The final Harbour B’s fixture of 2018 was the bus trip to Hikurangi Rugby Club north of Whangarei to play Northland for a 60-7 win. It was an important game to win with Harbour in 3rd place with a possibility of a 2nd placing in the Northern Region. Both teams ran the ball resulting in two quick tries to Harbour followed by two further tries and a conversion countered by a Northland try and conversion arising from sloppy defence, for a half-time score of 22-7. Still anyone’s game, the message from the Harbour coaches was very simple, ‘we have been here before and we don’t let the Taniwha back into game’. Harbour continued to play at pace, using the width and having a go. Six more tries for a total of ten and four conversions kept the spectators enthralled with Northland stoutly trying to defend for the 80 minutes. Tries went to Gannon Moore (2), Harrison Levien (2), Curtis Reid, Hauwai McGahan, Tito Sufia, Nick Smith, Josh Thirds and Pierre Pili with Jack Bergin kicking four conversions and Robbie McIntosh kicking the last. Player of the Day – Sponsored by D3 Tape was Tito Sufia. The Harbour B’s finished 2nd in the Northern Region Championship in 2018.
The Harbour Hibiscus Women hosted Wellington at Windsor Park, East Coast bays RFC going down 10-50 versus the front runner of the Farah Palmer Cup Championship division. The Hibiscus played well showing some good skill and determination but were overwhelmed by a Wellington team who were strong across the park, fed off mistakes and racked up a good half-time score of 24-7. The second half saw Wellington continue their effective work with a couple of forays into yellow and black territory by Harbour for the final score. The industrious player of the day was Pia Tapsell who scored a try with Sophie Fisher kicking a conversion and a penalty.
Thanks to Simon Harmer for the great photos.
Thanks to East Coast Bays for hosting the game in fine style along with the four other match days earlier this season with special mention to Liaison Officer Larry McWalter, Chefs Billy Statham and Slade McFarland and, bar manager Frankie and staff. Rambo of the Bays (aka Geoff Faulkner) did sterling work on ball recovery from pesky trees and cricket nets and, his field was a picture to behold as always.
The U18 Girls travelled to Waitemata for their cross-over finals with the Chiefs division in the Northern Region competition to play Counties Manukau in their last game of the season. The Harbour U18 girls team came out fighting scoring early in the first half but Counties Manukau came back and took the lead at half time 12-17. The Harbour forwards and back line worked hard and in the end their defence and determination had the Harbour U18 Girls team coming away with the 32-27 win. Tries went to Mikayla Robinson (2), Phillipa Henderson (2), Tenaija Fletcher and Mia Boaler with Jaimee Wyatt kicking a conversion.
The Te Hiku o te Ika (Northern Region) Maori tournament commenced on Saturday 29 September with Te Raki Paewhenua Maori Seniors and U17 both playing Bay of Plenty at Karaka RFC in Counties Manukau. The Maori Under 17 kicked on from their very strong outing in a pre-season game against Auckland and picked up a very good 32-19 win against BOP. Tries went to Carlos Phillipps (2), Robbie McFarland, Cayle Maxwell, Chris Little and Jordan Cowper with Dre Pryor kicking a conversion. The Maori Seniors lost 14-57 to BOP. It was close at half-time 7-14 but the Bay got away in the second half. While the game didn't quite go North Harbour's way for most of the game, due to a few handling errors and missed tackles, there was still a lot of positives for North Harbour to take out of the game. Especially the performance from a few players including No. 8 Rana Peakman, who had an outstanding game from the back of the scrum and created a lot of havoc for BOP on both attack and defence. Tries went to Scott Fabricius and Mal Davis and, conversions to Luke Hitchcock and Hohepa Maclean. The second round of games is at Waitemata RFC in Auckland this Saturday 6 October with both teams playing Northland and the finals is in Rotorua on 13 October.
The Roller Mills boys are ready to roll and travel to the Waikato on Saturday for the 2018 tournament to be held 7-13 October at St Peters College, Cambridge. The fixtures are as follows:
Sun 7 Oct - Bye
Mon 8 Oct vs Waikato at 12.20pm on St Peters College 1
Tues 9 Oct vs Thames Valley at 12.15pm on St Peters College 1
Wed 10 Oct vs Bay of Plenty at 12.45pm on St Peters College 2
Thu 11 Oct vs Counties Manukau at 12.45pm on St Peters College 2
Fri 12 Oct – Semi-Finals
Sat 13 Oct – Finals and Play-offs
© 2023 North Harbour Rugby | Web Design by Benefitz.