Athletic Marist has had a tough past couple of seasons but got its North Otago rugby campaign off to a flying start, beating Kurow 34-26 in Saturday’s opening round.
Paea Fifita led the charge for the young Athies pack, scoring a hat trick, followed by tries to Tupou Fifita and Jared Whitburn, in his first game after a season off.
Athies got on the front foot early, and never relented, leading 22-12 at halftime.
Kurow come out of the break strongly, scoring first, but a penalty try late in the game left it too late.
In Oamaru, Valley showed it will be gunning for the finals again, beating Excelsior 43-8 at Whitestone Contracting Stadium.
Valley was dominant from the start, scoring six tries to one.
Fullback Asesela Ravuvu was quick out of the blocks, scoring on debut for the Weston club.
Ravuvu, who made his North Otago Heartland debut last season while at St Kevin’s College, was solid at the back, making several blistering runs and putting his team into space.
Off the back of a pick-and-go, prop Jake Greenslade made a dash, scoring under the posts. No 8 Sam Sturgess followed suit, giving the away team a 19-3 lead at the half.
First five Isaac Clunie impressed with the boot on debut for Valley.
Sturgess, a strong ball carrier, rolled through several tackles to dot down again, followed by a try from replacement prop Logan Dunlop.
Valley was relentless, as its backs worked the ball down the side, breaking through Excelsior’s defence again, and an inside ball from halfback Jake Matthews put winger Matt Vocea over the line, pushing the lead to 31-3.
Replacement back Izaak Tauwhare scored Excelsior’s only try, before Valley replacement prop Meli Kolinisau bowled over to seal victory.
It was a tough outing for Excelsior, which regularly coughed up the ball on attack, fumbled opportunities and failed to find touch on several occasions.
Blues had a solid scrum, led by prop Thomas Shields, but lacked connections around the field.
In Maheno, Old Boys beat Maheno 50-26.
Covid and injuries disrupted both teams this week, but both were determined to get the season under way.
Maheno was on the board first through a try to new halfback Aaron Elliott. His inclusion pushed Robbie Smith to first five, scoring a try in the second half, and slotting conversions.
After Maheno’s opener, Old Boys piled on five unanswered tries. Second five-eighth Tini Feke scored a sublime hat trick, while Sione Kavatoe grabbed a double. Hayden Tisdall scored twice for Maheno in a better second half, playing with only 14 men for the final 20 minutes, but the home team was unable to chase down Old Boys.
