Blues' day at busy Lansdowne Park

Central maintained their firm grip on the Marlborough sub union premier rugby crown at a sun-drenched Lansdowne Park this afternoon.

The defending MRU champs reproduced some of the form that propelled them to the Tasman Trophy title in 2022, dismantling Waitohi 38-5 with a clinical display both back and forward.

Leading just 12-0 at halftime after tries to No 8 Peni Fihaki, in his first appearance of the season, and winger Dave Fotu, the Blues upped the ante after the break, scoring more four tries and allowing their rivals just one consolation effort, scored late in the match by lively halfback Bray Taumoefolau.

It was a tough day for the Tohis who were unable to create any consistent pressure on the Blues defence, either though field position or continuous possession. With Central’s scrum in charge for much of the encounter, forcing several tightheads, Waitohi’s attacking platform was inconsistent, not helped by a lack of composure on the ball.

This, coupled with a well-organised and aggressive Central defence, meant the Tohis were often struggling to clear the ball out of their zone rather than creating meaningful attack.

Central opened the scoring after 11 minutes, Fihaki powering over from a 5m scrum after a series of attacking raids and the seemingly-inevitable string of penalties.

The home side scored just one other try in the first 40, winger Fotu diving over in the corner after another attacking foray down the right side.

Any hopes Waitohi had of bouncing back into the game straight after oranges was snuffed out four minutes after the restart. A period of close-range attack saw centre Nigel Satherley burst over, Mitch Smith adding his second conversion to give Central a handy 19-0 lead.

Despite the sin-binning of Blues’ loosie Braden Stewart, making his return off the bench after an injury, Waitohi struggled to take advantage and it was Central who scored next. Almost inevitably it was their talismanic hooker Quentin MacDonald who bagged a five-pointed off the back of a close-range lineout drive. Four minutes later, they were in again, impressive winger Lani Fihaki slicing through from 20 out.

Taumoefolau’s try then gave the vocal Waitohi support something to cheer about, before Lani Fihaki completed a double with a superbly-crafted effort on the back of a MacDonald grubber kick. Smith’s fourth conversion wrapped it up as the Blues emptied their bench.

MacDonald said that, despite it still being very early in the season, one of their goals was ticked off.

“It’s weird to win a final just three weeks into the season but we will gladly accept the silverware, take some confidence out of today and rip into the Tasman Trophy in a couple of weeks.

“We are pretty happy with [the performance], it was good to blood the new boys that have come in and good for the team overall to get the likes of Peni and Braden back.

“We have a good mix of players this year but it is like last year, we have just got to keep getting better each week.”

There were plenty of top performers for the Blues today, prop Jeremy Foley again leading the way up front, lock Matt McCormick controlling the engine room, Peni and Lani Fikaki offering both power and elusiveness, midfielder Ben Filipo leading the line on defence, Smith controlling proceedings with his educated left boot and Jake Cresswell secure at fullback.

Replacements Jaydn Holdaway, at loose forward, and halfback Jack Kelly were others to shine.

Waitohi player/coach Tim O’Malley, ruled out of the match with a head knock sustained earlier in the season, said Central were too strong on the day.

“All the same issues we had against them a few weeks ago were there today … the only way we were going to be competitive was to win our set pieces and we struggled there again. But they are a good team across the park and they were just too good for us – across the park.”

Best of the gritty Tohis outfit were hooker Toby McLeod, lock Dylan Burns, skipper Taine Cragg-Love and No 8 Campbell Hart, Taumoefolau, centre Sio Moa, winger Gannon Karena and fullback Patrick Smith-Kerr.

Scores from the premier final: Central 38 (Peni Fihaki, Quentin MacDonald, Nigel Satherley, Lani Fihaki 2, Dave Fotu tries, Mitch Smith 4 con) Waitohi 5 (Bray Taumoefolau try). HT: 12-0.

In Marlborough division two action, Waitohi beat Pelorus 33-12, Central edged out Harlequins 32-24 and Renwick defeated Awatere 33-19.

In the Tasman Trophy women’s competition Marist accounted for Wairau Wāhine 55-22 at Awarua Park, while Kahurangi beat Waimea Old Boys 29-7 in Nelson.

Marlborough rugby HQ was a hive of activity this morning as the Junior Rugby Festival was staged. Over 50 teams packed the park, taking part in a series of games designed to kick start their seasons.