Zingari-Richmond winger Jacob Pollock flicks a deft pass before he is dragged down by Southern lock Corban Agar at Bathgate Park on Saturday. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIENSouthern 45 Zingari-Richmond 24 Southern scored three tries in the opening 20 minutes to set up a 45-24 win over Zingari-Richmond at Bathgate Park on Saturday. The Magpies were able to draw in the Zingari pack and strike out wide. Left winger Jeremiah Asi bagged a double, and right winger Josiah Sakaria got on the score sheet as well. They are both dangerous finishers. But a lot of the hard work was done in the midfield by second five Justin Malifa. He produced arguably his best game of the season. He carried with purpose, snaffled a couple of turnovers and made several nice line breaks. Lock Corban Agar is one of the hardest-working second-rowers in the competition. The king of hustle made some strong tackles in the second half and was in close proximity to the ball at all times. Loose forward Montell Penese made his first start for the Magpies and had a solid game, and prop Caleb Hughes impressed in the tight exchanges and nabbed a try from close range. Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai made a surprise cameo for Southern on the wing near the end of the game. First five Semisi Ma’asi controlled play nicely for Zingari and grabbed two tries, while talent lock Rupeni Koroi enhanced his reputation with another quality outing for the Colours. Southern move into third place, while Zingari remain at the bottom of the standings but did pick up a four-try bonus point. The visitors had some good moments and looked decent when they got the ball to the fringes. — Adrian Seconi Taieri 57 University 36 University succumbed to a rampant Taieri in the second half in the Challenge Shield match at the University Oval. University held a 26-21 lead at the break and appeared confident. But in a classic game of two halves, Taieri wasted little time in going on a scoring rampage and adding a further 36 points to University’s 10. Blindside flanker Thomas Bolton dotted down for his brace in the fifth minute of the second half to set the game alight for Taieri. He gathered a grubber, which halfback Finn McDonald-Page kicked through. McDonald-Page excelled behind a Taieri forward pack that secured clean ball with ease. His crisp passing was a major factor, as the Taieri backs added two further tries in quick succession to put the game out of reach for the students. It was another solid performance from promising Taieri first five Archie Body, who scored 17 points from seven conversions and a penalty to move to 121 points for the season. Body helped Taieri lodge 50 points when he broke through the University midfield on halfway before offloading to winger Joseph Cockburn to score. Taieri were well served by their loose forward trio of Bolton, Nick Henderson and Sam Fischli, who thrived from the hard yards put in by their tight five. Hooker Oliver Hatch, lock Mitchell Tinnock and loose forwards Scott Wake and Aaron Withy featured up front for University, while halfback Kieran McClea and first five Rico Muliaina stood out in back play. — Wayne Parsons Kaikorai 45 Harbour 33 Kaikorai were world-beaters for 60 minutes at Watson Park. But after the Demons went up 40-0, they made a series of changes and forgot how to tackle, and that final quarter will make for a very difficult watch for the bench players. Harbour ran in five late tries to rescue a bonus point. That probably had a chilling effect on Kaikorai’s post-match celebrations but there were plenty of positives. Kaikorai nullified Harbour’s powerful front row to a large extent. Their classy loose forward trio of Gregor Rutledge, Slade McDowall and Lucas Casey dominated the breakdown, and all three scored tries. McDowall absolutely skinned fullback Kyle Kloppers with a right-foot step on a 20m run to the line. Prop Philip Taua-Ah Soon had a monster game. He gave his best impression of a tractor-shaped winger when he skipped out of a tackle and scampered 40m to score. Left winger Jake Hill was elusive, first five Ben Miller made some skillful touches, and Mefi Tupou carved up in the midfield. Kaikorai were a little guilty of not making that final pass, though. Harbour received two yellow cards in the second half, which certainly did not help. They defended well in the opening half and trailed 12-0 at the break. But the game slipped away in the third quarter. Lock Preston Moananu was solid for Harbour, and Taylor Dale always puts in a tidy shift. — Adrian Seconi Green Island 24 Dunedin 22 Green Island dominated territory and possession at Kettle Park but could not score any early points against a Dunedin team who coughed up possession through needless turnovers. Amazingly, the game remained scoreless for the first 30 minutes. The shackles were finally broken when Dunedin yet again turned over possession and fast hands led to a converted try to impressive prop turned blindside Shane Fikken. Then the floodgates opened as midfielder Riley Lucas, in his 50th game, went over from a backfield blunder from the Sharks. GI then scored right on the break after a promising Dunedin attack broke down, and winger Alex Piebenga was on the end of the chain to give GI a 19-0 lead at halftime. Dunedin started the second half in lively fashion, and standout fullback Max Morgan joined the line with real pace to put tyro winger Johnny Young over for their first points. They stormed back on to attack a few minutes later. Under penalty advantage, first half Bryden Dew put up a speculative kick and fullback Morgan regathered to cut the lead to five. GI were under pressure, and a botched clearing kick was batted back on to their side but intercepted by Dunedin winger Henry Smale, who put halfback Ashton Booth over for a bizarre try. That levelled the scores, and Dunedin kicked a penalty with a dozen minutes to go to lead by three. The Sharks turned over the ball from the kickoff and Lucas scored his second to get GI back in front. Dunedin’s scrum was becoming increasingly dominant but they coughed up possession late in the piece. Lucas was Green Island’s best, Fikken was everywhere in the loose, and prop Ben Lopas was powerful with ball in hand. Morgan again underlined what a talent he is for Dunedin. Young, in his second outing, was lively on attack, and prop Rohan Wingham was a colossus in the pack. — Paul Dwyer Round 11 The scores Taieri 57 (Nick Henderson 2, Thomas Bolton 2, Reef Newdick, Oscar Anderson, Jalen Forgie, Joe Cockburn; Body 7 con, pen), University 36 (Aaron McMurray 2, Mitchell Tinnock, Kieran McClea, William Lawrence-Vaivai, Josh Wynne-Lewis tries; Rico Muliaina 3 con). Halftime: University 26-21. Kaikorai 45 (Xavier Small, Mefi Tupou, Lucas Casey, Phil Taua-Ah Soon, Gregor Rutledge, Henry Scott, Slade McDowall tries; Ben Miller 5 con), Harbour 33 (Cody Lokotui, Rique Miln, Taylor Dale, Toni Taufa, Gabriel Francesconi tries; Miln 4 con). Halftime: Kaikorai 12-0. Southern 45 (Jeremiah Asi 2, Caleb Hughes, Mackenzie Palmer, Juston Malifa, Reita Tofaeono, Josiah Sakaria tries; Palmer 5 con), Zingari-Richmond 24 (Semisi Maasi 2, Rupeni Koroi, Bill Temaka tries; Temaka 2 con). Halftime: Southern 33-10. Green Island 24 (Riley Lucas 2, Shane Fikken, Alex Piebenga tries; Brook Robson 2 con), Dunedin 22 (Johnny Young, Max Morgan, Ashton Booth tries; Brayden Dew 2 con, pen). Halftime: Green Island 19-0.
