Ories unbeaten as OBU survive late comeback in second round thrillers

Two-time winners Oriental-Rongotai are unbeaten after two rounds of the Wellington club rugby championship after coming out on top this afternoon in their second successive eastern suburbs derby

In fine, breezy conditions, Ories held off rivals Marist St Pat's 25-22 at home at the Polo Ground, after edging out Poneke 19-15 last week.

Ories won a scrappy, penalty fest of a game four tries to three, early tries to centre Paulo Aukuso and wing Tuga Mativa, his 12th of the year, which put them ahead 12-0 ultimately proving the difference. Both sides took advantage of the other side having players in the sin-bin. Ories first five-eighth Hayden Whelan sliced through to score the match winner with about 10 minutes remaining as MSP skipper Issac O'Connor cooled off in the yellow chair.

Ories head a group of six teams sitting on one win from two to start their bucqi Jubilee Cup campaigns after another exciting round of rugby was also highlighted by victories to three of last week's losing teams - defending champions Old Boys University, the Wellington Axemen and Poneke.

At William Jones Park, Old Boys University held off a spirited late comeback by home team Wainuiomata to win 42-37.

OBU were seemingly in control at halftime and holding a 26-7 halftime lead, following a two-try burst to No. 8 Morgan Poi and halfback Tomasi Palu. Both sides traded tries in the second half, before Wainuiomata, now with the wind, roared back late to give the Goats an almighty fright. Ories midfielder Mike Lealava'a scored to close the gap to 34-42 and then flyhalf Josh Roberton-Weepu kicked a penalty. But they were unable to add to their tally.

At Kilbirnie Park, Poneke opened their account with a tough 24-15 win over Tawa. Poneke had won their first round encounter 10-9 in a compelling tussle, and this was no different. The difference was Poneke's pair of second half tries scored in quick succession that won them the game, turning a 10-15 deficit into a bonus point win. Prop Tavita Falekakala and first five-eighth Greg Mullany both nipped in under the posts. Mullany had also scored Poneke's first half try.

Tawa were left rueing several mistakes at key times, creating enough territory and pressure to win. They are now none from two after losing 8-12 to MSP in their opener and will need to win next week or their playoff chances could slip away.

At Maidstone Park, the Upper Hutt Rams' poor home form continued, well beaten by the Wellington Axemen 15-31.

The Axemen soon got on top through a superior scrum and lineout, and after early penalties, left wing Henry Hocking dived over in the corner and pivot James So'oialo converted from out wide to give them a 13-3 halftime lead. Wellington extended their lead to 19-3 through So'oialo's boot. The game then erupted into a fury of action when reserve Rams fullback Tafa Tafa broke through multiple tackles and created a try for wing Max Pearson.

But a yellow card to Rams lock Aidan Woodward after an ugly punch-up put Upper Hutt on the back foot again as they went on to concede two further tries to see Wellington cruise home.

Hardham Cup

Three one-sided victories and a win to one of the 'B' teams were the talking points of the second round of the Hardham Cup this afternoon.

First round Harper Lock Shield winners Marist St Pat's B took down the Avalon Wolves 15-12 in their match, a lossthat will surely deal a Wolves a blow in the annual scramble coming up to make the Hardham Cup semi-finals.

Petone were the day's big winners, thrashing Johnsonville 88-12 at home at the Village. Petone had their four-try bonus point inside the first 13 minutes and a mammoth score was on the cards. Johnsonville nabbed an intercept try, but Petone still led 38-12 at halftime, adding almost 50 points in the second spell.

Petone scored 14 tries, with five players each scoring braces. George Ta'eiloa, Jack Ross, Matafi Kafatolu, Jarrod Adams, Lester Maulolo and Willie Fine all crossed for two tries each.

At Jerry Collins Stadium, Northern United grabbed their second big win to start the Hardham Cup round, accounting for Old Boys University B 59-0. Seven individuals scored eight tries, with hooker Ethan Robinson-Mate scoring a brace.

