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The Manurewa Premiers retained the Pat Walsh Memorial trophy and won the Counties Power Game of the Week, with a 34-14 victory over Waiuku Brian James Contracting in their Challenge Cup fixture at Mountfort Park 1.

Samoa Sevens player Alamanda Motuga was a standout for Manurewa. He only returned back home on Wednesday from the Singapore World Series tournament and he trained on Thursday. The number seven was huge for the home side and he was named the A S Wilcox & Sons Limited Player of the Day. He went home with a bag of vegetables from A S Wilcox & Sons Limited.

Manurewa assistant coach Josh Levi said Motuga’s presence was immense.

“He was into everything – strong ball carries, strong defence and he was a good link player. We also had Tim Nanai-Williams there as well. He didn’t play but he was our water boy. So having both of those guys there was great for the team, they pumped everyone up. We did the basics well, which was great to see.”

“We used the Pat Walsh Day as motivation for us. We really wanted to hold onto the trophy and it’s great that we did. We had a good crowd too. It wasn’t just families of players but a lot of ex-players as well.”

Levi said Waiuku were really tough, and it was the visitors who went into the break with a 14-10 lead.

“We knew it was going to be hard going against them. They grinded away and as always they came out firing. Their forward pack was strong and their scrums were good. But our attitude was much better. We had a great week leading up to the match and our warm up was good, everything seemed to fall into place.”

Pukekohe Mitre 10 Mega produced a great result over Ardmore Marist South Auckland Motors at Colin Lawrie Fields. They came away with a 27-11 victory at home.

The first twenty minutes was action-packed, with Pukekohe scoring a try and kicking a penalty before Ardmore Marist came back and levelled the score. Pukekohe had a 17-8 lead at half time.

Pukekohe coach Rhys Cullinane said it was a tight game but his side worked hard in the second half.

“We just chipped away and worked hard on getting good field position. We picked up the points when we could and I was really happy with our set piece. We had good scrums and line outs and we dominated at scrum time. I’m really happy with the result.”

Cullinane credited his number seven Cody Wheeler who had a great game and fullback Joe Reynolds who kicked a conversion, three penalties and a drop goal.

Counties Power Cup holders Patumahoe Hotel are now unbeaten through seven games, after beating Onewhero Counties Bulk Haulage/Carters 35-0 at Onewhero.

Patumahoe were motivated by prop Siosiua Pole, who played his 100^th game for the club. Manager Paul Batters said he played well and the occasion was certainly one of the focuses for the day.

“The boys got up for Siua’s milestone and we really laid the foundation in the first half. We led 8-0 at the break and we put plenty of pressure on in the second spell. Our forwards were good again for us.”

“We’re delighted with our start to the season, it’s definitely much better than last year, but we know we still have some really tough games to come.”

Will and Sam Furniss had great games, while prop Kamaliele Sakalia was again a stand out for Patumahoe.

Karaka defeated Te Kauwhata Envirowaste 51-0 at Karaka Sports Park 1, but the score didn’t really reflect how well Te Kauwhata played.

Karaka coach Craig Hill gave a lot of credit to their opposition.

“They were really competitive and at scrum time and at the breakdown they really took it to us. They should be pleased with their effort. It was really just in the last 20 minutes of the game that we piled on some points, we only led 20-0 at that stage. I was equally pleased with our bench, we had a number of young guys making their debuts off the bench and they went really well.”

Hooker Sione Anga'aelangi was again impressive for Karaka, he got lots of go forward for his side and Hill said halfback Andrew West also had a great game.

It will be a big occasion for Anga'aelangi and the Karaka club when they face Patumahoe next weekend. He’ll play his 100^th game and the Trevor Wymer Memorial Cup will go on the line. Wymer was a Karaka life member with many close friends in Patumahoe.

Liam Daniela and Sepuloni Taufa shone for Bombay Gough Cat in their 77-7 win over Weymouth on the hill. Daniela crossed the try line four times, while Taufa picked up a hat-trick. Silipa Lealiifano scored Weymouth’s try in the first half, with Sonatane Halaeko kicking the conversion.

Bombay Gough Cat are now level with Karaka in the Challenge Cup standings after seven rounds. They sit on 30, three points behind Patumahoe Hotel who are the current leaders. Onewhero Counties Bulk Haulage/Carters are on 25, Pukekohe Mitre 10 Mega on 23 and Ardmore Marist South Auckland Motors are back in sixth on 19 points.

In the Don Shuker Cup Premier Reserve, Patumahoe Hutton Builders defeated Onewhero Hinemoa Produce/Livestock NZ 22-14. Karaka proved too strong for Te Kauwhata Trailers & Cabins, 86-0. Ardmore Marist Harcourt’s picked up a 17-10 win over Pukekohe. Bombay Pokeno Bacon beat Puni 71-14 and Manurewa came away with a 36-12 victory over Waiuku.

Ardmore Marist Ross Roof Group defeated Patumahoe Albycon Ltd 22-11 in their Massey Cup Under 21 fixture. Bombay Roger Gill Agriculture defeated Waiuku 37-10 and Pukekohe beat Karaka 19-8.

In the Under 85kg competition, Ardmore Marist Harcourt’s had a tight tussle with Karaka, with Ardmore Marist taking the win 14-8. Bombay Lincoln Farms were too good for Onewhero 47-7 and Patumahoe Pak ‘N’ Save defeated Waiuku 55-15.

In their Under 20 pre-season game, Pukekohe had a close encounter with Papatoetoe, with Pukekohe eventually coming away with a 34-31 victory.

A S Wilcox & Sons Limited Leaderboard after Round Seven

Information supplied by coaches and team sheets.