Waikato topple Stags in opener
16th July 2011 10:55AM
In their first game of the re-vamped ITM Cup, Waikato travelled to the deep south to take on the Southland Stags side tonight at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill.
In a bruising encounter the boys emerged the victors with a hard fought 19-9 win on the back of a 19 point haul by veteran first-five Stephen Donald.
The boys had the early running and looked sharp with ball in hand, as focus pre-game was put on the performance of both experienced front rows.
A dominant scrum allowed Waikato's Donald to attack the Southland defence as he powered over his opposite near the posts and converted the try for a 7-0 lead.
Soon after the Mooloo men continued to apply the pressure on the hosts as the forwards showed patience rumbling towards the line.
Donald almost found himself in for his second try but after the play both sides were a man down with Waikato lock Romana Graham and Southland's Josh Bekhuis sent to the sin-bin after trading punches the previous play.
Waikato was rewarded with the penalty where Donald stretched the lead out to 10-0.
Southland posted their first points through a penalty after Waikato prop Ben May was deemed to be offside. Young Southland first-five Scott Eade slotted the penalty to make it 10-3.
From the ensuing kickoff May and Stag's hooker Jason Rutledge appeared to get into a dust-up as referee Garrett Williamson sent both men to the bin.
In a bizarre sequence of play both teams appeared to be playing the "13 man game" with four men in the sin-bin.
Donald was given the penalty shot as he restored the margin to 10. Southland were given penalty minutes later as Eade closed the gap to 13-6
Waikato and Southland were restored to a full side after Eade narrowed Waikato's lead when Waikato were penalised at the scrum which made the score 13-9 as halftime approached.
The scores stayed the same as referee Williamson signalled for halftime
Donald helped himself to another three points in the first minute of the second half as the Stags infringed at the breakdown. The Donald penalty pushed the score out to 16-9
Southland were building momentum but it was Waikato who added more points through the boot of Donald to further extend their lead to 19-9
Waikato looked to close out the game as they built phases but the defence of the Stags was up to the challenge.
Not to be upstaged the Mooloo men showed they could defend and did so with aggression, highlighted by a great tackle from centre Save Tokula.
Made to make a heap of tackles, Waikato held out the Southerners as they endured wave after wave of attack by the Stags.
The game ended as Waikato searched for their second try when mid-fielder Jackson Willison re-gathered a Donald grubber kick but was judged to have been held-up by referee Williamson.
Williamson signalled the end to the game as Waikato took away four competition points with a hard-earned 19-9 win.
Waikato skipper Nathan White was happy with how his team started but felt that they got ‘sloppy' near the end of the game.
"We started off pretty well and got sloppy near the end there." White said.
The boys are in for another tough battle next Thursday as they play their first home at Waikato Stadium game against Taranaki with kickoff at 7.35pm.
Score Summary
Waikato: 19 (Donald Tries, Donald 4 Pen, Donald Con)
Southland: 9 (Eade 3 Pen)
Halftime: 13-9 Waikato
The Waikato team vs Southland
1. Ben May (Yellow Card)
2. Aled de Malmanche
3. Nathan White (Captain)
4. Toby Lynn
5. Romana Graham (Yellow Card)
6. Matt Vant Leven
7. Marty Holah
8. Alex Bradley
9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
10. Stephen Donald
11. Declan O'Donnell
12. Jackson Willison
13. Save Tokula
14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
15. Trent Renata
Reserves:
16. Marcel Cummings-Toone on for de Malmanche in the 62nd min
17. Toby Smith on for White in the 54th min
18. Chris Middleton on for Graham in the 66th min
19. Zak Hohneck on for Holah in the 70th min
20. Brendon Leonard on for Kerr-Barlow in the 56th min
21. Tim Mikkelson on for Sivivatu in the 49th min
22. Rena Schuster on for Tokula in the 70th min
23. Ted Tauroa DNP
