No Surprises in Hardham Cup Play

There were no surprises during round two of the Hardham Cup. As expected Oriental-Rongotai, Upper Hutt and Johnsonville all had straightforward bonus point wins over the three ?B? teams in the competition. Western Suburbs too came away with maximum points from their clash with newly promoted Rimutaka.

The Club Weekly was at Kilbirnie Park this week to follow the fortunes of an under strength Ories, as they took on Poneke. Last week Ories had the services of star players, flanker Tafai Ioasa, wing Roy Kinikinilau and ex-All Black centre Ma?a Nonu. But of the trio, only Nonu was on show for this clash. His presence needn?t have mattered though, as Ories were far too strong for the second string Poneke side. Indeed only a period of driving rain during the middle stages of the game, coupled with the poor standard of the field, prevented Ories really running away with this encounter.

When the rain arrived midway through the first half, Ories already had its fourth try and its bonus point in the bag, and their speedy backs had already made their mark. They led 26-0 at this stage and two further tries gave them a 40-0 halftime lead. Nonu directly set up one of these six touchdowns with a powerful burst and indirectly created another, when the Poneke defence close to the line concentrated on him and not Mau Lolo inside him. Second five Lolo also scored a second, with a lovely 60-metre run. Left wing Marika Kau was also a recipient with two well taken tries. First five Miah Nikora kicked well, eventually slotting six over from seven, often difficult, attempts.

Up-front Ories prop Eddie Leiataua featured strongly with ball in hand, as his pack established dominance early on. The rain subsided and the wind picked up in the second stanza, enabling Poneke, with the gust at their backs to stay in touch. The red-and-blacks hammered away at the Ories line for a period and were eventually rewarded with three tries. However Ories managed to cross the line once more to complete a comfortable victory.

Meanwhile Marist St. Pats gave Upper Hutt a stronger workout for much of their game at Maidstone Park. MSP held Upper Hutt to 0-0 after 20 minutes, but two tries in quick succession broke the shackles and Upper Hutt were largely untroubled by the Scarlets from then on. Rimutaka impressed again, keeping Wests honest in their clash. Wests wing Tristan Meo continued his prolific try-scoring season, with another two tries, lifting his season tally to 10.

In the round?s other clash, Johnsonville halfback Brent Comis celebrated his 100th game for his club by helping them to a 20-point dispatching of Old Boys-University. Promising Johnsonville No. 8 Mario Esera again had a strong game with two tries.