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This week’s Counties Power Game of the Week sees the Pukekohe Under 21’s hosting Ardmore Marist Ross Roof Group at Colin Lawrie Fields 2 on Saturday at 1pm.

Both sides had mixed results in the opening round of the Under 21 Massey Cup competition last weekend, with Pukekohe defeating Bombay Roger Gill Agriculture 25-5 and Ardmore Marist Ross Roof Group falling just short to Karaka 13-12.

Pukekohe sit top of the table after round one and coach Paul Ivamy was really pleased with how his side went in the first game of the season.

“It was good to get a proper game in after all that pre-season. The boys played really well actually, I was pretty happy with them to be honest and we came through the match unscathed as well with no injuries which is always a positive.”

The Under 21 Massey Cup defending champions are expecting a tough challenge from Ardmore Marist. Ivamy said his boys are up for the challenge.

“Ardmore Marist are always a tough match. It will be pretty physical I would imagine, but hopefully the boys can get up again. I haven’t seen them play this year obviously so I’m not sure who their stand out players will be, but I’m more just worried about my side to be honest. We need to focus on ourselves.”

Ardmore Marist Ross Roof Group Under 21’s coach Ah-Sui Ah-Sui says despite his sides’ first up narrow loss, his side is ready to go against Pukekohe.

“Everyone is ready for that game, it will be a big one for us. I expect a lot from those Puke boys because some of that team have been together for about 3-4 years now. The chemistry they have is really tight. I will prepare my team as best I can to try and break that chemistry.”

Ah-Sui coached the Pukekohe Under-19’s last year so he knows a few of the boys who will be in the Under-21’s side on Saturday.

He was relatively happy with his sides’ performance last week, despite the loss.

“I didn’t expect them to be that close. My boys are just starting to work well together after coming from different schools like De La Salle, Wesley and Manurewa. They have all been taught different ways of playing rugby, which is understandable. We’ve had help from some of the senior coaches at Ardmore Marist and we’re putting together a game plan for our team for the rest of the year, so we are building. I’m sure we will have a great game with Pukekohe, although they will be hard to beat.”

Make sure to get to Colin Lawrie Fields 2 at 1pm on Saturday to watch this week’s Counties Power Game of the Week between Pukekohe and Ardmore Marist in the Under 21 Massey Cup.

Photo Credit: Richard Spranger Photography

(Pukekohe U21's winning the Massey Cup title in 2015)