Rugby: Old Boys gather momentum to move into second

File photo by LDV Photography.

New Plymouth Old Boys have moved into second place on the Taranaki premier club rugby table after a 47-29 win against Southern at Vogeltown Park.

The victory was Old Boys’ second consecutive after beating Tukapa the previous week, following their opening loss of the season to Clifton.

Played in still conditions and refereed by international Paul Williams, Old Boys, who missed out on last year’s semi-finals, scored seven tries to five, including four in the first half.

Old Boys coach Justin Looney said the team took confidence from their defensive effort against Tukapa and knew they had to improve to beat Southern.

“We got off to a great start, [with] a couple of early tries and we kept the pressure on through the first half,” he said.

Old Boys stormed out to a 25-5 lead at the break, with Southern unable to contend with the home side’s speed and ability to play inside their half.

Looney said with a few second-half changes up front for Southern, the game became more direct and set-piece dominated, which was not what Old Boys wanted.

Southern found some momentum in the second half but, because of Old Boys’ lead, did not threaten the scoreboard.

However, Looney was pleased with how the forward pack performed, with all playing “huge minutes”.

“Their commitment and effort meant out backs could play. The most pleasing thing was the opportunities we created, we were able to turn into points.”

Attention shifted to United the following week, which Looney said would pose threats across the field.

“Defensively, we’ll have to be connected, we leaked 29 points, so we’ll have to be better in that department.”

At Tikorangi, Clifton remained unbeaten after a 55-3 win against defending champions Stratford-Eltham.

In an open, free-flowing match, Clifton scored nine tries, including four to outside back Indiha Sao Tui-Huta.

Stratford-Eltham stayed in the match for the opening 30 minutes, including a penalty to Blake Christie, before Clifton gained momentum to lead 24-3 at halftime.

Tui-Huta was electric and scored his tries through a mix of footwork and pace down the wing.

Tukapa survived a late period of pressure from Coastal to hold on for a 22-20 win at Rahotu.

The match was even throughout until Tukapa scored an intercept try with 15 minutes to play.

Tukapa defended better than the previous week, which proved the difference in the result.

United picked up their second win of the season with a 22-17 victory over Inglewood at TET Stadium.

Both teams scored three tries each, but it was the boot of Jax Morgan that proved decisive, slotting two conversions and a penalty.

On Saturday, United host Old Boys at Stadium Taranaki, Clifton take on Inglewood at Tikorangi, Stratford-Eltham face Tukapa and Coastal travel to Hicks Park to play Southern.

Kick-off is scheduled for 2.45pm.

The points table after three weeks was: Clifton 15, Old Boys 11, United 9, Tukapa 8, Southern 7, Inglewood 6, Coastal 6, Stratford-Eltham 3.