At Ngatitoa Domain, the Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles inflicted a second defeat upon Paremata-Plimmerton, swooping in for a 63-3 win. HOBM won 10 tries to nil, with No. 8 Lise Soloa scoring two tries and tight forwards scoring five of the other tries.

Women's competition

The closest of today's four matches in the Wellington women's competition was Ories' 32-22 win over the Old Boys University Impalas.

Ories were rocked by Wainuiomata's comeback win against them last week but maintained the advantage after leading 24-12 at halftime. Fullback Ayesha Leti-I'iga scored two tries for Ories.

The other three matches were one-sided affairs. Wainuiomata beat Avalon 83-5 at William Jones Park, with the Avalon side battling injuries at the moment, while Hutt Old Boys Marist beat Johnsonville-Tawa 75-0 and Poneke defeated the Upper Hutt Rams 45-0.

Premier Reserve Ed Chaney/HD Morgan Memorial

Today's feature match in the Premier Reserve Ed Chaney Cup saw a thrilling 18-18 draw between the Poneke second XV and their Tawa counterparts in the Kilbirnie Park curtain-raiser.

Poneke had first use of the strong Kilbirnie Park wind and took a narrow lead into the interval. Tawa scored soon after halftime. Poneke then scored a key long-range try midway through the second half to take a 18-10 lead, before Tawa built late pressure and Jono Boyd kicked a penalty to close the gap to 13-18. Tawa launched one last furious assault, finally ripping the ball wide for a try. Boyd's conversion just missed and the two sides shared the points.

Northern United, Hutt Old Boys Marist and the Upper Hutt Rams are all on the maximum 10 points at the top of the Ed Chaney Cup ladder after two rounds.

Norths beat Ories by default, while HOBM defeated Paremata-Plimmerton 52-7 and the Rams defeated Wellington 34-17. All three of those contests were crossover Ed Chaney/HD Morgan games.

Petone beat Johnsonville 79-3 in another crossover contest, while Wainuiomata grabbed a bonus point 26-17 win in their all HD Morgan match.

Colts

It was business as usual for the Old Boys University Green team after their loss last week to Ories, beating defending champions HOBM Green 102-0.

Ories overcame Wellington 36-22, MSP pipped Norths 11-6 and Poneke edged the Upper Hutt Rams 27-6. Tawa beat recently promoted Johnsonville by default in the other scheduled match to remain at the top of the table on maximum points.

Paremata Plimmerton's Colts side continues to set a hot pace in the Division Two Vic Calcinai Memorial Cup, beating OBU White 82-28 for their third straight victory.

First Grade

The big result of the day in the First Grade Johnsonville Centennium Cup competition was the Petone Brotherhood's 25-15 win over Old Boys University, which was OBU's first defeat all year.

The Brotherhood have now earned three consecutive bonus point wins to start their second round campaign.

In other matches, MSP defeated Avalon 33-8, the HOBM Barbarians beat Tawa 47-9 and Poneke defeated the Petone Saxons 22-5. Norths had the bye.

U85kg

Defending champions the Tawa Titans know how to grind out victories, and today was no exception in their 10-3 win over Johnsonville. Tawa lead the standings with three wins with no bonus points.

Eastbourne are second after they beat the Poneke Cavs on Kilbirnie Park, ahead of Johnsonville and the Wellington Light Axemen who beat the OBU Bunnies 25-3. Kapiti beat the Upper Hutt Rams 32-26, while Avalon had the bye.

The Wests Roosters lead Division 2 with three straight wins in the second round, beating Petone 15-7 in today's game.

WelTec Premiership

Wellington College beat Rongotai College 19-5 in the big result of the day in the fourth round of the WelTec Premiership. Wellington College led 8-5 at halftime. They are now the only unbeaten team after four matches.

They'll be looking over their shoulder at some of the other teams, including St Pat's Town who thumped St Bernard's College 101-12.

The other two results saw St Pat's Silverstream beat Wairarapa College 39-7 and Scots College defeat an injury hit Bishop Viard College 67-5.