Battling oppressive heat and humidity, the One New Zealand Warriors recovered from a 0-12 halftime deficit to register their first win of the season beating the Kaiviti Silktails 28-18 in their round five Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21) match at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday.
When the match kicked off at 12.00pm local time, the temperature was sitting on 30 degrees with the humidity at close to 80 per cent, ensuring heat protocols were enforced to allow for drinks breaks midway through each half.
The Warriors came into the contest off a 20-20 draw with the Wests Tigers with their lineup bolstered by the inclusion of some quality reinforcements.
Against that they were facing a Silktails side which has made huge strides from last year’s debut in the competition which ended with 24 straight losses. They had lost their first two games this year but won for the first time in round three and backed it up again last week; those two wins notably came on Fiji soil.
It seemed they had the sniff of more to come when they took a 12-0 lead into halftime against a Warriors side which was performing poorly.
What happened in the second half was barely credible as the visitors took control by scoring 28 points while conceding only six.
Match: Silktails v Warriors
Round 5 -
home Team
Silktails
9th Position
away Team
Warriors
11th Position
Venue: Churchill Park, Lautoka
Six minutes in after a six-again call, hooker Makaia Tafua sparked the response finding little resistance as he cruised over from dummy half close to the line.
With Jett Cleary’s conversion the Warriors were on their way and they were on level terms at 12-12 eight minutes later through second rower Jackson Kite’s converted try.
It came after the Silktails lost possession on their 30-metre line, Cleary delivering the try-scoring pass as he put Kite through a gaping hole in the defensive line.
They were in the lead three minutes later as Cleary and fullback Tallan Egan combined, giving centre Sefanaia Cowley-Lupo time to position right winger Raphael Sio for a shot at the corner. There wasn’t much room but he squeezed in expertly, Cleary with the extras for an 18-12 advantage.
Having gained the ascendancy, the Warriors then conceded it by allowing the locals to draw level at 18-18 after 63 minutes but they quickly regrouped and finished the contest impressively.
With their defence much improved, they held firm and then hit the Silktails with two tries in the latter minutes to first regain the lead at 22-18 and then seal the deal.
The first came as standoff Luke Hanson shaped for a field goal, then dummied and bolted towards the line, was checked and, as he went down, flicked out a lobbed one-handed pass wide to the left where winger Malakai Cama dragged it in to score in the corner.
From a penalty, the Warriors thundered up the middle through props Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea and Harry Durbin before swinging the ball left through halves Cleary and Hanson before replacement Jarome Falamoe gave Cama an easy passage for his second try in a matter of minutes. Cleary was perfect with the sideline conversion and the Warriors were home.
It’s the third time they have played the Silktails in Lautoka and they’ve won each time (16-10 and 16-4 last year).
The One New Zealand Warriors are back home to face Cronulla Sutherland at the Trusts Arena in Waitakere next Saturday.
