MSP Remain Unbeaten As Poneke Live To Fight Another Day

Marist St. Pat's emerged as the only unbeaten side and Poneke kept their playoff chances alive for another week at the conclusion of the fourth round of Jubilee Cup play on the coldest day of the year.

MSP beat Tawa 23-16 away at Lyndhurst Park to move to the top of the standings, two points clear of second placed Hutt Old Boys Marist who lost their first second round game to Northern United 28-5 at home at the Hutt Recreation Ground.

At the other end of the table, Poneke lived to fight another day with a typically gutsy 23-3 win over Old Boys-University at the Basin Reserve, Poneke's win leaving both them and OBU needing to win their remaining three round robin matches to make the semi-finals.

At Ian Galloway Park, Petone defeated the Wests Roosters 18-7, to see them occupying fourth spot on the Jubilee Cup ladder behind MSP, Norths and HOBM.

HOBM couldn't repeat their first round heroics when they inflicted back-to-back defeats on Norths, the defending champions from Porirua overrunning them courtesy of a first half double to left winger Sinoti To'omaga. Excitement machine To'omaga opened the scoring, completing a deft chip and chase and scored his second to take Norths to an unassailable 21-0 halftime lead.

Converted tries to lock Nick Passi and halfback Reece Poutawera helped MSP to an early 14-0 lead against Tawa at a muddy Lyndhurst Park. Further penalties to first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili increased their advantage to 23-3 at halftime, which was enough to hold off a revitalised home side after halftime. Tawa came back with 13 unanswered points, but three missed penalties proved it wasn't going to be their day and MSP held on for win number four.

Petone overhauled an early deficit against Wests, who led the Villagers 7-3 late in the first half. Two second-half Petone tries were the tonic for victory.

Write off Poneke at your peril: that's the message put out by the red and blacks to the teams still to face them over the final three weeks of the round-robin. Poneke were back to their determined best in a well-deserved victory over OBU in this week's Club Weekly feature match.

Shrugging off their much publicised deficiency of a lack of a playmaking first five-eighth, they played to their strengths through their committed tight five and hard working loosies. It was also their makeshift number ten, Fa'atoto Moananu, his brother Misiluni at centre and Tane Tu'ipulotu at second five-eighth who also played leading hands, maintaining the pressure created by their dominant pack and playing positive rugby throughout in awful conditions.

In contrast OBU were largely out of sorts, made too many unforced errors, and missed the direction of Jimmy Gopperth or Seminar Manu at pivot, Gopperth on representative duty and the promising Manu departed for Ulster in Ireland for an initial six-month contract.

Up against a desperate Poneke pack, including dynamic hooker Dane Coles, outstanding No. 8 Neil Meyer, who is coming into top form, and the third Moananu brother Misipalauni at tighthead prop, the students struggled to get in the game. Poneke were all over them like a rash at both scrum and ruck time, the 3-3 halftime score never going to be enough for the students into the wind after the break.

The red and blacks soon moved ahead to 9-3 through penalties to Tu'ipulotu and fullback Tevita Latu respectively, capitalising on increased territory and a spate of OBU infringements.

Poneke kept the heat on the students over the next period, continuing to ask questions in the loose and of their scrum, ahead of Meyer scoring what proved to be the match-winning try 15 minutes from fulltime. OBU first five Tomasi Palu was unable to scramble a hurried kick into touch, instead sending it straight to right wing Tupu Saena, who held up his defender and found Meyer on his inside near the tryline.

The introduction of fresh legs gave OBU a short-lived boost, before Poneke sealed their victory through blindside Chris Brightwell on fulltime, Latu kicking his second conversion from a tricky angle. Poneke's relief in victory was only tempered by the loss of halfback Blair Bradley who left the field with a leg injury in the second half.

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