Rugby: Finalists found in premier rugby

Will Johnston

Photo: Spinna Photography.

Stratford-Eltham and Southern will compete for the CMK premier club rugby title at Yarrow Stadium on Saturday after upsetting the top seeded teams in the semi-finals.  

Southern beat the number one ranked side Coastal 36-22 at Rahotu, while Stratford-Eltham defeated second placed Tukapa 27-12 at Sanders Park.

It will be Stratford-Eltham’s second consecutive final, after losing to New Plymouth Old Boys in extra time last year. Southern’s last final was in 2013 when they beat Clifton.

Southern co-coach Ricky Tito looked physically relieved after the result.  

“It’s always a tough gig out here,” he said. “I thought we were really disciplined today; we didn’t give them too much time in our 22.”

Noticeable for Southern was Blues midfielder Meihana Grindlay, who showed his form for the second week in a row. He was excellent as he made several breaks and scored a try himself in the second half.

He was complemented by the forward pack, particularly Taranaki loose forward Jesse Parete. His physicality was obvious at the breakdown as he competed for the ball, was rewarded with turnovers and scored a second half try.

Tito said it was pleasing to have the caliber of those players back and will be key next week.

Coastal prided themselves on their set piece all season, but Tito said because of the competitiveness his team showed, it spoilt Coastal’s opportunities.  

“They have a pretty potent lineout drive, and we didn’t give them any chances with that, that’s probably 14 points they didn’t get today that they normally would.”

Coastal had the momentum early in the match with a 17-10 lead at the break, including a kick-chase try to Hone Mathieson inside the opening two minutes.

In the second half, Southern started to fire as the visitors scored four tries to one.

It was a Vereniki Tikoisolomone and Adam Lennox show at Sanders Park.

The two Taranaki representatives were heavily involved in the action for Stratford-Eltham, where Tikoisolomone scored a hat trick of tries all down his right edge and Lennox a brace to continue their season’s form.

Both were electric and while Lennox was playing at fullback, it showed how versatile he can be for Taranaki later this season.

Stratford-Eltham coach Ross Williams said the pair are assets to the team.

“It certainly helps having genuine speed with Adam and Vereniki, who both created plenty of opportunities but also finished well,” he said.

“We’ve earned another week together and we’ll enjoy the lead up and prep.”

He was proud of the way they trusted their systems and were patient defensively. 

Stratford-Eltham scored five tries to two, including a try to Highlanders’ Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens in his first club game of the season.  

Tukapa suffered an early setback with in-form loose forward Nathaniel Peters leaving the field in the first two minutes with a knee injury, hooker Liam Bernet didn’t start after being named and Brad Kooman broke his jaw in the last round.

In the women’s competition, Southern beat Coastal-Okaiawa 36-10 and Clifton eased past Inglewood 49-0.

Other division semi-final results:

Division 1: Southern 33 v Stratford-Eltham 5, NPOB 29 v Tukapa 28.
Division 2/3: Patea 59 v Kaponga 0, Bell Block 15 v Kaitake 12, Southern 41 v Toko 19, Tukapa 38 v Okaiawa 5.  
Colts: Inglewood 28 v Coastal 10, Tukapa 30 v Stratford-Eltham 25.