Premier Men Match Report - 6th May

We travelled to Tikorangi to play last year's beaten finalist coming off our first win last week . Many people were picking us to battle so the boys were up for a good start and a high tempo game. We warmed up well and hit the pitch which was in excellent condition considering the weather of the previous week. From the kickoff we dominated the early exchanges with Rangi Schuler getting an early turnover and after a few good phases Rick McKenna put a dangerous cross field kick in and Kusi Druana won the race to dot down and with a wideout conversion from Jackson Sinclair giving us a early lead of 7-0. We were playing well and backs and forwards were insync playing some very entertaining rugby and after 25 minutes we were up 13-0 after two penalty goals by the inform kicker Jacko. Clifton were making uncharacteristic mistakes from our most pleasing aspect. In our defence everyone was communicating well and with 2nd 5 Thomas Kalin leading the line speed and heat making Clifton life tough and forcing mistakes. After the second try in the 25th minute Clifton restarted and Luka Cassidy fielded it made another strong bust upfield linking with Kobe Sinclair who showed great pace before returning the ball to Luka who linked with Kusi before feeding it straight back to Luka who crashed over to give a commanding lead after converting again of 20-0. That try will take some beating for the try of the year. Halftime huddle everyone was hissing because of the enjoyment level of the first 40. At the restart things carried on more of the same stretching Clifton from side to side and after a 43 min penalty we were held up in the in goal once by Kusi and the other by blindside flanker Jeremy Newell who swears he dotted down we were finally rewarded with a final try to Rick McKenna who capped a strong game before leaving the field way more injured than he already was before he started injured. The last 15 minutes we sort of ran out of puff and Clifton to the credit scored 2 late tries to narrow the gap to 28-14 a great win by us and leaving the boys stoked after some up and down results this season. For Coastal lock Luka Cassidy was our player of the day he was everywhere on defence and especially attack gaining 3 points, hard working Harry Foreman with 2 with his work rate second to none and lastly with 1 point Kusi Druana who once again showed he's a excitement machine and a guy going places. Jeremy Newell showed what the day was about tackling his heart out , cleaning rucks and chasing down a sure Clifton try by chasing down the opposition winger showing what a pig headed grumpy man he is. It seemed cruel to single any players out but of the 20 players that took the field they all had moments of class and showed huge commitment to the team with their effort and execution. Special mention must go to Jayden Higgens playing and starting his 1st premier game he had a strong game on the right wing making some great runs when we were pinned on our goal line . Also the three referees led by Mitch Young should be praised with a lot of sensible decisions that lead to an entertaining game of rugby , with some long passages of positive play. Two in a row...may it keep going as we're approaching the all important second round where the points are halved and we make our bid for a top 4 spot. Thanks to our supporters who made the trip out ,all the coastal teams appreciate it and certainly hear you support from the sideline #ridethewave