Rugby: Parker unblemished off the tee for Old Boys

File photo by Andy McArthur

The boot of New Plymouth Old Boys’ pivot Jack Parker was the difference in his side’s strong win against defending champions Stratford-Eltham in Taranaki premier club rugby on Friday.

The young first-five eight kicked an unblemished nine from nine to accumulate 23 points in the 43-27 win at Vogeltown Park.

The resulted promoted Old Boys from the bottom section of the table into fourth place and reversed the result from last weekend when they were beaten by cross-city rivals Tukapa.

It also meant Stratford-Eltham suffered two consecutive losses in the competition, but coach Ra Mako wouldn’t be too concerned as that happened during last year’s championship-winning season.  

Several of Parker’s conversions were from the sideline as the Buller Heartland representative did well to contend with a stiff northerly which blew diagonally across the ground.

His five penalty kicks were from comfortable positions and mostly from Old Boys’ scrum as it powered through the Stratford-Eltham pack for large chunks of the match.

But it wasn’t just Parker’s kicking off the tee that was a stand out, his work around the field was also obvious as he kicked for possession, including a 50-22 in the first half, which kept the momentum going for Old Boys.

The number of handling errors from Old Boys was a surprise considering the hot, dry conditions but that had been a trend for the side during the season.

Stratford-Eltham found some momentum later in the match after they trailed 24-13 at the break.

Midfielder Chayce Bailey and number eight Semisi Balenaisa scored in the second spell as the visitors managed to find gaps in the Old Boys defensive line as the phase count mounted.

Inglewood bounced back from last week’s loss to beat Southern 24-14 at TET Stadium under lights on Thursday.

Despite Southern’s impressive pack, which dominated Inglewood’s scrum, the home team looked far more superior out wide.

They also tightened up their defence from last weekend and shut down midfielder Meihana Grindlay, who had the potential to break out of Southern’s half.

A late Sam Clarke converted try kept Tukapa undefeated after four rounds as they saw off Clifton 25-24 at Sanders Park.

Clifton led for all of the match until the final minute where they defended with 14 players after Paul Faogali was yellow carded for a high tackle in the lead up to the try.

But there were promising signs for Clifton as their support play leading up to their tries were impressive.

Tukapa’s awareness to pounce on loose ball following opposition team’s mistakes had been evident this year and continued on Friday to launch from the right areas of the field.

Two tries to Jackson Sinclair and Kusi Drauna helped Coastal secure their second win on the bounce when they beat United 33-20.

Sinclair scored 18 points in the match as he kicked four conversions in the game.

The match was tight until the last 20 minutes when Coastal secured dominance.  

Tamati Taylor-Tupaea and Jacob Ince scored United’s only tries.  

In week five, matches will be played on Anzac Day. United hosts Old Boys, Clifton is home to Inglewood, Stratford-Ethlam play Tukapa and Coastal is away to Southern. All matches kick off at 2:45pm.

The points table after four weeks is: Tukapa 17, Clifton 13, Coastal 13, Stratford-Eltham 11, Old Boys 10, Inglewood 9, Southern 6, United 5.