Easter Weekend Results and Match Report

North Harbour
(Buck Shelford Shield)
Glenfield 25 East Coast Bays 17
Takapuna 23 Silverdale 17
North Shore 41 Mahurangi 12
Northcote 54 Marist 14
Massey 27 Western 15

Massey won Saturday's 'Battle of the West' 27-15 against neighbours Western Pioneers and went top of the Buck Shelford Shield table after two rounds.

A double to former Wanganui loan midfielder Rhema Sagote and a penalty try were crucial in the final analysis, but the pace in Western's backline caused Massey real trouble at times, notably when wing Ritchie Ah Chong scored a tremendous individual try. Massey did not reclaim the lead until 15 minutes from fulltime when referee Brendon Pickerill awarded a penalty try. Sagote scored his second late in the piece to seal the win, much to the delight of the Moire Park faithful.

On Thursday night, Takapuna bounced back from a heavy defeat in round one to defeat Silverdale 23-17. The difference between the two sides was Takapuna's ability to hold onto the ball for longer periods. First five Jon Elrick used all his experience to keep the ball in front of the Takapuna pack and kick the points on offer.

Glenfield went 2-0, also on Thursday night, with a 25-17 win over East Coast Bays, partially thanks to a Matt Peri double, with Michael Little chiming in with four goals.Silverdale showed patches of why they will still be a force to reckon with and could have snuck a win in the dying minutes, however their control of the ball at crucial moments let them down.

Northcote stormed back from being blanked on opening weekend with a 54-14 crushing of Marist. Renata Roberts-Tenana, son of former North Harbour, Wellington and NZ Sevens wing Karl Tenana, picked up a hat-trick and kicked six goals to lead the way for 'Cote.

On Good Friday, North Shore retained the Les Pearce Memorial Shield with a 41-12 defeat of a spirited Mahurangi. After a solid first 40 minutes, Mahurangi turned with the breeze 22-9 down and managed to hold North Shore scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the second half, but the home side laid on 19 unanswered points to close out the encounter.

MATCH REPORT: WESTERN v MASSEY

On Saturday the On Target Drilling Western Pioneers played their neighbours and respected rivals Massey at Moire Park and lost a fiercely contested battle 27-15, after leading 15-13 with only 12 minutes to play.

Massey got off to a great start when their powerful mid field back broke two tackles to score under the posts after just two minutes.  The teams traded penalties for Massey to lead 10-3 after twenty minutes and then the Pioneers got into their rhythm and has several opportunities to score.

The one try they did score resulted after a great break by Ritchie Ah Chong that took play deep into Massey territory.  A couple of phases later impressive mid field back Waisele Dokonivalu scored in the corner and the teams went to halftime with Massey leading 13-8 after they kicked another penalty.

The second half started in spectacular fashion when Ritchie Ah Chong gathered in a wayward kick 40 meters out, and with speed and amazing stepping skills, left all the Massey team in his jet stream with just the fullback to beat.  He made the fullback look like a statue cemented to the ground as he shot around him and scored under the posts.  The regulation conversion took the score to 15-10.  Ritchie is a freak, in the nicest possible terms, and any time he touches the ball excitement is guaranteed.

The Pioneers should have increased their lead but wayward lineouts and other errors meant the score remained the same until deep into the game.

The game changed when a couple of poor scrums near to their line caused the ref to award Massey a penalty try, and then on fulltime their powerful number 12 crashed through some poor tackles to score again.  With both tries converted, Massey won 27-15.

The On Target Drilling Senior first team caused an upset in the early game to defeat Massey 32-22 and record their first win of the season.  Notable in this game were the two tries scored by major sponsor Bryce Lehndorf and the fine all round play and previously unheralded goal kicking skills of halfback Kyle Van Nekirk.

Well done to the team, which featured a return to rugby in NZ of Helensviile player Nico Mayberry.  He also came on late in the Premier game and Nico is going to be a great asset to the Pioneers as the season progresses.