Whanganui club rugby: Kaierau reclaim Whanganui Rugby Shield with win over Taihape
Coming out of the break, Taihape knew they needed to score first and after multiple phases pounding Kaierau's line, the attackers finally outstripped defenders with second five Cyrus Tasi scoring out wide for 24-19.
A missed touch-finder from Taihape let Kaierau work swiftly back into the attacking 22m and, from close range, barnstorming prop Raymond Salu could not be stopped from scoring.
Again, Taihape would not lie down as Raukawa scored his second try under the posts for 31-26 with 15 minutes left and then the home side poured on the pressure.
But Kaierau absorbed it and from an attacking scrum, Robinson combined with winger Jordyn Turvey to get the ball back and score his double and what proved the match-winner.
There was better joy for home supporters in the senior competition as Bennett's Taihape won the curtain-raiser with Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau 40-10.
In the 2024 grand final rematch, Forest 360 Marist Knights extracted considerable revenge with a 60-14 hammering of Utiku Old Boys.
Knights sit second on the table to McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu, who picked up a strong 53-12 away win over the previous side to beat Utiku in Seales Winslow Pirates.
Perhaps the most impressive result was at Macnab Domain as the rebuilding McCrea Scanning Counties held off a late comeback by Direct Connect Marist Celtic to win 31-27 and secure the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield for the first time since 2019.
Kelso Hunterville rebounded from losing the shield to Celtic last week by beating Border 45-19.
Results
Tasman Tanning Premier
Whanganui Rugby Challenge Shield – Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 38 (Ethan Robinson 2, Mason Johnson, Dakuitoga Ratu Natuquata, Manoa Saulala, Raymond Salu tries; Sheldon Pakinga 4 con) bt Byfords Read-Mix Taihape 26 (Hamuera Raukawa 2, Cyrus Tasi, Tyler Rogers-Holden tries; Chad Whale 2 con, Aaron Chapman con). HT: 24-12.
Tāmata Hauhā Rātana 43 (Brooklyn Herewini, Te Atawhai Mason, Bryant Galpin, Tawhiwhi Karaitiana, Kingi Edwards, Rangi Kui tries; Kui pen, 4 con, Herewini con) drew with Waverley Harvesting Border 43 (Patrick Rasomo 2, Peni Waqatabu, Silio Waqalevu, Rusiate Lalanabaravi, Tom Caskey tries, penalty try; Tyrone Albert 3 con). HT: 31-7 Border.
Tasman Tanning Senior
Spriggens Park: Forest 360 Marist Knights bt Utiku Old Boys 60-14.
Memorial Park: Bennett's Taihape bt Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau 40-10.
Macnab Domain: Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield – McCrea Scanning Counties bt Direct Connect Marist Celtic 31-27.
Country Club: McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu bt Seales Winslow Pirates 53-12.
Hunterville Domain: Kelso Hunterville bt Border 45-19.
Tasman Tanning Women
Memorial Park: AGC Training Marist Clovers bt Byfords Construction Taihape 47-5.
Bulls Domain: Silks Audit Rātana bt Heidi Macaulay Realty Bulls 82-5.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
NRL: NZ Warriors v South Sydney Rabbitohs - what we learned from another heartstopper
Mitch Barnett may face a stint on the sidelines with a knee injury. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport After seeing their five-game winning streak ended last week by Canberra Raiders, NZ Warriors have started another, with their 36-30 win over South Sydney across the Tasman. After threatening to run away with victory at 30-12, once again, they let their opponents back into the contest, which became another heartstopper. The Warriors lost one of their best early, and had to survive a comeback inspired by one of the game's absolute freaks and another headed for the record books, but at the end of the weekend, they have consolidated their top-three spot on the NRL table. Here are some key takeaways from the game. Much has been said about the contribution of co-captain Mitch Barnett this season, especially while fellow skipper James Fisher-Harris was sidelined by injury. During his tenure at Mt Smart, Barnett has become an automatic NSW selection for State of Origin and an inspiration to those around him. His team missed him badly last week against Canberra Raiders, when Kiwis international prop Joseph Tapine bullied the Warriors pack and taunted former Raiders teammate Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. For the first time in 2025, coach Andrew Webster had all his players available against the Rabbitohs, but that lasted just 20 minutes, before Barnett hobbled off with a reported knee injury. He fell badly while making a tackle, with his right knee buckling under him. Barnett tried to play on, but could not, which suggests he may be out for a while. Certainly, his body language wasn't great and scans will determine whether he can be fit for Origin II on 18 June. "There's different grades to each different injury and until you look under the hood, honestly you don't know," said Webster. "He's in good spirits. "We lost Fish for four weeks and he's one of the best front-rowers in the world, so we certainly know how to do next man up." In his absence, Fisher-Harris stepped up , logging 56 minutes and making a game-high 53 tackles, while Jackson Ford continued his outstanding form off the bench, running 15 times for 153 metres and making 37 tackles. Ford also showed his surprising skill, producing a kick that resulted in Rocco Berry's first-half try. If Barnett can't make it back for NSW, the selectors need only look across at Rabbitohs counterpart Keaon Koloamatangi as his replacement. Shifted to the middle this season, he again led his team with 218 running metres from 27 carries and made 39 tackles, while scoring a try. With the Warriors leading 4-0, halfback Luke Metcalf produced a play that must have had him - and Warriors fans - flashing back to the season-opening defeat to Canberra at Las Vegas. Luke Metcalf celebrates his try against Souths. