North Harbour Men’s B. Waikato defeated North Harbour 20-14 in a must win fixture for both sides at Waikato Stadium. From the kick-off both teams were throwing the ball wide with Waikato putting early pressure on the Harbour team. With the numerous opportunities from both teams only 1 point could separate these teams at half time. Fullback David Hala’ufia managed 3 penalties to Waikato’s two tries. In the last 40 minutes Harbour had a lot of ball but finished short each time, however a fantastic kick and chase from Nathan Cargo from half-way saw a speedy Daniel Lee scoop the ball up and run 30 metres to score , but with time up Waikato took the match. Player of the day was Blake Hall.
The Harbour Hibiscus Women defeated Otago Spirit 39-7 in a comprehensive win on Forsyth Barr Stadium. Otago started well but couldn’t penetrate North Harbour’s defence. North Harbour finally broke Otago’s monopoly of possession, won a tighthead scrum and hit the ball up in the middle of the field and starting a move that swept 90 metres. Eventually, powerful winger Rina Paraone got the ball 40 metres out, bounced a couple of tackles and found halfback Stacey Martin, who in turn found fullback Briar McNamara, and she scampered away to score untouched. North Harbour added a penalty to lead 10-0 before Otago was able to crack the defence from a chip kick and a try scored near the posts. Harbour responded with another long-range effort, which culminated with winger Florida Fatanitivake scoring in the corner. Then industrious second five-eighth and co-captain Chelsea Alley brushed aside some ineffectual tackles to add another before halftime to lead 20-7. Harbour scored a fourth try with some polished work in the backs with Paramore on the end of the chain dotting down. Harbour ran in two more tries to Charmaine Smith and Claudia McMeekin to seal a comprehensive win. Chelsey Alley kicked 2 conversions and a penalty and Briar McNamara kicked a conversion.
The Under 19’s at the Jock Hobbs National U19 Tournament in Taupo lost their first game to Bay of Plenty 31-39 with tries to Dylan Lam, Donald Coleman, Moses Leo, Joshua Third and Manning Smith and Kyle Browne kicking 3 conversions. They won the Southland game 36-24 in another nail biter with tries to James Little, Timo Falefa, James Fiebig, Moses Leo and 2 to Manning Smith with Kyle Browne kicking 3 conversions. North Harbour won the last game against Northland 27-0 to secure 13th place for 2016.
The Under 18’s lost to Bay of Plenty 15-31.For the second week running Harbour had a slow and quiet start to the game. BOP opened the scoring within 5 minutes with a penalty which Harbour countered 6 minutes later. BOP then scored a converted try in the 25th minute and at half time the score was 10-3. Harbour hadn't played any attacking rugby, just putting all their efforts into defending their line. Unfortunately BOP scored a converted try early in the second half, followed by two more. Harbour managed to rally for the last 15 mins scoring two nice tries firstly to Miller Hazelman and then to Joe Clarkson. Miller Hazelman kicked a penalty and a conversion.
The North Harbour U18 Girls put in an exceptional effort against a determined and strong Auckland East Team winning 35-20. The Girls took a lot away from their last game having lost 19 – 22 to Auckland West, notably to play their systems for longer and the importance of time in territory. The team started strongly gaining ascendancy in the first half where territory and pressure resulted in points with Harbour in front 27-5. Auckland came back strong at the start of the second half but outstanding leadership from key players saw the Girls regain composure and territory. With ten minutes to go Harbour came to life taking the game to Auckland scoring a great try in the corner then kicking a penalty out in front, to provide a 15 point lead and a very good win.
The Harbour U16 White defeated Northland South 22-7 at Kaiwaka. In challenging conditions the home side started the better of the two teams. Although Harbour scored first with a David Toia try, they had a stiff wind behind them and Northland South battled hard into it. Northland South scored late in the first half and at half time it was 7 all. When the teams swapped ends, North Harbour found their structure and returned to the game plan that has served them well. Jed Melvin drove over for Harbours second try after the North harbour forwards ground their way forward through some solid pick and goes. A Caleb Leef drop goal secured some breathing space then Caleb McDonald finished things with a 20 metre sprint to cross over in the corner. Under trying conditions Finlay Brewis captained Harbour superbly keeping his team focused on playing rugby and sticking to the plan when needed.
