Wellington Maori defeat Wellington U19s

Wellington Maori: 20 (Hayden Whelan, Mykel Herewini, Jamie Norman tries; Greg Mullany 1 con, 1 pen) Wellington U19:19 (Paul Bickle, Lester Maulolo, Maile Koloto tries; Paul Bickle 1 con, Alex Ropeti 1 con)

In their first fixture ahead of September's National U19 tournament in Taupo, the Wellington U19's have shown plenty of heart and promise against the open-aged Maori in their opening Festival Series fixture at Fraser Park on Wednesday night.

Outsized and lacking experience, the U19's did well to hold the Maori's to 15-7 at halftime and had a late chance to win the game. Down 20-14 replacement wing Maile Koloto dashed 25-metres and scored a try in the corner after the Maori side fumbled a kick-off. Alex Ropeti's sideline conversion drifted wide of the target and the score was 20-19. The Maori reclaimed the re-start and ran down the clock with a succession of aggressive pick and goes.

The Maori seized the early initiative, jumping to an 8-0 lead. First five-eighth Greg Mullany chipped over a penalty goal and fullback Hayden Whelan scored the first try after a quick tap from a penalty created swiftly recycled ball and caught the U19's short out wide.

Feeding off scraps the U19's showed they could be potent with ball in hand. Hooker Jimmy Hewitt broke 50-metres, but was penalised for hanging on. First five-eighth Paul Bickle profited with a try following a breakout by halfback Regan Sword.

Maori lock Mykel Herewini had an impressive game carrying strongly and disrupting U19 lineout ball. He barged over for the Maori's second try about six minutes before the break.

Maori wing Tawera Remeke-Styles was lively and he made two 30-metre breaks, but desperate cover defence prevented further damage. On the subject of damage, U19 wing Losi Filipo fractured the Maori defence repeatedly and when he created a try for second five-eighth Lester Maulolo it was suddenly 15-14.

At times the Maori pushed the U19's scrum back 10-metres and frequently mauled more than double that from lineouts. The Maori unit’s final try was scored by reserve lock Jamie Norman swooping upon a lineout fumble near the U19's goal line.

In a stern physical examination for the U19's, prop Ivan Fepuleai and hooker Jimmy Hewitt made up for their shortcomings at set-piece with strong displays around the park. No.8 Josh Brown proved to be a fine skipper and never shirked from the physical challenge and Koloto and Filipo made a big impact from the bench.

For the victors Tawa Captain and blindside TJ Fermanis won ample lineout ball and was his typically robust self. Openside Louis Karl made some telling runs and punished on defence. Herewini, Remeke-Styles and centre Jarrod Adams were strong contributors too.  

This match was a re-scheduled fixture from Saturday’s washout. The Wellington Barbarians edged the Wellington Samoans 12-5 in driving rain in the game that went ahead last weekend.

This Saturday sees the second round of the three-week Festival series, with both matches at the Petone Recreation Ground at 1.00pm. The Wellington Maori and the Barbarians meet in one fixture and the Wellington Samoans and the Wellington U19s clash in the other match.