Rugby: Clifton end round one on top

Photo by: Shelley Tate Photograhy 

A hat-trick of tries to Clifton wing Jona Mataiciwa has helped his team on the top of the table after the opening round of Taranaki premier club rugby.

After the first seven weeks of the competition, Clifton finished with 28 points, one point ahead of second placed Tukapa, when they beat New Plymouth Old Boys 56-28 at the Tikorangi Domain.  

Mataiciwa moved to New Zealand from Fiji as an 11-year-old and was the 2019 Red Bull Ignite7s most valuable player. He debuted for Clifton last year.

The powerful outside back proved too dangerous for the Old Boys defence down his wing as he scored his three tries in the second half.

By that stage, Clifton had got out to a convincing 22-14 lead at the break, thanks to the attack’s ability to spot holes in the Old Boys’ defence with good support play.

That style set up all of Mataiciwa’s tries as he stayed close to the ball carrier and able to dot down on his wing.

He also made several breaks during the game and kicked four conversions and two penalty kicks in his all-round performance.

Clifton also appeared to have the dominance up front which was used to turn momentum when Old Boys had possession.

Old Boys’ Walter Cole was again impressive with the ball and made several breaks up the field.  

A last-minute try saw Stratford-Eltham beat Southern 18-19 at Hicks Park in Hawera.

Attacking inside Southern’s 22 for the final stages of the match, Stratford-Eltham mauled from the lineout and snuck over to score.

The jubilation was delayed as referee Ross Hanan, refereeing in his first year of premier rugby, hunted for the ball before he awarded the try.

Southern’s performance was much improved compared to previous weeks and led by 10-0 at the break. The loss is their sixth in-a-row, while Stratford-Eltham secured three wins on the bounce.

Coastal’s second half was the difference in their 45-7 win against Inglewood at TET Stadium.

Leading 19-7 at halftime, Coastal were patient in their build up and used their forward pack to muscle over Inglewood.

Continuing his form this season, former New South Wales age-group player Ben Dufficy was impressive with two tries and several breaks down field.

Inglewood’s sole try was scored by fullback Dion Schreiber, who managed to dive on a kick from a teammate.  

In the remaining match, Tukapa picked up a 54-21 win against neighbours United at Stadium Taranaki.

Tukapa scored six tries to three in the match, while United’s replacement back Tayne Clark scored two.

While Tukapa have the better win-loss record that Clifton, they did not have as many bonus points and sit in second place.   

In next week’s round, Inglewood hosts Old Boys, Southern is home to United, Clifton plays Stratford-Eltham and Coastal travel to Tukapa.

The points table after seven weeks is: Clifton 28, Tukapa 27, Stratford-Eltham 25, Coastal 24, NPOB 21, Inglewood 9, Southern 7, United 6. Points will be halved.