Clinical describes Green Island in this winner-takes-all encounter with Kaikorai at Miller Park.
The grey heritage day jerseys worn by Green Island in front of a large crowd were weird, but the performance was anything but.
First five-eighth Finn Strawbridge in his best performance for Green Island was tactically perfect with his precision kicking game on a sticky pitch.
Kaikorai could not match it and struggled to get out of it own territory.
Green Island capitalised with converted tries to centre Levi Harmon and winger Bradley McPate and added three penalties to Strawbridge to lead 23-0 at the break.
Ben Smith in his 50th and blazer game and his first in nine years, for Green Island, talked his team round the park.
He directed traffic well, kicked up-and-unders to perfection from fullback and threw some deft passes to complement Strawbridge’s kicking game.
But the Kaikorai pack finally rumbled into gear and No8 Grayson Knapp crashed over, followed by lock Pita Sinamoni going over in the corner, to provide some credibility.
Others to shine for Green Island were halfback James Arscott, with his lengthy and crisp passing, Harmon from centre, with his hard straight running, hooker Jake Fowler and No8 Dylan Nel.
For Kaikorai, flanker Slade McDowell was bruising on defence and lock Pita Sinamoni was very industrious.
Green Island with the victory will win the Gallaway with two rounds to go.
Southern 14 Harbour 9
One step forward. One step down ... deep down.
Ankle deep mud does not make for great rugby.
But it did produce a tense melee at Bathgate Park, from which Southern emerged a 14-9 victor against Harbour.
The win has helped strengthen Southern’s claim to a playoffs spot and weakened the Hawks’ prospects.
The game fell into an obvious pattern. Each side played for territory and waited for opportunities to kick penalties.
The Hawks lost a major piece in the early exchanges.
Powerful loose forward Sione Misiloi picked up a head knock from the very first collision of the game.
Veteran Southern prop Hisa Sasagi was lured out of retirement this season after answering an SOS from Otago.
He put in a very solid 50-minute shift and had a hand in the only try of the game.
However, his return to blue and gold may be in doubt after he picked up what is understood to be a fractured cheek bone.
Halfback Wilson Driver skipped over from the base of a dominant scrum.
The sides traded penalties and Southern went into the break with a 8-3 lead.
The Hawks responded with two penalties to impressive first-five Joshua Robertson-Weepu to take the lead.
But Southern maintained an edge up front and spent more time in Harbour’s 22 than its own.
The penalties came — two of them — and that was enough to clinch the win.
It was a day when you wore your workload and Southern No 8 Mika Mafi was muddier than anyone else except perhaps his opposite, Charles Elton, who had a very solid game in his second match back after a long injury break.
University 38 Alhambra-Union 10
University roared back into form with a comfortable 38-10 win against Alhambra-Union at the North Ground.
The students had strung back-to-back losses together before having a bye last week.
University had been flirting with the bottom three but its bonus point win has lifted it into fourth place.
Alhambra-Union’s playoff prospects, however, are bleak. It is stranded on 11 points with just one match remaining.
AU had opportunities to put University under pressure. It closed to 17-10 after spending the first 20 minutes firmly on the back foot.
The home team was attacking but coughed up the ball deep and University went pretty much the length of the field to score.
Halfback Kieran McClea finished off the move to make it 24-10 at the break.
AU turned attack into defence again. It was battering away but put in a poor midfield kick.
University moved the ball to the left and lock Josh Hill ran in from 30m to stretch the lead further.
The visitors scored again late to complete a decent game.
Hill dominated the lineouts and showed good pace in scoring his try, while first-five Sam Clarke’s positional kicking helped keep his forwards pointing in the right direction. he also slotted four conversions.
He got nice service inside from McClea, who cleared the ball well in slippery conditions.
For AU, Delaney McKenzie made some several good runs and help get his side across the gain line.
Taieri 22 Dunedin 3
Defending champion Taieri has more or less secured its place in the playoffs with a convincing 22-3 victory over Dunedin at Peter Johnstone Park.
Right from the whistle, the Taieri forward pack stood tall, paying little respect to the reputations of its opponents within the Dunedin pack and scoring early.
Open side flanker Leroy Ferguson dived over following a forward rumble up field. Cameron Miller added the extras for an early 7-0 lead and put Dunedin on the back foot.
Dunedin threw everything at an exuberant Taieri, but was unable to penetrate its committed defence. Mark Grieve-Dunn, Hame Toma and Jamie Mowat assisted in reading the Taieri lineout play and putting it under pressure, but as the game progressed Taieri was able to counter these threats.
The Taieri scrum proved secure and halfbacks Bob Martin, and later in the game, Kurt Hammer, were able to deliver first-class service to a threatening backline including the 160-plus game experience of left wing Shannon Young and full back Kori Rupene. Complimenting these two in the back three was the ever-present danger of right wing Glen Beadle, who was marking his 100th game for the Eels.
Inside them, first five-eighth Cameron Millar was starring behind a forward pack securing him plenty of space, while his kicking game was impeccable in his ability to exploit space. He scored 17 points through five penalty goals and a conversion and his tally could well have been far greater with a dry ball and a firm ground.
With the game still within its grasp in the final quarter, poor discipline and a high error rate played a major part in the wheels coming off for Dunedin, allowing Taieri to cement a comfortable victory.
- ODT rugby writers