The Harbour U16 Cardinal side travelled to Kaikohe to play Northland North winning 17-7. A great Bus Trip up to Kaikohe saw the boys arrive in good spirits. For a number of the team this was the furthest away from Auckland they had been. Heavy rain and a strong wind greeted the players at kick off. Harbour played into the conditions in the first half and got off to a good start with an unconverted try after 10 mins. A lop sided penalty count and a player sent to the bin allowed Northland back into the game and they finally scored close to the posts to give them a 7 – 5 half time lead. The conditions gradually improved in the 2nd half but Harbour had a roll on and played some great rugby that defied the conditions scoring twice to take the win with 2 tries to Maine Kitzen, a try to Julian Vea and Samuel Samu kicked a conversion.
The Harbour U14 White team played Northland South losing 7- 22 on a wet afternoon in Kaiwaka. The Harbour U14 White boys struggled to combat the dominant Northland pack. Northland took advantage of a strong breeze to be up 12-0 at half time. Harbour came back well in the second half but struggled to turn pressure into points. The boys look forward to a big local clash in their final game. Jared Leef scored a try and Caleb Tangitau kicked a conversion.
The North Harbour U14 Cardinal side headed up to Kaikohe in the winterless North for their third game but unfortunately the weather wasn’t very nice and it rained heavily throughout! The Northland side quickly adapted to the conditions and within 7 minutes had slipped over for two tries, one being converted. From then the North Harbour side worked hard in the worsening conditions and had plenty of time on attack but were let down by handling and footwork so the half time score remained at 0-12. The second half started just like the first but the weather continued to worsen and turned to be at the back of the Northland North side. Another two tries were scored, one again converted, as the Harbour side battled bravely into the conditions. While the Harbour side battled into the worsening conditions they were not able to gain enough control over the ball to put any points on the board. The final scoring of the match was another try to Northland North making the final score 0-29, just as the rain finally stopped. Brave efforts in the terrible conditions were again had by Evan Williams and Ned Barry on the tackling fronts.
North Harbour U85’s travelled to Waitemata and play their old rival Auckland going down 6-18. Harbour took the game to Auckland from the kick-off, winning turn over ball, stringing a number of phases together and putting pressure on the Auckland defence. Auckland eventually controlled the ball and moved into the Harbour red zone with strong running from their forwards and some exciting play from their backs. Harbours defence was strong however and the pressure they were putting on the Auckland mid-field was forcing errors from their much vaunted backs. It was somewhat surprising then when a basic defensive error saw Auckland score between the posts. 7 – 0 after 10 minutes. Harbour were getting back into the game by putting pressure on Auckland behind the advantage line and from this pressure Auckland conceded a penalty 35 metres out and Jarrod Soar duly got Harbour on the board. 10 – 3 after 23 minutes. Play ranged between 22s before Auckland conceded another penalty for Jarrod Soar to close the gap to 10 – 6 at the half time whistle. Playing into the wind in the second half a huge effort was needed by the Harbour team. Harbour dominated possession and territory but in a rare visit to Harbour’s territory a soft penalty was conceded by Harbour and, against the run of play, Auckland went further ahead 13 – 6 with 28 minutes to go. Harbour continued to dominate possession and territory with strong running from all forwards, and Jarrod Soar went close after a scintillating 40 metre burst from the base of a ruck saw him pulled down a metre out. A forced error however, saw Auckland pounce on a loose ball and move it quickly to the wing. With one back still in the bin the cover was light and Auckland were able to run 40 metres to score in the corner. The tackle count in the second half was Harbour 22 tackles, Auckland 78 which demonstrated Harbour’s dominance of possession but luck and the whistle did not go their way. All credit to the Auckland team who defended well for long periods of play. Player of the Day went to No 8 Brett Crossan who was outstanding at the break down and with the ball in hand.
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