King Country Rams retain the hardware
King Country and Thames Valley lock horns in Te Kuiti in the second round of the Heartland Championship.
The Paparata Farms King Country Rams have made a flying start to their Heartland Championship campaign, retaining the Bill Osborne Taonga and reclaiming the Centurions Cup with an impressive 48–29 victory over Thames Valley at Te Kūiti.
By Andrew (Chainsaw) McCullough
Thames Valley, last year’s competition runners-up, provided stern opposition, but the Rams produced an entertaining display of running rugby to secure their second consecutive victory.
On a perfect day for rugby, played on a superbly manicured pitch, King Country ran in eight tries to five and eventually pulled clear of a big and physical Thames Valley side.
The Rams were forced into a late change when captain Liam Rowlands withdrew, promoting hooker Sam Robinson into the starting XV. Robinson responded with an outstanding performance and was deservedly presented with his 25-game blazer at the after-match function.
The King Country forward pack laid the foundation for the victory, gradually gaining the upper hand at scrum time and in the lineout. That platform gave the Rams’ backline plenty of opportunities to attack, with six of the team’s eight tries coming from the backs.
The first half was an entertaining affair, with the teams locked at 19-all at the break.
King Country’s first-half tries came from loose forward Reeve Satherley, fullback Patrick Hedley and centre Logan Patterson, while Thames Valley also crossed three times to keep the contest finely balanced.
The Rams came out firing in the second half and began to stretch the Valley defence. Their wingers were given licence to roam, creating space and opportunities out wide.
Winger Styris Harland crossed twice, while Hedley added his second try of the afternoon. Lock Peter Te Kahu then showed impressive footwork to score, before young first five-eighth Hone Mathieson produced one of the highlights of the match, running 50 metres to seal a memorable victory.
The full list of King Country scorers was Satherley, Hedley (two), Patterson, Harland (two), Te Kahu and Mathieson, with Hedley converting four tries.
Thames Valley’s tries came from impressive first five-eighth Quinn Collard, who scored twice, along with Rowan Cole, Laulea Mau and Kirk Ngatai. Collard added two conversions.
The Rams now face a daunting trip south this Saturday to take on North Otago in Oamaru for the Maroon and Gold Cup. Another victory would further strengthen King Country’s push towards a Meads Cup semi-final.
In other matches, the King Country Big Horns went down narrowly to the Thames Valley Jackals 19–12, while the King Country Trailblazers were defeated 41–10 by the Taranaki Whio women.