Coach Marty Godfrey would be both extremely frustrated and very satisfied with his teams performance in last nights game vs Bluff at Rugby Park.
While Waikiwi lost 29-20 it was only a horror opening 10 minutes that put Bluff away for the win. For the majority of the next 70 minutes Waikiwi were right in the game.

From the onset Waikiwi looked over awed by the much hyped big Bluff team, letting the kick-off bounce which Bluff regathered and immediately put them on the front foot. Bluff just about went over in the corner on the grandstand side but were bundled out. Soon after they got a penalty in centrefield on the 22 and spun it wide, going over in the terrace corner for a try despite a dubious pass in just the 3rd minute.

Bluff continued to dominate and again Waikiwi just managed to bundle them out in the grandstand corner before a contentious ruling from a charge down gave Bluff a 5m scrum from which the heavyweight tank of a halfback Jason Harrison charged over down the blindside. 10-0 to Bluff after 7 minutes.

Soon after a loose pass in the Waikiwi midfield on their own 40 metre line went to ground and was scooped up by Bluff and spun out the backline. Waikiwi supporters were sure they spotted a Bluff knock on which was then picked up by an offside Bluff player but the referee didn’t see it that way and the Bluff hooker scooted round under the posts for the try and the ensuing conversion made it 17-0 after 10 minutes.

After this Waikiwi finally woke up and realised they could compete in the game but the damage was already done.

Adam Ronald kicked an almost 40 metre penalty to put Waikiwi on the board after 14 minutes.

Continuing Waikiwis resurgence centre Ryan Munroe made a break on the outside down the grandstand side but couldn’t find Triton Bain on his shoulder. Waikiwi ended up with a 5m lineout after some great forward pressure and a drive from the lineout saw Captain McCleery crash over. 17-8 after 20 minutes.

Bluff hit back in the 25th minute where despite a strong Waikiwi scrum disrupting the ball Bluff spun it out the blindside and the fullback ran it in virtually untouched from the 35m mark which was far too simple.

The rest of the first half was very even with Waikiwi dominating the set pieces and the half time score was 22-8.

Waikiwi started the 2nd half confidently. Ryan Munroe making another clean break on the outside before linking with Triton Bain who was eventually put down on the Bluff 30 metre line. The forwards provided great support and Jonno Steele charged through centrefield on the 22 and was brought down a couple of metres from the line. The ball was spun wide and Triton Bain broke through easily to score near the posts to put Waikiwi right back in the game. The conversion from Ronald making it 22-15 after 43 minutes.

For the next 15 minutes the game was in the balance with Waikiwi attempting to notch up the converted try to pull them level and Bluff trying to pull away.

In the 60th minute Jason Harrison again showed his class, making a break right through the middle from 30 metres out, shrugging off a couple of weak tackles and standing up fullback Mat Telfer to score under the posts. The conversion giving Bluff a comfortable lead 29-15.

But Waikiwi were not about to give up and continued to fight back. In the 64th minute Chris Telfer made yet another half break down the short side and offloaded to winger Dylan Lovett who bumped off his opponent and scored in the corner making it 29-20.

Neither team were able to add to their tally in the final 15 minutes and the final score of a very entertaining game was 29-20. Waikiwi were left rueing a poor start but should gain some self belief that they can compete with the teams further up the table.

PLAYER NOTES
The front row dominated the scrum in the 1st half but struggled in the 2nd giving up a couple of tight heads as fatigue set in. All 3 front rowers took the ball up well and hit the rucks & mauls hard for 80 minutes.

Locks Captain Nick McCleery & Matt ‘Locky’ Keenan dominated the lineouts and continually charged into the heart of the Bluff defence.

Loosies did well with Mike ‘Goonie’ Shepherd making a welcome return at 8. Sam Milne continued his excellent season.

Nigel Robertson was his usual consistent self at halfback

Adam Ronald had a tentative 1st half but improved in the 2nd. His goal kicking was excellent.

Chris Telfer and Ryan Munroe had huge games. Telfer continually threw himself at Bluff defence making a number of half breaks including the one that led to Lovetts try and was massive on defence and completed a number of turnovers. Munroe made a number of clean breaks continuing his excellent season.

Triton Bain started on the wing and switched between there and the midfield and after a quiet start became more involved making a number of charging runs and scoring an excellent try.
Dylan Lovett returned from a knee injury which had kept him out for a few weeks and looked very sharp in his limited opportunities. Scored a great try and got more involved in the 2nd half, popping up in the middle of the field making some runs and using his dangerous fend to full advantage.
Matt Telfer continued his excellent form with some great runs though wouldn’t be happy letting Harrison in for his 2nd try.

The subs all played their part with Scott Waddell making his senior debut on the wing replacing Triton Bain late in the 2nd half

Waikiwi 20 (Nick McCleery, Triton Bain, Dylan Lovett tries, Adam Ronald conversion, penalty)

1. Jonno Steele
2. Michael Campbell
3. Regan Moore
4. Nick McCleery
5. Matt Keenan
6. Matty Poole
7. Sam Milne
8. Michael Shepherd
9. Nigel Robertson
10. Adam Ronald
11. Dylan Lovett
12. Chris Telfer
13. Ryan Munroe
14. Triton Bain
15. Matt Telfer
16. Dave Wilson
17. Dallas Trainor
18. Kieran Bootten
19. Shaun Cowan
20. Stuart Newton
21. Scott Waddell