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport On that occasion, they were hot on attack and looking left, when Metcalf had his pass picked off by winger Xavier Savage for a try down the other end - a potential 12-point turnaround. This time, the Warriors were shifting right, when Metcalf tried to float a pass over Alex Johnston to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who was probably already thinking about his gravity-defying dive at the corner. Unfortunately, the Souths winger plucked the ball from the air and dashed the length of the field for his team's opening try, converted by Latrell Mitchell from the sideline for the lead. Another 12-pointer. Leading Dally M Medal standings into this round , Metcalf compounded his error by missing a relatively simple conversion of Berry's try before halftime. To his credit, he turned his performance around in the second half, scoring his eighth try of the season, making two linebreaks and providing a try assist. Metcalf has the lowest conversion success rate of all the fulltime kickers in the competition at 65 percent, but many of them seem to be from the sidelines. After slicing his gimme in the first half, he nailed a couple from out wide in the second, showing the temperament you want from your kicker in the clutch. "I was just talking to him and I don't think he's that pumped with parts of his game, but that try he scored was at a great time," said Webster. "He finds a way to have a moment like that in every game. "We were defending our sets for big periods there, so everyone's doing their part. Luke's fast, he sees the moment and takes it, but I felt like it was a team try. "He's the guy finishing it off, but I felt like the whole team had a big part in that one." This wasn't his best outing of the campaign, but it was likely enough for Metcalf to add to his Dally M tally, with voting now behind closed doors until the end of the season. Fullback Charnze Nicoll-Kolkstad continues to show why extending his stay at Mt Smart was so important for the Warriors. His 342 running metres from 28 carries included 100 metres after contact and were the most by a Warriors player this season - beating his own mark of 316 against Sydney Roosters. In fact, he has been the leading runner for his team six times this campaign and they've won all six. He was concussed against Melbourne Storm and missed the next game against Brisbane Broncos, otherwise he'd be higher in the competition leaders. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad scores a try against South Sydney. Photo: David Neilson/Photosport A quick tally puts him third in this category now with 2259 metres, behind Manly's Lehi Hopoate (2432) and Roosters veteran James Tedesco (2430). Look up the expression 'rocks and diamonds' in the dictionary, and you'll find Latrell Mitchell's picture next to it. When he's engaged, he's an absolute superstar - epitomised by his outrageous 55-metre field goal against Brisbane Broncos - but when he's not, he can be absolutely terrible. When he was pulled from the field late in the first half for a concussion test, his Rabbitohs were teetering. Mitchell took a head knock in the contest for a high ball that led to the Warriors' second try and, while he was off the field, counterpart Nicoll-Kolkstad scored their third to put the visitors ahead at the break. That momentum switch carried into the second half, but at 18 points down, Mitchell began to put his imprint on the contest, throwing a long pass for Johnston to score his second try. Moments later, he repeated that effort for Johnston's third. He had Nicoll-Klokstad in sixes and sevens, as his opposite slipped into touch trying to cover a long, probing kick, and eventually had his own try, taking a short pass and powering over from short range. He converted all five of his team's tries and tormented the Warriors back three with is towering kicks. Without injured veterans Cody Walker and Jack Wighton in the backline, Mitchell has had to be all things to everyone for these Rabbitohs, even playing the halves earlier in the season. The Warriors were lucky to see him at his mercurial best, yet survive to take the two competition points. There have been times over the past 12 months when Johnston probably wondered if his NRL career was over. Last season, he scored his 191st try, which was the most by any player at just one club, but suffered a season-ending Achilles tear soon afterwards. He returned to the field in the fourth round this season, but didn't reach halftime, before leaving with a rib injury. Against the Warriors, his hattrick propelled him to 200 tries - second only to former North