It came down to who could weather the storm.
All three Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay Premier club rugby matches were more like water polo games on Saturday as the Oval and Paddy’s Park were turned into muddy aquariums by the heavy rain.
It didn’t stop top-of-the-table East Coast Farm Vets YMP running in 13 tries — including four to openside flanker Seth Lundon — in an 83-5 blitz of Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates.
In identical conditions on the other Oval field, GT Shearing Waikohu found their wet-weather groove with a 37-0 win over Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys.
Recognising who was who was the challenge at a Paddy’s Park mudbath in Patutahi as Enterprise Cars OBM crashed the party in Ngatapa stalwart Campbell Chrisp’s 150th Premier appearance — the visitors winning 24-0.
The weather dominated all three matches and holding on to a greased pig of a ball became the focus.
A penalty kick from the boot of OBM first-five Brian Whaitiri-White was all that separated the sides at halftime.
By the second spell the weather had eased slightly and OBM began to gain traction .
Winger Reeftahn Brown-Terekia scored their first try early in the half and Whaitiri-White converted to make it 10-0.
Replacement back Jo Tikicidre increased the visitors’ lead with a try in the 63rd minute, with Whaitiri-White adding the trimmings.
Ngatapa did well to contain the OBM attacks and made them work for every yard gained.
But in the closing minutes No.8 and captain Riki Terekia added to his impressive try tally this season and Whaitiri-White converted for a
100 percent success rate.
OBM coach Dillon Dolman-Tuhou praised the second-half performance of his side but also the efforts of players from both sides — particularly first-fives Whaitiri-White and Ricardo Patricio for adapting well to the weather curve ball Mother Nature threw at them.
“It’s hard to play in those conditions and both players controlled the game really well.”
Ngatapa lock and skipper Dan Law said despite the scoreline he thought it was an effort to be proud of.
“I said to the boys we needed to roll our sleeves up and get into that game early and I think we did that. It was a massive game for Campbell — his 150th — and playing in the Senior 1 and Premier games showed he’s still as fit as ever.”
Taste One Most Valuable Player of the Day honours went to Whaitiri-White and Ngatapa second-five Khian Westrupp, who has got better with every game.
YMP scored over a point a minute in their commanding win over Pirates but victorious coach Kahu Tamatea said it didn’t reflect the effort Pirates put in.
“We had some sore bodies in our team after that encounter,” Tamatea said. “They always bring the physicality and worked hard until the end.”
YMP, who made it nine bonus-point wins on the trot, did well to keep the handling errors to a minimum in such conditions.
Lundon, who scored a hat-trick the weekend before, was exceptional — always in the right place at the right time and deservedly earning YMP’s MVP honours.
One of the strengths of YMP is their powerful and hungry bench, who were able to keep the momentum going when they came on.
“I was thoroughly impressed with the boys’ efforts in those terrible conditions” Tamatea said. “The support play, ball handling and game management were of such a high level — plus our bench added impact.
“Seth was everywhere. In the past few seasons, he has been a bench man and always made a good impact. But I’m happy he’s getting to start because he has always had the goods.”
Pirates coast Anthony Kiwara said YMP were “ a quality team” and that showed on Saturday.
“It was a tough day at the office but I’m proud of the boys for fronting up . . . they never gave up and played with a lot of heart and mana until the final whistle, which is awesome.
“We can only learn and push forward from that game.”
Pirates skipper and locl Pat Kaliopasi, who Kiwara said always led from the front, was their MVP.
HSOB suffered a blow when captain Fletcher Scammell was ruled out of the Waikohu game with a fractured thumb sustained the weekend before against Pirates.
It got even tougher after winger Alex Jerram was yellow-carded for a high tackle.
During that time the men from Te Karaka struck with a try to lock Shannon Cameron in the 10th minute.
The slippery ball made it difficult for both teams to get any cohesion but Waikohu managed to run in tries to No.8 Adrian Wyrill and fullback Punch Noanoa before the 30-minute mark for a 15-0 lead.
HSOB did well to slow Waikohu’s momentum and held them out until the 48th minute when lock James Rutene scored a try.
By then, the worst of the weather was being unleashed.
HSOB had their moments but were foiled by the intensifying wind and rain.
Waikohu finished strongly with tries to replacement Tapu Dixon, openside flanker Kupu Lloyd, and winger KC Wilson.
Scammell said his side played well in patches but struggled to keep the ball in possession enough to execute.
They defended for a lot of the game and it was always going to be difficult to hold Waikohu out — especially in the conditions.
“We had a lot of good players sitting out due to injury but everyone stood up and played well.
“Credit to Waikohu. They came at us with everything and we wish them all the best for the rest of their season.”
Lock Nelson Moran’s workload and ball-carrying efforts were rewarded with HSOB’s MVP honours
Likewise Waikohu prop Tristan Morten, whose straight line running makes him a hard target to pull down and all the more threatening when he close to the line.
The overall MVP table has has a new leader — Westrupp is on 15 points, YMP fullback Andrew Tauatevalu 13 and Pirate second five Ale Paulo 10.