individual try-scoring, there is a fascinating tussle going on between Alexandra flanker Sam Chapman and Matakanui Combined No 8/lock Dean Sinnamon, who have scored 10 tries each, one more than Upper Clutha’s Ulysse Martineau, whose team have the bye this weekend.
Alexandra destroyed Maniototo 50-22 in the first round and should prove too strong again, while Cromwell will be seeking to beat Matakanui Combined and register just their second victory.
However, given that Matak have home advantage, at Omakau, this could be one of the more fascinating contests of the weekend.
