Ruapehu: From wooden spoon to semifinal-bound in two easy steps.
I’m back in the game, breaking hearts again
You better watch out, ’cause I’m back in the game
I’m back in the game, kicking a** again
No stopping me now, it’s like I’ve never been away
So you better watch out, ’cause I’m back in the game
Airbourne, 2013
By Jared Smith
After being nowhere at the end of the first round of Tasman Tanning Premier regular season, McCarthy Transport Ruapehu could be keeping their decade-long semifinal streak alive, after a clutch win at Rochfort Park on Saturday.
Holding off a late flurry by a battered and under-strength Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist, who were desperately searching for a priceless bonus point try with the match itself long gone, Ruapehu clung on to their advantage 41-24 – leapfrogging both their opponent and Settler’s Honey Ngamatapouri into fourth place.
While Marist found their continuity thanks to a couple of veterans coming off their small bench inside the last quarter, getting two of their three tries in that time, they had already been thoroughly out-worked and out-manoeuvred in the first half, with Ruapehu scoring in the opening three minutes and never looking back.
Despite blood pouring from his nose and mouth, Ruapehu captain Gabriel Hakaraia just wrapped up his face Covid-19 mask style and kept leading from the front, with his fellow forwards Jamie Hughes, Campbell Hart and double try-scorer Mac James Edmonds holding sway.
Marist desperately missed 2019 Steelform Wanganui players Viki Tofa (injury) and Josiah Bogileka (suspension), as the timing and speed of their passes through the midfield and wings was slightly disjointed against a home team that loves to use their physicality to disrupt flow.
Eventually, after three-four phases with little penetration, even inside the attacking half, Marist would opt for attacking kicks, which Ruapehu’s outside cover handled easily enough to clear their danger zone.
Ruapehu’s backline, led by try-scoring midfielders Troy Brown and Royce Trow, along with first-five Kahl Elers-Green and rapidly improving halfback Andre McDonnell, had no problem with their distribution, especially just after halftime when there was more open room due to 14-a-side rugby.
Late in the first half with Ruapehu hot on attack under Marist’s posts, prop Te Uhi Hakaraia and flanker Jamie Hughes had been determined to get Marist’s standout lock Lake Ah Chong off the ball; their team receiving an infringement penalty at that moment.
Allegedly stomped in the head, Ah Chong got up swinging at Hakaraia, and after the melee was sorted out, referee Ben Lourie gave both men the red card.
Marist definitely missed Ah Chong, with skipper and try-scorer Brad Graham shouldering extra workload and taking a pounding in the front line, while fullback Ashton Coates had a busy match and perfect goal-kicking performance.
Having brought onto the bench the likes of 2019 Marist prop Gordon Karaitiana, St Johns Wanganui Metro forward Louie Devine and their veterans Ricky Alabaster and Simon Dibben, Marist had all the momentum in the final 10 minutes, with hooker Jack Yarrall and second-five Pati Leo scoring good tries, but they ran out of time as the latter seven-pointer was the last act of the game.
“[Proud] to be still in that fight, in the 80th minute when the game was gone, but to still keep going because there was a little bit on the line with the fourth try,” said coach Travers Hopkins.
“We showed in patches we could [perform], but the horse had obviously bolted by then.
“I said at halftime, there wasn’t a lot of fluidity through the passing, it was having to reach and catch or reset and give, and just stuff like that, you can’t give them an inch and if you do, they make you pay.”
While Bogileka is back next week, Ah Chong will await his fate like Hakaraia at the judiciary, just compounding Marist’s issue in the second round of missing players through injury or unavailability.
“When you’re asking big minutes, week in and week out…there’s some guys who have played huge minutes,” said Hopkins.
“You’d love to give them a breather….but for whatever reason, we just don’t have that luxury; we’ve got guys jumping in a car in Taihape and busting arse to get over here.”
