HOBM, Jville And OBU All Dominate In Hardham Cup

Round 4 Review It was a stroll in the park for the premier teams in round four of the Hardham Cup ? with one notable exception ? Oriental-Rongotai. While beating Marist St. Pats for their second win, Ories weren?t altogether convincing and their clash with Johnsonville next week shapes as an important one. The other big guns all registered bonus point wins as expected, meaning Old Boys-University still hold a one point advantage over Hutt Old Boys Marist at the top with Johnsonville five points adrift in third.

The Club Weekly was on hand at Porirua Park, where Hutt Old Boys Marist turned a shaky first half performance into an easy win over Northern United. Up against a committed Norths side with a smattering of current and former premier players in their ranks, HOBM were sketchy at best in the first half. With the fresh southerly wind behind them, they made a succession of errors up front, their backs were too anxious to run through Norths, feed their outsides or kick for territory, therefore allowing Norths to play themselves into the game.

HOBM led only 9-5 at halftime, and trailed 12-9 early in the second spell. They started promisingly enough, immediately going on the attack, and fullback Mike Kingsbeer kicked an early penalty. But then the mistakes kicked in and Norths took it to them up the middle, using their big loose forwards, led by barnstorming blindside Bryan Saolele, to run at them. Only a poor Norths lineout prevented Norths from gaining the upper hand. Ironically, it was from their lineout that Norths scored the game?s first try, with hooker Fono Salu running through weak shortside defence and then linking with Salolele, who scored in the corner.

Two further penalties to Kingsbeer prior to the break were followed by a second try to Norths. First five eighth Gaven Harris cut straight through a hole in midfield and offloaded to fullback Daniel Bone, who scored under the posts. This finally triggered HOBM into action, and sensing a possible upset, they hit right back with two tries. First veteran blindside flanker Martin Wallis scored out wide, then their best player in the second half, No. 8 Leo Auva?a, strolled through to score. This made it 21-12 with 20 minutes remaining and momentum was finally with HOBM. Three further tries to left wing Jonathan Manu, Kingsbeer and replacement first five-eighth Jonathan Bentley sealed the win.

It was one-way traffic at Helston Park where Johnsonville carved up Petone for a 30 point win. First five-eighth Corey Burt, centre Farrand Turner and openside flanker Graeme Webster scored two tries each, while Burt also kicked all seven Johnsonville conversions on his way to a 27-point haul. OBU enjoyed a similar win against Poneke at the Basin Reserve. Poneke competed well early on and led the students 10-5 heading towards halftime, before a two try blitz just before the break set OBU on their way to their fourth bonus point win in succession. Meanwhile MSP pushed Ories close in their clash at Evans Bay Park.