News

Ardmore Marist South Auckland Motors made a massive statement as they beat defending McNamara Cup champions Bombay 44-21 at Bombay Domain on Saturday.

Coach Doug Sanft’s side shot out to an early lead – taking a 23-7 lead into the break - before ramming home the advantage in the second spell.

The visitors out-scored Bombay five tries to three and moved up to second on the standings.

“It was a quality game,” Sanft said. “Both teams were clinical. Every error was crucial. I know Bombay will be back there in the playoffs and the back end of the round.

“It was a good test of where we are at.”

Ardmore Marist got out of jail against Onewhero after lockdown and lost to Manurewa but have strung a couple of good wins together in the past fortnight to look like the side everyone tipped at the beginning of the season.

“I think one of the things we had to understand and try to adapt to is the new laws around the breakdown and stuff,” Sanft admitted.

“We are getting used to that.

“It is just understanding how we want to play but in order for that to happen our drivers have to be the ones to drive the team. We do all the coaching on Tuesdays and Thursdays but on Saturday it comes down to them.”

Manurewa Kidd Contracting retained the Counties Power Cup and top spot on the standings as they dismantled Pukekohe Mitre 10 Mega with a 41-19 victory at Colin Lawrie Fields.

Manurewa remain the only unbeaten side this season and took bragging rights over their traditional rivals. The result sent Pukekohe to their second successive loss after a strong re-start to the competition.

Jeremy Clark’s side scored seven tries in the victory including a hat-trick to Augustine Mafoe, who joins Waiuku’s Aporosa Derenalagi atop the AS Wilcox leaderboard with five on the season.

“We prepped really well during the week,” Clark said. “We knew with Pukekohe being the good side that they are it was going to be a good battle so we really tuned up the forwards to lay that platform.

“We got off to a flyer – we really wanted to concentrate on that first 20 minutes and we dominated the contact areas and laid the platform to play off.

“That first half we scored four or five tries.

“We let a soft try in before halftime.

“We wanted to put a full 80 minutes in but we still haven’t been able to do that so we know there is a lot of work to be done.”

Karaka kept their spot inside the top four but were forced to work hard to beat neighbouring Patumahoe Troydon Patumahoe Hotel 28-25 at Karaka Sports Complex.

After shooting out to a 25-10 lead early in the second spell Karaka were forced to try and hold on as Patumahoe came storming home. The visitors took the lead late in the contest and it came down to a penalty out in front from a scrum with time gone that saw Karaka claim victory.

“It was a typical Karaka v Patty contest,” Karaka mentor Craig Hill said. “I was pretty pleased with how we played in that last 10 minutes. We piled plenty of pressure on Patumahoe and eventually we got that penalty to win it.

“We struggled with conceding penalties in the second half and that cost us badly but I’m pleased with how we fought back in the final moments.”

Karaka’s win lifted them to a share of third place on the ladder and eliminated Patumahoe from any realistic chance of making the semi-finals.

Waiuku Brian James Contracting survived a second half rally from Onewhero Summit Homes to claim a tense 29-28 win at Rugby Park.

It was a one-sided showing in the first half as Waiuku took a 29-0 lead and looked set to take a comfortable victory but Onewhero, fresh of their first win of the season, bounced back in the second half and all but ran the home side down.

Both sides collected four tries to bank valuable bonus points.

Waiuku stayed in the top four with the win.

Manurewa women thumped rivals Ardmore Marist 56-10 in the Counties Power Game of the Week at Mountfort Park to keep their unbeaten record intact.

They remain top of the Auckland standings and picked up a rare win over the club that has had the wood over them in recent seasons.

Ardmore Marist had a better run of it in Bob Chandler Premier 2 action as they thumped Bombay 66-17 to stay second on the competition ladder. Karaka beat Patumahoe Dave Redshaw Electrical 37-17 to stay top while Pukekohe PPG Distributors edged Manurewa Wise Property Management 22-21 and Papakura beat Weymouth 21-17.

Patumahoe Village Bar and Kitchen collected a crucial 31-21 victory over Ardmore Marist in Sid Marshall Shield Premier 3 play. Drury beat defending champions Maramarua 18-15 to move up to third in the standings. Puni continued their terrific season with a 44-0 thumping of Tuakau and moved to the top of the ladder as a result.

Papakura flexed their muscles in the Massey Cup U21 competition as they racked up a 102-0 win over Bombay. Patumahoe Albycon Ltd beat Karaka 39-5 while Manurewa kept top spot with a 60-22 win over Pukekohe.

U85kg Cup Holders Pukekohe defeated Bombay 22-17 while Waiuku picked up an impressive 38-18 win over Patumahoe Pak n Save. Onewhero Bottle’O Tuakau were too good for Beachlands Maraetai 12-5 and Papakura thumped Te Kauwhata 69-0.