Taieri too slow to catch swift Dunedin

Otago Daily Times

31-05-2025

Dunedin 38 Taieri 35
Dunedin came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt and in just over 20 minutes were up 33-0.
Dunedin midfielder Tayne Harvey started the action with a colossal hit on fellow midfielder Matt Whaanga, the ball jolted free and ended up in the hands of flying winger Oscar Schmidt Uli and he cantered 70m for the try.
Fullback Kyan Rangitutia found space on the blind to put winger Joe Parkinson away on an angled run for the touchdown. The Eels were forced into errors and flanker Jarius Losefa kicked through a charge down and won the race to the ball and Dunedin were 19-0.
Dunedin scored the try of the game as they went 90m, and fly half Cam Burgess scampered the last 20m.
Then after a Losefa break Schmidt Uli again had too much pace.
Taieri finally started holding on to possession and flanker Tom Bolton found himself in space out wide and with a nifty chip and chase gave the Eels a much-needed try.
He was back in the action soon after halftime when he made a break to put halfback Jac Morton over.
But the killer blow came minutes later when Rangitutia found space to put Schmidt Uli over for his third to extend the lead to 38-14.
Taieri's pack took control of the game when Dunedin lost some heavyweights, including 150 game man Hame Toma and lock Josh Tengblad, and the Eels took full advantage.
They scored from a lineout drive.
They pounded away at the Dunedin line and only resolute defence held them out.
Whaanga finally took a quick tap from a penalty to put replacement Caleb Leef over and the lead was down to 10.
Dunedin were reduced to 14 when Parkinson was binned for a high shot and Whaanga found a hole on the inside to put fullback Reef Newdick over and the lead was down to three.
But with a couple of late lineout steals to big Reuben Palmer the Dunedin defence held and they won the Speight's Jug as the first round winners.
For Dunedin Schmidt Uli was the best back, up front lock Palmer went the full 80 and was a tower of strength, won his lineout ball and crucially a few of theirs.
For Taieri prop Cam Allan McNeill was their best up front and was powerful with ball in hand. In the backs Whaanga inspired the comeback with some telling breaks that got them oh so close to snatching it. — Paul Dwyer University 48 Harbour 46
The lead changed seven times in a thrilling high-scoring encounter between University and Harbour at the University Oval, in a match honouring the recent passing of All Black, Otago and University rugby player Tuppy Diack.
Indeed it was a match Diack would have savoured given its free-flowing end-to-end nature.
Diack's No 14 jersey was retired for the match.
Right wing Aaron McMurray played in the No 22 and proved a standout, scoring two tries and always posing a threat with the ball in hand.
University captain and No 8 Lanson Randell left nothing on the park. He scored twice as well and led a solid forward pack to the breakdown.
Harbour's Nathan Hastie may have found a new calling at first five. The Highlanders halfback made the inside back spot his own, scoring a hat-trick of tries within his tally of 31 points for the match.
His third try was nothing short of sensational. He burst up the guts from his own 10m line and broke through 10 tackles to score under the bar.
He made some clever kicks in behind as well.
Harbour led 20-14 at the break and extended that to a 32-14 lead 10min into the second half.
But University scored five tries in 20 minutes to snatch a 45-32 lead.
Then in the blink of an eye Harbour scored twice and headed into the final few minutes 46-45 up.
Rico Muliaina kicked a late penalty to seal a thrilling 48-46 victory. — Wayne Parsons Southern 85 Alhambra-Union 12
Southern ran in 13 tries to destroy Alhambra-Union 85-12 at Bathgate Park.
