Hi ,

Rugby

Matariki Day at The Fortress on a Friday! The Axeman came out to the suburbs for an entertaining afternoon of rugby. For a while we thought we were going to have three games at Lyndhurst, but that did not quite come off, so the Colts played at Redwood Park. 

Speaking to Coach Petaia, it was a game that we did not get into. Apparently with the score being 10-7 to the Axemen with minutes to go, our boys managed to get a seven pointer, giving us a win. Nothing a coach wants more than “work-ons” for next week’s training. 

The Colts have a home game this Saturday at Redwood Park vs Oriental-Rongotai, starting at 12.30pm. 

Our Premier 2s had a 1.00pm start at home which was pretty much one-sided. Talking to Craig Reid (Axeman prop from another era), the club is continuing to pursue a rebuilding of the club. As agreed, good things take time. In the meantime, a resounding win by our boys putting them clearly in number two spot for the Harper Lock Shield, which OBU took this year. 

This Saturday, our P2s play at The Fortress in a Quarter Final vs HOBM for the Ed Chaney Trophy, starting at 12.30pm. As a WRFU Vice President, it was indeed my privilege to have presented this trophy to our boys for the last three years. No pressure guys!!

The Premiers played next with a bench full of our Super Rugby boys having returned from around the country. The Axemen broke out a number of times, but our defence was superb. Of interest was that our boys scored exactly the same amount of points in the second 40 as they did in the first 40 – unreal! 

A 4th place finish on the table now puts us in a quarter final game against OBU at Rugby League Park starting at 2.45pm.

Saturday brought the Ducks (U85) back to The Fortress. Top of the table leaders, our Ducks were not going to let the Johnsonville Terrahawks take the limelight after defeating Petone by a huge margin as the curtain-raiser for their game. The Axemen got 5 points in the first half, but really that was their lot for the day. Although the Axemen kept working hard, our defence was absolutely on the button. 

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At the end of another convincing win, Ken Ah Kuoi, WRFU Vice President, was on site to present the JC Bowl to the Ducks. 

The Ducks have a BYE this weekend. 

See you this weekend. 

Allan G Davidson

President & Life Member

Junior Spotlight - Year 4 Tackle (sponsored by Leman Smeith)

Last Saturday we were lucky to have another game at our beloved Lyndhurst Park, facing Northern United RFC Blue. 

Our team's Player of the Day was awarded to Sam, Legend of the Week was awarded to Kyan, and the opposition (Norths) awarded Tawa's Player of the Day to Va'a.

The Norths started strong and scored several quick tries. Their team was blessed with many very good runners and steppers who went on weaving runs, including a player who showcased his vast array of talent incorporating the goose step and was their North's Player of the Day awarded by Tawa. After a slow start under the clouds and being well supported by vocal whānau, the Tawa tamariki raised their game with Zach and Kopo finishing great tries. The Norths continued their intent and mazy running throughout the entire game and were formidable opponents. 

Halftime arrived with a good talk from coach Tyrone and a chance for the players to reflect and reset. The sunshine also arrived and was welcome

In the second half, Tawa played well with more great runs from Kopo, Kyan, Va'a, Zach, and Zoey in particular that invariably led to tries. The second half on balance was fairly even and Tawa finished on a great note after a long run for the majority of the length of the touchline by Zoey who ran down the right flank then darted inside which culminated in a Tawa try, followed by the full time whistle. A great final try to finish the contest.

Under 11 Fundraising

Our Under 11s (the Tawa RFC Y6 Titans Taupō team) are still hard at work fundraising to get to the Taupō Rugby Tournament in September. They are running a raffle, with some awesome prizes to be won. If you'd like to buy a ticket, contact Kim at kim_hughes94@hotmail.co.nz.