- By Neville Shirley
The last game of the regular season had the surging Pakuranga United Rugby Club Premiers facing off against East Tamaki away from home last Saturday.
A short trip down the road and our position on the table will be secured with a win.
With the prospect of showers throughout the game and a strong breeze to contend with, Pakuranga played with the conditions to start.
The game kicked off and the first try came in the first minute of the game with a great run from Pakuranga winger Harlyn Saunoa.
This set the tone for the rest of the game with scores coming in regular intervals.
This particular match was important for the team as finishing in second position on the table gives us a week off running into the semi-finals.
The rest of the top six is tight and we could face a number of different opponents depending on the results of the quarter-finals.
Pakuranga scored six first-half tries with all but one converted.
Other try scorers were Randle Baker, George Sims, Gafatasi Sua, Sam Crichton and a second to Harlyn Saunoa. George Sims converted all but one of the tries.
Turning around and playing into the conditions in the second half proved a much more difficult task as any mistakes allowed East Tamaki to clear their 22 with kicks relieving the pressure.
However, four minutes in saw the first of five more tries. They were scored by Gerald Van Wyk, Paulo Wallwork-Tuala, Jerry Samania, Sione Finau and Riley Harrison.
Only one of the tries was converted by Riley Harrison. The final score was 67-0 to Pakuranga.
Some great efforts in this game with Gafa Sua getting player of the day, ably supported by Sione Finau and Tane Dunn.
As previously stated we now have a week off but the lads will be training the house down to ensure good preparation for the semi-final.
Keep watching the social media to see who we’ll be playing in the coming weeks.
Thanks again for your support and our lads will continue to do you proud.