Mathematically, Marist still have the chance to make their first Premier semifinal since 2017 as they only trail Ruapehu by a solitary point, with Ngamatapouri one point further back again.
Even though no Bottom 3 team has defeated a semifinal-locked side in this campaign, Hopkins has faith they can compete in their last two games, even if they just limp over the finish line on bonus points.
“What we saw in that last 10 minutes will give the boys a bit of heart, as they saw we can score points, we can penetrate defences.”
But delighted Ruapehu coach Kim McNaught thinks after back-to-back wins over their fellow minnows, his team has more to give during the next fortnight as well.
“Bonus point [protection], we made a few subs, but it was good we kept them out, give us another chance, awesome effort.
“We’ve kept trying to play structured rugby all the time, but it wasn’t suiting us, so we just went back to what we know and it’s been working out for us – against Ngamat and today we put in a good effort.
“We’ve put in a good show against Kaierau and Taihape, so there’s no reason why we can’t go down to Whangaz next week and tip those boys up.
“We got a bit of belief now – semifinals is something that we probably weren’t looking at, four weeks in, but today and after these last few weeks, it’s been good.
“You got to give yourself a chance, if you don’t it’s a waste of time playing rugby.”
Keeping Marist pinned in their half after the opening exchanges, Ruapehu spread the ball through Brown doing an in-and-away to attract defenders and free up speedy young winger Koa Koa Karimu – who flew down the sideline to the corner flag, with Elers-Green adding a good wide conversion.
A couple of penalties at the breakdown allowed Coates to close the gap to four points, but not for long as Marist made a mess of a scrum inside their half as the ball was kicked along the ground towards the Ruapehu backline.
After Elers-Green put Gabriel Hakaraia into space with a perfect basketball pass, with only Ah Chong’s tackle stopping the try, the ball was freed for fellow prop Edmonds to drive under his smaller markers to score.
It got worse for Marist at scrum time, as having the feed 5m from their line, halfback Rory Gudsell saw the ball pinched from underneath him by McDonnell, who brushed through to dive across.
Following Ah Chong and Te Uhi Hakaraia’s departure, Ruapehu still had a tap penalty near the line, and after Hart nearly drove over, a bounce pass was claimed by Edmonds to again show his strength by holding off three tacklers to score the bonus point try on halftime.
The match was out of Marist’s sight not long after the break, as their midfield backs rushed up so Trow found Hughes with an inside pass, and the flanker had Brown right on his shoulder to take the offload and score.
Running hot, Ruapehu’s forwards pounded Marist’s line, piling up under the posts, then Elers-Green fired a long looping pass to the other winger Takarani Meteking – who stepped the cover back inside to dive over for 36-3.
The home side had been able to use their depth on the bench by this time, while Marist had to wait longer to inject their fresh legs, but they made a difference as Karaitiana set up centre Cajum Teki Botica to attack the corner tryline, with the ball coming back for Graham to pump through and score under the posts.
Ruapehu weren’t fazed as they forced a mistake at the restart, then got a succession of penalties for McDonnell to take a quick tap and fire the ball to a ranging Trow, who dummied into the gap and crossed untouched.
Not giving up the fight, Graham busted through the defence to bring his team back on attack, again spreading to Botica, who was caught short, but Yarrall was there to squirrel over and leave the small collection of Ruapehu supporters feeling a little nervous about having to share fourth place on the table.
With five minutes left, Marist kept attacking as Yarrall, prop Cameron Neilson and Devine made some great offloads to set Botica free again, with Metekingi producing a try-saving tackle, which used up enough of the clock that even when Marist got a scrum and Leo blasted through the screen and ran under the posts, time had expired.
Ruapehu 41 (M Edmonds 2, K Karimu, A McDonnell, T Brown, T Metekingi, R Trow tries; K Elers-Green 3 con) bt Marist 24 (B Graham, J Yarrall, P Leo tries; A Coates pen, 3 con). HT: 24-3.
