Tulou Provides Pot Of Gold For MSP In Jubilee Cup Opener

Marist St. Pat's No. 8 Alex Tulou provided the pot of gold in his side's upset 12-10 come-from-behind win over champions Northern United in the first round of Jubilee Cup matches on Saturday.

With a rainbow beaming down on MSP's Evans Bay Park clubrooms, Tulou scored the match winning try late in the second half, taking a quick tap penalty himself and skirting 15 metres to score to the right of the uprights.

Long serving MSP flyhalf Fa'atonu Fili added the extras in a thrilling conclusion to a hard fought game, dominated by high quality forward play.

Norths had clung to a 10-5 lead throughout the second half, after responding to a 60-metre solo try by MSP fullback Jackson Martin with a converted try and a penalty.

MSP's win reflected a tight opening weekend of Jubilee Cup rugby as wintry conditions took hold across Wellington for the first time this season.

At Kilbirnie Park, Hutt Old Boys Marist were impressive first round winners, out scoring Poneke three tries to nil for a well-deserved 19-9 victory.

At the Basin Reserve, Petone beat Old Boys-University 21-3 after establishing a 16-3 at halftime. New Zealand U19s first five eighth Dan Kirkpatrick showed his promise, scoring all Petone's 16 first half points including a converted try scored under the posts.

In the round's final encounter Tawa were comfortable 27-7 winners over Wests Roosters at Lyndhurst Park, moving to a 20-7 halftime lead and holding the Roosters at bay into the wind after the interval. New Vodafone Wellington Lions acquisition Tom Harding scored two tries on debut for Tawa.

Making use of the conditions was Hutt Old Boys Marist, who outfoxed and outplayed Poneke in this week's Club Weekly feature clash. The Eagles brought a committed and confrontational pack to Kilbirnie Park, taking the contest to their Poneke counterparts at every opportunity. Strong in the set pieces, they also harried and hounded Poneke all day with well-organised driving play and swarming defence.

Add in their multitalented inside back pairing of halfback Nick Risdon and first five-eighth Jon Bentley and the Eagles appear to have a winning recipe of winter rugby that should see them semi-final contenders again this year. The dynamic duo added the direction and the tactical kicking games to keep the Eagles on the front foot for much of the match.

HOBM were particularly dangerous behind Poneke's advantage line, putting pressure on the Moananu brothers, Toto at first five-eighth and Misipalauni at second five-eighth,?while plugging the corners with the wind behind them in the second half. The early momentum went HOBM's way, resulting in the first try to Risdon after Bentley charged down a hurried Toto Moananu clearing kick.

More sustained into-the-wind rugby followed, before HOBM left wing Michael Pehi scored a brilliant try giving them a 12-3 lead. Up in the backline, Pehi hacked through his own cleverly weighted kick and?out sprinted the Poneke cover defence to score in the corner.

Poneke missed out on two chances to close the deficit before halftime, dropping a?ball with the line in sight following a 60-metre sweeping counterattack and then a missing a?penalty attempt to No. 8 Chris Brightwell.

Turning to play into an increasingly biting southerly, Poneke started the second half encouragingly, Brightwell landing two quick penalties to see them trailing by 12-9 after 50 minutes.

But HOBM wrestled control once more and hit back with the game's decisive score. A Risdon grubber kick to the corner set HOBM up in perfect position near the line. Failing to rumble over through the forwards, HOBM went wide off another attacking lineout, second five-eighth Malakai Kisina toed ahead and centre Eroni Ekevati touched down for the match winner.

This made it 19-9, and so it remained over the final quarter as Poneke were unable to get any traction against the well-oiled Eagles machine.

Of note, this result is also a repeat of last year's first round battle between these two sides, won 20-13 by HOBM, before Poneke reversed the outcome several weeks later to win their semi-final match 15-13.

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