Outside backs Josh Buchan and Harrison Martin bagged three tries apiece in the one-sided romp.
The Magpies led 40-7 at halftime.
AU enjoyed their best patch during the opening quarter of the second half.
The Thode twins William and Oliver scored on either side of the break.
But the visitors faded badly.
They lack fitness. They cannot seem to catch. They certainly cannot tackle and their offloads went to no-one or worse — the opposition. And they tend to go backwards when they have the ball.
AU has conceded more than 500 points in eight games.
There is no way to put a positive spin on that.
Southern, however, looked a million bucks albeit against a feeble opponent.
Mackenzie Palmer slotted into first five and created chaos.
Second five Justin Malifa collected a couple of his kicks ahead to either score or set up a try.
He proved elusive as did Buchan. The best of his three tries was a brilliant piece of skill.
He put in a grubber, scooped it up and sprinted 50m to score.
Replacement back Martin skinned Charles Alston twice to score two of his three tries.
Openside Harry Taylor was everywhere again. He won a lot of lineout ball and led the forward effort. — Adrian Seconi Kaikorai 43 Zingari-Richmond 22
Kaikorai took some time to get rolling at Montecillo Park.
Zingari-Richmond have some big ball runners and they put them to good use.
But the Demons have Ben Miller and the veteran fullback scored three tries, including one on either side of halftime.
That created some breathing space for the visitors.
They had been under pressure. Powerhouse No 8 Tofatuimoana Solia barged over early and Jerome Buckley-Faatoia, who had a strong game, got across the line as well.
But Miller scored just before the break to give Kaikorai a 19-12 lead and he dotted down again shortly after the resumption.
Impressive loose forward Lucas Casey added another five-pointer midway through the second spell and Rico Fisher scored as well to settle the contest.
The game got loose and the Colours scored a couple of tries in the final quarter of the game.
Solia and Buckley-Faatoia were among their best performers.
The Kaikorai front row put in an improved display this weekend. They were routed by Southern last week but made the adjustments, although hooker Ben Hellriegel got 10 minutes in the bin.
Miller put in a consummate display. He missed a few conversions but his tactical kicking game was solid and he popped up where he was needed in the backline.
Halfback Dylan Pledger made a big impact when he came off the bench. — Adrian Seconi Round 9 The scores
Dunedin 38 (Oscar Schmidt Uli 3, Jarius Losefa, Joe Parkinson, Cam Burgess tries; Burgess 4 con) Taieri 35 (Tom Bolton 2, Jac Morton, Caleb Leef, Reef Newdick tries; Samuel Waitia 5 con). Halftime: Dunedin 33-7.
Southern 85 (Josh Buchan 3, Harrison Martin 3, Justin Malifa 2, Lotu Solomona, Josh Timu, Harry Taylor, Wyndham Patuawa, Bede Dodd-Edgar tries; Patuawa 6 con, Mckenzie Palmer 4 con), Alhambra-Union 12 (William Thode, Oliver Thode tries; William Thode con). Halftime: 40-7.
Kaikorai 43 (Ben Miller 3, Henry Cleaver, Lucas Casey, Rico Fisher, Tori Randell tries; Miller 4 con), Zingari-Richmond 22 (Tofatuimoana Solia, Jerome Buckley-Faatoia, Isaac Dolan, Flavius Roberts-Vili tries; Buckley-Faatoia con). Halftime: 19-12.
University 48 (Lanson Randell 2, Aaron McMurray 2, Jake Evans, Rico Muliaina, Warren Loulanting; Muliaina 5 con, pen), Harbour 46 (Nathan Hastie 3, Toni Taufa, Ben Fakataha, Aleki Morris-Lorne; Nathan Hastie 5 con, 2 pen). Halftime: Harbour 20-14. Standings P W D L F A B Pts Dunedin 8 6 0 2 272 132 6 30 Taieri 8 5 0 3 270 174 8 28 Southern 8 5 0 3 323 173 8 28 Green Is 8 5 0 3 269 199 7 27 Harbour 8 5 0 3 235 255 6 26 Kaikorai 8 5 0 3 300 209 5 25 University 8 4 0 4 296 269 6 22 Z-Richmond 8 1 0 7 201 370 4 8 AU 8 0 0 8 126 511 1 1