Linwood 12 (Pita
Anae-Ah Sue, Johnny Mohu tries; Keneti Alatimu con) drew with Belfast 12 (Frank
Havea, Noddy Vuidriketi tries; Varany Komaisavai con)
HT: 7-5 (Linwood)
Referee: N
Ewins
Sitting in the
middle and bottom of the section two table respectively, this battle between
Linwood and Belfast on a miserable Christchurch afternoon was more about pride
than anything else.
The rain arrived
just as play got underway, not that it dampened the attacking style of play
both teams set out to emphasise. Referee Ewins' whistle dominated the
early plays of this game, as both sides shared equal possession but couldn't
make the most of attacking opportunities.
Both teams set
piece was poor as turnovers and injury substitutions became the norm throughout
the first half, Linwood losing halfback Maia Gibbs for the game inside the
opening 5mins.
Linwood had a
handful of opportunities to score early, the wet ball clearly providing
conundrums for the home side when it came to finishing off some nice attacking
play. The continuous handling errors and lacklustre attack hardly gave the
handful of spectators braving the rain anything to get excited about.
Both sides weren't
interested in taking three points in the first half, continuously opting to put
the ball in touch and back their lineout. A tactic that proved useless until
the 30th minute when Belfast open side Frank Havea bustled his way over the
line for the game's first try.
That was the spark
that Linwood needed as they hit back almost immediately through hooker Pita
Anae-Ah Sue, after some solid pick-and-go's from the forward pack to give the
hosts a narrow 7-5 lead at the break.
Both teams came out
for the second half with more energy, but looking no warmer as the rain
continued to fall. The kicking game was out for both sides, Varany Komaisavai
camping Linwood back inside their own half with some precise tactical
kicking.
Linwood were
managing to string phases together in the second half, but it would again be
the wet ball that would put an end to any running rugby they tried to put
together.
Belfast also
managed to hold onto the ball for consecutive phases, and when they did they
looked dangerous. Their forward packs’ work around the breakdown constantly
allowed them to stay in strong attacking positions, but the wet ball was again
too much to handle.
This game will
hardly be remembered as being a grandiose advertisement for the game of rugby,
but both sides did what they could in difficult conditions and the score line
reflected just that. It was a game based around constant effort, with little
reward to show for either side.
A try to Noddy
Vuidriketi off a classy short ball from Vula Tufau with 10mins to go put
Belfast in a strong position to finish this one off, strong defence all that
would be required to hold Linwood out. But they couldn't, as an all in team
maul from Linwood helped Johnny Mohu power over the line to level it up at 12 a
piece.
This meant an extra
10min of play, after constant Belfast attack couldn't break the deadlock. Extra
time didn't help that either, and this one would end at 12-12.
Keneti Alatimu was
a standout for Linwood as he directed play nicely and used his strong right
boot to great effect, and Frank Havea caused problems all day for Linwood at
the breakdown, while showing off his strong running game.
