Kaikorai captain Lachlan Stevens makes a splash as he dives over for a try against Zingari-Richmond at Montecillo on Saturday. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIENKaikorai 64 Zingari-Richmond 7 Kaikorai put a hapless Zingari-Richmond to the sword in the second half at Montecillo on Saturday. They led just 14-7 at the break but ran in eight unanswered tries in wet conditions in the second half. Kaikorai’s first two tries came off the back of penalties inside the Zingari-Richmond half but, for the most part, the home side would have gone to the break full of confidence. The Zingari-Richmond forward pack appeared to be in control. Their tight five dominated through front-rowers Darien Crawford, A-One Lolofie and Marcel Taani, while No 8 Rupene Koroi featured in broken play and lock James Doyle dominated the lineout. Doyle’s clean take midway through the first half led to the side’s only try. Second five Semisi Ma’asi crashed over in the fourth phase of play. But Kaikorai wasted little time taking full control in the second half, scoring five tries in the third quarter alone, while their bench players showed little mercy towards the home side as they all contributed to a further three tries. Lock Lachlan Stevens, No 8 Rawiri Martin and hooker Ben Hellriegel all scored a brace, and the two excellent Jakes in the backline got on the scoresheet. Centre Jake Fowler made a sensational 50m run to the line for his five-pointer, and Jake Hill was rewarded for his telling breaks from fullback when he dotted down for the 10th time this season. Bench players Sidney Fidow and Rota Lafita set the standard in the final 20 minutes with their hunger for the ball. — Wayne Parsons Harbour 32 Southern 23 Harbour first five Rique Miln sprang into action in the last five minutes to help seal a 32-23 win over Southern in the drizzle at Bathgate Park. The Hawks maestro landed a drop goal, scored a try near the corner and drilled the conversion to clinch the victory. Five minutes earlier, Southern had led 23-22. Miln’s drop goal was quite something. He nailed it from perhaps 35m out and 15m in from the sideline. In the wet conditions, it was a tremendous blow. Miln had scored a try earlier and finished the game with a haul of 19 points. The Hawks made a strong start when midfielder Daniel Muasika scored in the opening couple of minutes. Then Lucas Govaerts burst free from a lineout and got the pass to Toni Taufa, who went in under the posts, and Miln slotted a penalty to make it 15-0 a quarter of an hour into the fixture. Southern wrestled back control of the game up front. Hooker Isileli Otunuku barrelled over, winger Jeremiah Asi scored out wide and veteran prop Mike Mata’afa, in his 200th game for the team, slid over in a tackle for a popular try. Southern led 17-15 at the break. Mackenize Palmer added a penalty, but Miln scooped up a handy deflection and dived over. The Magpies reclaimed the lead with a second penalty to Palmer. But Miln caught hold of some star dust and the game slipped away from the home team. — Adrian Seconi Taieri 18 Green Island 15 Taieri edged Green Island in a mud bath at Peter Johnstone Park. But the win came at an enormous cost as they lost two of their best players to season-ending injuries. Robust loose forward Nick Henderson fractured a bone in his arm 10 minutes into the game, and seasoned midfielder Matt Whaanga injured his hamstring and limped off just on halftime. That will put a big dent in the Eels’ prospects. They have set the benchmark this season and have not lost since the 28-15 defeat to Harbour at Forsyth Barr Stadium on April 2. The fixture against the Grizzlies was a lottery. The game had to be shifted from the No1 ground to No5 because of the sodden condition of the field, but the new ground was not much better and very quickly it was hard to tell any of the players apart. It was 10-10 at halftime before the Eels edged ahead to lead 18-10. Green Island scored to close the gap but there was no more action on the scoreboard. The game was a stop-start affair with plenty of knock-ons. Taieri lock Eric Peita carried a heavy load, first five Archie Body enhanced his reputation with a solid outing, and loose forward Thomas Bolton was busy. Prop Ben Lopas made some huge carries for Green Island and was destructive around the ruck. First five Isaac McAuliffe put his side in some good positions with his kicking game, and Oliver Haig was excellent in the lineout. The game went to uncontested scrums in the last 20 minutes. — Adrian Seconi University 50 Alhambra-Union 15 University coped with the very wet, muddy conditions much better than Alhambra-Union at the North Ground to run out convincing winners and put their season back on track. The first 20 minutes were highly competitive but Varsity had a couple of tries orchestrated by the game’s best player. Halfback Kieran McClea scored one himself as he went 40m, and he put No 8 Will Stodart over for the second. AU were not to be outdone when they scored possibly the try of the season. Fullback Isaac Turoa put winger Manaia Lesa away inside his own 22m, got the in-pass then chipped over the defence and won the race. But that was about as good as it got for them. Varsity started dominating territory and possession, and their big pack took control. Both locks — Mitch Tinnock and Jonty Townsend — went over before halftime to give them a 16-point lead at the break. Stodart, probably the game’s best forward, made two breaks early in the second half for McClea and Tinnock to get doubles for the game. AU got one back when midfielder Tylar Diack went over midway through the spell, but Varsity made AU pay when they tried to play too much rugby deep in their own territory and conceded two late tries from lineout drives to hooker Oliver Hatch and his replacement, Scott Wake. McClea and Stodart were outstanding for Varsity, and big prop Charles Engelbrecht in his 50th game was rock-solid up front. For AU, No 8 Ollie Church was the best on display with a tigerish performance and was well supported by tireless openside Luka Jordan. — Paul Dwyer Round 13 The scores Kaikorai 64 (Lachlan Stevens 2, Rawiri Martin 2, Ben Hellriegel 2, Jake Fowler, Sidney Fidow, Jake Hill, Rota Lafita tries; Ben Miller 6 con, Jake Hill con), Zingari-Richmond 7 (Semisi Ma’asi try; Bill Temaka con). Halftime: Kaikorai 14-7. Harbour 32 (Rique Miln 2, Daniel Muasika, Toni Taufa tries; Miln 3 con, pen, drop goal), Southern 23 (Jeremiah Asi, Isileli Otunuku, Mike Mata’afa tries; Mackenzie Palmer con, 2 pen). Halftime: Southern 17-15. Taieri 18 (Archie Body, Thomas Bolton tries; Body con, 2 pen), Green Island 15 (Ronan Dynes 2, Shayne Fikken tries). Halftime: 10-10. University 50 (Kieran McClea 2, Mitch Tinnock 2, Will Stodart, Jonty Townsend, Oliver Hatch, Scott Wake tries; Neihana Mata’afa 5 con), Alhambra-Union 15 (Isaac Turoa, Tyler Diack tries; Willie Thode con, pen). Halftime: University 26-10.