Sydney and Manly legend Ken Irvine (212). "He's a pretty special player," Souths coach Wayne Bennett said. "He's not only a good athlete, but he's pretty smart with it." Each year, the Ken Irvine Medal is awarded to the NRL's top tryscorer and Johnston has won it three times (2020-22). Fingers crossed his body allows him to break Irvine's record soon. Both the Warriors and Rabbitohs came into this contest unbeaten when leading at halftime. The Warriors were 5/5 and Souths were 4/4, so leading at the break took on added significance. With the siren about to sound, Nicoll-Klokstad stumbled under a couple of tacklers and went again to level the scores, while Metcalf provided the extra points to put his side ahead. The achievement took on added importance, given the Warriors had been outscored after halftime of their five previous games to the value of 56-21. Against Souths, they not only outscored their opponents 22-18, they managed more second-half points than those previous five games combined. This result evens the historic head-to-head record between these two teams at 21-21 and the Warriors now improve to 17-31 against Bennett-coached teams over the past 30 years. "They like making it hard. We've practiced resilience all pre-season, we defended our line really well. They have a tight connection, they believe in each other and they don't want to let each other down." Warriors coach Andrew Webster "These guys never give up, so you never worry about the time, but we were beaten on the scoreboard and we did run out of time in the end." Souths coach Wayne Bennett The Warriors head back across the ditch next Saturday to face Cronulla Sharks, who lurk four points behind in fifth on the NRL table. So far, they have struggled to find consistency, beating the Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles and Storm among the top eight, but losing a real headscratcher against Sydney Roosters last week, when they were at full strength and the Roosters were without a handful of Origin reps. They have a genuine star in Nico Hynes, gamebreakers throughout the backline and pack, but the player everyone will watch is former Warriors front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake, who was released early to return to Sydney this season. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
30-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Whanganui club rugby: Taihape's young squad eyes crucial wins for quarter-final spot
Brought to you by Whanganui Rugby The young guns of Bennett's Taihape want to build on a proud club legacy as the race for premium Tasman Tanning Senior quarter-final positions is coming down to the wire. Taihape have had a tough row to hoe so far in 2025 with a
NZ Herald
26-05-2025
- NZ Herald
Whanganui rugby: Kaierau remain unbeaten with win over Border
In truth, neither team played as clutch in the big moments that they would have liked – Kaierau missing two other first-half kick chase tries with in-goal fumbles, while in the space of 60 seconds from the 69th minute, both sides gave up tries from intercepts trying to be expansive near their posts to the centres in Ethan Robinson for Kaierau and Border's Alekesio Vakarorogo. But the passion was there – Kaierau may have been shy of backs but got home on some great tryline defence, holding up Border twice, while their forwards' line speed to get up and wrap some jarring hits never wavered. Hooker and try-scorer Joe Edwards gave a committed 80-minute effort, while lock Matt Ashworth was in everything. Reserves Josefa Rokotakala, Kohlt Coveny and Tai Pulemagafa delivered in the final quarter, as the Kaierau pack drove up Border's 50m scrum on the game's last play to bring about fulltime. Although Border played without injured skipper Ngapuke Patea, they welcomed back 55-game Heartland-capped midfielder Timoci 'Jim' Seruwalu, who, while short of a gallop, was always a handful. Flanker Ekenasio Fiso was dangerous in the first half, while standing out in their team's late comeback were reserves Sevanaia Vucinimoce up front and winger-turned halfback Peni Waqatabu. 'They brought it right from the word go, that was something we talked about at halftime,' said Kaierau coach Danny Tamehana. While Waitokia was moving freely at fulltime, Boult and Malo's status will need to be confirmed, as Tamehana considers how to plug multiple holes. 'I'm definitely going to be thinking about that come Monday, it's going to be a whole different backline, but we'll see what happens.' Despite the backline injuries, the forwards were strong even without absent skipper Doug Horrocks, Tamehana praising the reserves for holding back Border's momentum to the finish. 'It's something we spoke about during the week; they brought the energy and the impact, so that was really pleasing to see the bench work real well.' Border co-coach Todd Cowan knows that even with 12 new players this season, the winless streak must end soon. 'I think we're building okay, maybe not getting scoreboard wins, but we are getting wins out there as far as some improvement every week. 'I think the intensity today was definitely a level up from the week previous against Taihape. 'A pretty tough encounter, a few guys look like they're a little bit sore, but I think we'll be right, get back into things on Wednesday and into the next game.'
