Rugby: Old Boys back in semi-final contention

File photo from the first round by Scott Siffleet. 

A double by New Plymouth Old Boys midfielder Levi Reweti helped his team move back into the top four of Taranaki premier club rugby on Saturday.

The 30-23 win against cross-city rivals Tukapa at Vogeltown Park meant Old Boys leapt over their opposition on the table.

The result also reversed the first round’s contest when Tukapa won at Sanders Park.  

Heading into the match, Old Boys were bolstered by Taranaki locks and brothers Fiti and Jayden Sa, who formed what was effectively a provincial forward pack.

Taranaki utility back Brayton Northcott-Hill also returned for Old Boys after a period on the sidelines due to injury.  

Conversely, Tukapa were missing several players and others playing out of position, which included prop Scott Mellow selected at lock.

After a tight opening first quarter, which included Tukapa scoring the first try, Old Boys took control of the match with a 22-11 lead at halftime.

It was highlighted by Old Boys’ strong pack, which out muscled Tukapa as they kept possession and exploited space on the wings.

In a scrappy match, the second half lost some momentum, but Old Boys did enough to hang on despite Tukapa coming back with several late tries.

Elsewhere, a late penalty kick to Stratford-Eltham ensured the defending champions maintained their lead in the competition with a 15-14 win against Coastal at the Rahotu Domain.

In the top-of-the-table match, both teams scored two tries as Coastal played with a stiff wind behind them in the first half.

With the scores locked up at 7-all at the break, it was Coastal’s Kusi Drauna who scored down the right wing as he evaded tackles to take the lead.

It was short-lived as loose forward Zarhn Collins scored for Stratford-Eltham, which eventually gave his team momentum.

The late penalty kick to Obey Samate near the end of the match made it six consecutive wins for Stratford-Eltham.

United picked up their third win of the season beating Inglewood 32-24.  

In a tight tussle at TET Stadium, it was the home team who scored first.

That did not seem to faze United, who got out to a 17-7 lead at halftime, including tries where Inglewood missed first-up tackles.

During the second half, United’s lead continued to mount until Inglewood clawed their way back to narrow the margin by three points.

Loose forward AJ Lemalu crashed over with minutes remaining to push the score out beyond seven.  

In the remaining match of the weekend, Clifton beat Southern 40-27 at Tikorangi to move into second place.

Clifton scored six tries to four, including two to wing Daniel Fa’aseu and one each to Blyde brothers Liam and Cole. 

Southern have not won since the first week, while the win was Clifton’s second consecutive.

Next week sees Southern play Inglewood at Hicks Park, Stratford-Eltham is home to Old Boys at Victoria Park, Clifton host Tukapa at Tikorangi and Coastal travel to Stadium Taranaki to play United.

The points table after 10 weeks is: Stratford-Eltham 27, Clifton 25, Coastal 22, Old Boys 21, Tukapa 19, United 13, Southern 8, Inglewood 6.