Rugby: United secure first win of the season

United has picked up their first win of the CMK premier club rugby competition beating Inglewood 24-13 at Stadium Taranaki.

The win, which is the club’s first since June last year – also against Inglewood – was only the side’s second victory since 2022.

The result was one of several that would have surprised many punters during round three of the competition. Defending champions Stratford-Eltham were beaten, Clifton secured a strong win over Southern and Tukapa over came New Plymouth Old Boys late in the match.

Ahead of the United match, coach Teihorangi Walden said on The Most FM Sports Show a winning performance was not far away after the club, formally called Spotswood United.

“Compared to last year, we’re in such a better space, the quality of players has gone up,” he said.  

“We’ve had some awesome halves and [we’ve] been waiting for that 80-minute performance.”

United were bolstered by the return of Hurricanes rookie Arese Poliko, who was visibly strong up front with several runs and tackles. He added to United’s scrum, which looked to dominate throughout the match.

But it was Inglewood who started well. After a frantic start by both teams, Inglewood number eight Josefa Namosimalua snaffled a loose ball at the back of a United line out five meters from the try line and ran 95m down the touchline to score.

Despite the mistake, United bounced back with two tries, including one to Poliko.

United went into the break with a 14-10 lead as Inglewood kicked a penalty right on halftime to keep the scores close.

After Inglewood kicked a penalty to open the scoring in the second half, it was all United from there with a try and a penalty kick to end the match.

Coastal picked up their first win of the season against defending champions Stratford-Eltham 31-24 at Victoria Park.

It was Stratford-Eltham who scored first, but Coastal looked more organised than previous weeks with plenty of momentum during the match, including a 14-10 lead at the break.

It was an open second half and Coastal took their opportunities.

Elusive outside back Brendan Coupe dotted down twice for Stratford-Eltham, while Coastal’s Jackson Sinclair kicked 11 points off the tee.

Three second half tries from mistakes was the difference in Tukapa’s 31-23 win against cross-city rivals New Plymouth Old Boys at Sanders Park.

In a seesawing, open encounter played in front of a large crowd, Old Boys had the edge for most of the match until Tukapa came back when they trailed 15-12.

Tukapa’s three tries came from Old Boys’ mistakes as ball retention and passing at the wrong time saw the home team pounce on loose ball to score. The mistakes came close to Old Boys’ defending line and two inside their own half.

Walter Cole was a standout for Old Boys, while Tukapa’s midfielder Larenz Tupaea-Thomsen also starred with the ball in hand. Waata Wharawhara scored two tries for Tukapa.

The win meant Tukapa won the Ibbotson Cup.

Clifton moved into second place on the table with a 48-21 win against Southern at Hicks Park in Hāwera.

Clifton scored eight tries to three in the match, including two each to replacements Daniel Fa’aseu and Suli Pahulu.

The win is Clifton’s second consecutive, while Southern have only picked up one win so far which came in the opening round.  

Next week sees Inglewood host Southern under lights on Thursday night from 7:30pm. The remaining matches will be played on Good Friday with Tukapa home to Clifton, Coastal host United and Stratford-Eltham travel north to play Old Boys. All matches on Friday start at 2:45pm.

The points after three weeks are; Tukapa 13, Clifton 11, Stratford-Eltham 11, Coastal 8, Southern 6, NPOB 5, United 5, Inglewood 4.