McBain pain for Hutt Old Boys Marist as Petone win thriller
Petone have won a thrilling McBain Shield clash at the Petone Rec this afternoon, scoring 27 points in the second half to come from behind and beat Hutt Old Boys Marist
In the dying moments of the game, Petone turned down a shot at goal to tie the game at 23-23 after reserve HOBM prop Brett Manaia was sin-binned for not rolling away at the ruck.
That decision paid off for Petone as the Villagers stole the game on the hooter, scoring on the left wing through Willie Fine for his hat-trick and the win as the home fans went into raptures.
After the first 40 minutes, a Petone win didn’t look at all likely as they were held scoreless by the Eagles but a yellow card early in the second half to Alexis Time, who was celebrating his 150th appearance in the green, white and red, resulted in two Petone tries to bring the hosts within one point of Hutt and spark life into Petone.
Hutt’s first five-eighth Brandyn Laursen opened the scoring with a penalty goal before breaking Petone’s defence, seeing lock Lui Okeamoa-Luamanu stroll over on the left flank the following phase.
Laursen added another three before the interval but the two Petone tries in Time’s absence brought the game back to life.
First to score for the Villagers was Willie Fine who sprinted 60-metres after scooping up a loose Hutt pass, before centre Lester Maulolo displayed wonderful footwork and offloading skills to send Willie Tufui in under the uprights.
Maulolo’s opposite, Ope Peleseuma, then replied with a 50-metre effort of his own, losing Losi Filipo with a dummy, giving the Eagles an eight-point buffer.
Number 8 Mateaki Kafatolu then opened the game right up with a thunderous run from inside his own 22-metre all the way to Petone’s, laying the platform for Willie Fine to cross the chalk unmarked moments later.
Tied at 20, Laursen added another penalty goal to give Hutt a three-point advantage with eight minutes remaining before Manaia’s yellow card and Fine’s match-winning try rounded out an astounding Petone comeback.
James O’Reilly was a standout for Hutt in a losing effort, tirelessly working around the field and Ope Peleseuma was a handful for the Petone defence.
Kafatolu and James Bowen were good with ball in-hand and the centre-wing pairing of Maulolo and Fine proved to be the difference for the hosts.
Both sides remain outside the top eight and will be desperate for wins on Saturday. The Eagles travel out to Tawa while Petone host Avalon in a battle for the Morgan Family Trophy.
Thus concludes the opening four rounds of the Swindale Shield. The next round of matches is this coming Saturday.
McBain Shield: Petone 27 (Willie Fine 3, Willie Tufui tries; Joe Perez pen, 2 con) Hutt Old Boys Marist 23 (Lui Okeamoa-Luamanu, Ope Peleseuma tries; Brandyn Laursen 3 pen, 2 con). HT: 0-13.