When the Taihape Seniors beat the unbeatable
Above: Veteran player Luke Whale is the steady hand helping the Taihape Seniors this campaign
By Jared Smith
A coach will have a few goals he’d like to achieve in his first season, but lifting silverware is usually a complete bonus.
Yet that was the joy for Bennett’s Taihape’s Charles Sciascia at Memorial Park last Saturday, as without the aid of a few Tasman Tanning Premier-Senior squad ‘floaters’ who were playing in Ohakune, his relatively young side secured a jaw-dropping 36-32 comeback win over undefeated Ali Arc Logistics Marist Celtic.
Snatching the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield, Taihape inflicted the first loss on 2022’s Division 1 champions in 16 games, going all the way back to April last year.
“Twelve points behind at halftime, the talk was about believing in our systems and believing in our structure,” said Sciascia.
“Being set in our pods and everyone going to be where they needed to be at the right moment.
“The boys were still buzzing and saying ‘we’re still in it’.
“[Got] opportunities where the ball got turned over in a ruck and we got the upper hand.
“A bit of heart and that as well. A bit emotional at the end.”
Sciascia took over the team this season from Sefo Bourke who moved up to the Byford’s Readimix Taihape Premier squad – both coaches learning a lot from a preseason WRFU course run by Hurricanes development manager Darren Larsen.
He inherited about 10 players who were part of last year’s team which won the Senior Division 2 title, after being very unlucky not to advance into Division 1 out of the tight Country grade in the first half of the season.
Adding to that he is blooding a handful a recent school leavers, getting good work out of a few shepherds on the reserve bench, and has been assisted in guiding the team by Premier veterans like Luke Whale and Tremaine Gilbert – although both of them were required in Ohakune on Saturday.
Taihape RFC has the philosophy of co-operation between their two squads, with the expectation players will flow into the Premier team, rather than Senior trying to keep key personnel.
“Trying to work with [Bourke] has been quite awesome,” said Sciascia.
“[But] that’s the kind of thing we’ve got going – if the going gets tough, Luke [Whale] can stay.”
The fairytale victory of last Saturday aside, the new coach knows the latter part of their campaign will only get tougher.
Sitting in second place with a 4-2 record, two of Taihape’s victories and bonus points have been against the winless teams, whereas their remaining matches are against the sides currently sitting third, eighth, sixth, ninth and fifth respectively.
“It’s that close at the moment, everyone’s still got something to play for,” said Sciascia.
“One loss and we could go down 2-3 places – just like that. Everyone’s pretty hard at the end of the season.”
The run starts this weekend by hosting the formidable Tāmata Hauhā Rātana, which will be for both the newly-won Challenge Shield and the inter-club Whenuaroa Shield.
The Senior draw is
May 27th, 1pm kickoffs unless noted (times subject to change):
Mustangs vs Utiku, Spriggens Park; Marton vs Kaierau, Marton Park; Taihape vs Ratana, Memorial Park; Hunterville vs Counties, Hunterville Domain; Knights vs Celtic, Spriggens Park (2.35pm); Border vs Pirates, Dallison Park.
