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On Friday last week, Ryan Koning was in hospital for the birth of his first child, Macie.
The following day, he was in the thick of the action for his 150th division 1 appearance for Waihora, scoring a first-half hat-trick in a 33-28 Coleman Shield win over Southbridge.
“She was a big couple days,” Koning said.
Macie was born a month premature and is still in NICU. Koning said she was doing well.
“They (hospital staff) are amazing, she’s in good hands.”
The No 8 still turned out for Waihora on Saturday, after getting ‘the okay’ from partner Caitlin, playing his 150th match – 12 years after his debut.
Koning marked the occasion with three tries in the opening 40 minutes before being replaced during the second half.
“I was more surprised than anyone. I don’t know how that happened. I scored three tries for about one metre made, two were pushover scrums and then one was just from a pick-and-go.”
Try-scoring is a rarity for Koning. He believes his previous try came “about three years ago”, around the time of his 100th game, when he scored twice.
“It’s been a fairly dry spell. I just thought I’d be a glory boy. The div 2 boys were away playing at Springston, and they were asking for score updates. They heard I’d scored the first three tries of the game, and they said, ‘that must be an absolute joke’.”
The win saw Waihora gain ground on Southbridge in the Coleman Shield standings, cutting the leaders’ advantage from five points to two.
Saturday’s other matches saw Darfield beat West Melton 56-10, while Prebbleton defeated Lincoln 48-29.
Darfield and Prebbleton are third and fourth respectively, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
Waihora travel to Lincoln on Saturday in a shortened round, with just two matches scheduled.
West Melton host Prebbleton in the other fixture, with both games kicking off at 2.45pm.
Southbridge’s clash with Darfield was played over Easter weekend as part of the club’s 150th jubilee celebrations.
Wins in Waihora’s final two games would secure top spot, but Koning said the team was not getting ahead of itself despite facing the bottom two sides, Lincoln and West Melton.
“The Coleman’s a different round – you don’t take any of it for granted. Teams definitely grow another leg, so it’s always a pretty tough one.”
Coleman Shield points
Southbridge 17; Waihora 15; Darfield 11; Prebbleton 7; Lincoln 6; West Melton 3