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Top four spots in McNamara Cup secured after weekend action

Four clubs have booked their spots in the McNamara Cup top five second round while Waiuku Land & Sea Civil and Pukekohe Mitre 10 Mega will battle it out for the final place.

Karaka, Ardmore Marist South Auckland Motors, Manurewa Kidd Contracting and Patumahoe Troydon Patumahoe Hotel picked up wins on Saturday to confirm their places in the next round.

Ardmore Marist had to work exceptionally hard to beat a spirited Waiuku side 31-24 at Rugby Park and stay level with Karaka atop the standings.

Doug Sanft’s side fell behind early but worked their way back to take control in the second half. They conceded a late try to set up a thrilling finish, but the home side couldn’t find the killer blow.

“Waiuku was more desperate than us,” Sanft conceded.

“We were lucky to come away with the win.”

All is not lost for Waiuku though – they can make the all-important top five if they beat Bombay next weekend and hope Pukekohe lose to Manurewa.

Defending champions Bombay Super Freight were pipped late by Pukekohe 9-8 in a close affair at the Bombay Domain in a battle between two sides fighting to keep their McNamara Cup chances alive.

Pukekohe, who have really found some form over the past three weeks, didn’t have it their own this week as the game remained on a knife-edge throughout the contest.

“It was a tough battle on the hill as expected,” Pukekohe coach Sean Polwart said. “Bombay were physical for 80 minutes and it took some desperate defence to keep them out.

“I’m very proud of our guys for hanging in there and finding a way to win when nothing seemed to go right for us.

“Big efforts from captain Jamie Orr and our young front row – Kauvaka Kaivelata in particular.”

Pukekohe will guarantee themselves a spot in the top five with a win over Manurewa next week.

Karaka thumped Papakura Thirsty Liquor 91-12 at Massey Park to bounce back from their loss – the only blotch on their 2021 season – against Manurewa last weekend.

“We were wary going into this game with not sure what to expect,” Karaka coach Craig Hill said. “Papakura had pushed a couple of teams very close, combined with some of our boys being unavailable.

“The backs showed their attacking threats and put together some nice tries.

“The Papakura set piece was good and gave our forwards a good hit out in that area.”

Karaka take on neighbours Patumahoe in their final round one match and, with those points carrying over to the second round, there will be plenty to play for.

Patumahoe hammered Weymouth 91-3 at home to help their Junior Club celebrate their 50^th anniversary in style.

After a patchy start to the season, Reon Graham’s side has hit a purple patch, winning five on the bounce to secure their place in the next round.

“We were really grateful Weymouth fronted and gave us a game,” Graham explained. “They had been hit by injuries and players away sick so their numbers were down but they still stepped up to give us a game, which showed a lot about the culture they still have in the club.

“Aue Parima had a huge weekend for the club as he played Friday night for the U21s then 40 minutes for Reserves and the second half for Prems.

“We are looking forward to the next phase of the competition, which starts this week for us against Karaka.”

Manurewa picked up a win over Onewhero Summit Homes, who were forced to default the match.

Patumahoe Dave Redshaw Electrical pipped neighbours Karaka 26-20 in a close-fought Bob Chandler Cup Premier Reserves contest at Patumahoe Domain. Manurewa Wise Property Management beat Ardmore Marist Barfoot & Thompson 38-20 while Bombay Pokeno Bacon were 22-15 victors over Pukekohe.

Bombay, Kakara, Patumahoe and Manurewa hold top four spots in the grade as it stands.

Te Kauwhata Proclad continued their unbeaten start to the Sid Marshall Shield Championship division with a 38-17 win over Papakura Thirsty Liquor.

Elsewhere Drury kept pace with Te Kauwhata thanks to a 61-5 win over Tuakau, Patumahoe Village Bar & Grill beat Puni 58-7 to move up to third, Maramarua edged Manurewa 26-20 while Te Kohanga beat Pukekohe 14-8 at Colin Lawrie Fields to hold fourth on the ladder.

Manurewa Barfoot & Thompson proved too strong for Pukekohe 32-19 in the Massey Cup U21s grade – our Counties Power Game of the Week.

Manurewa moves up to second in the standings as a result.

Waiuku picked up their first win of the season as they beat Karaka 31-19 in a strong result while Patumahoe CJM Construction narrowly beat Papakura Thirsty Liquor 18-17 at Massey Park on Friday night.

In the U85kg grade, Patumahoe Pak N Save Pukekohe hammered Beachlands Maraetai 67-0 to complete a clean sweep for the club across all grades. Onewhero beat Bombay 12-7, Karaka blanked Pukekohe 23-0 and Waiuku beat Papakura Thirsty Liquor 44-14 in other matches across the grade.

Karaka, Patumahoe and Onewhero top the standings and remain unbeaten so far.

In women’s action Papakura thumped Papatoetoe 74-0 but Ardmore Marist went down to Ponsonby 24-10 and Manurewa lost to Marist 31-27 in Premier action.

Patumahoe Searle Group enjoyed a 17-7 win over University in the 10-a-side competition.

Counties Power Club Rugby Results 22 May 2021:

McNamara Cup (Premiership):

Waiuku Land & Sea Civil 24-31 Ardmore Marist South Auckland Motors

Bombay Super Freight 8-9 Pukekohe Mitre 10 Mega Pukekohe

Papakura Thirsty Liquor 12-91 Karaka

Onewhero Summit Homes defaulted to Manurewa Kidd Contracting

Patumahoe Troydon Patumahoe Hotel 91-3 Weymouth

Sid Marshall Shield (Championship):

Drury `61-5 Tuakau

Maramarua 26-20 Manurewa

Te Kauwhata PROCLAD 38-17 Papakura Thirsty Liquor