Well being from the mighty Nua originally, was going to wander down and watch game, but have got tied up bugger it all. So will have to go down to Levin on the Nua's first defence I guess!
Horowhenua-Kapiti
Match thread
Wellington (RS)
If you're outside NZ, you may be able to view this game via the Rugby Network. Registration required, but it probably won't cost you anything.
I haven't checked it, because it will be geo-blocked in NZ.
HT: Horo-Kap 0 - 35 Wellington
Wellington first half tries: Halalilo, Bird, Aumua & Saumaki (2x); conversions Morgan (5x)
Whoever makes the graphics for Sky Sport hasn't received the news that Wellington have a new head coach, this season. :man_facepalming_medium_skin_tone:
FT: Horo-Kap 7 - 68 Wellington
Wellington second half tries: Northcott, Faleafaga, Sam Clarke, Uluilakepa, TJ Clarke; conversions Morgan (4x)
Horo-Kap try: Malaki Masoe (nephew off); conversion Connor Paki
The score actually flatters Wellington a bit, because they struggled in the second half to come out of their own half and Horowhenua-Kapiti was unlucky not to score early in that half (knock-on in-goal). In that second 40, Wellington played against the wind and Asafo Aumua's yellow card didn't help either. The card was for a high tackle. No doubt on the part of the ref, and Aumua may be lucky there's no TMO in these games, and very limited camera angles. If there was contact with the head (not saying there was), it has either not been picked up or has gone unpunished. Also one of the Wellington tries would have received extra attention from the TMO as well, as the player looked in touch.
Stand-out for me was Peter U-J, who had some awesome clean breaks, two of which lead to a try. Logan Henry was good, too, and Isi Saumaki looked threatening. Morgan was typical Morgan, some really nice touches but also some howlers of passes. His goal-kicking went well.
In the forwards, particularly Dominic Bird was good and Halalilo had a good work rate.
It's very hard to draw any conclusions from games like these, although the Wellington coaches will have noticed some clear work-ons, especially in the second half. Nice detail: both Clarke brothers scored on debut. Apparently, they're from the Chatham Islands.
@Stargazer thanks for the rundown. I'm going to try and catch a replay of this game tonight after being in meetings all arvo.
@Winger said in Horowhenua-Kapiti v Wellington (RS):
How was Plummer and Henry. Both got Canes game time but only a few minutes
I mentioned Henry. He played well. Didn't really notice much of Plummer. That doesn't mean he didn't play well; it's just that Bird was quite dominant in the Lions' pack and caught all the attention.
It was also harder to pick players to have an extra look at, because there were only a few cameras and the footage just wasn't as good as it usually is. The cameras rarely zoomed in, so some things were hard to see.
5 Plummer actually scored a try for Wellington in the first half - Sky credited it to 4 Bird.
@Number-10 Yeah, that was what i meant with limited camera work. It was sometimes hard to see who scored.
@Number-10 Not just Sky; also the radio commentators.
Thanks. Tried to watch the game via TRN but no joy
Well haven't seen game yet (at golf), but obviously a trversty of justice and ref must of been on the take for the Mighty Nua to lose this one!!!:face_with_symbols_on_mouth:
