'A real Marist against Waimea of old'

Waimea Old Boys have snatched second place on the Tasman Trophy table after an arm wrestle with Marist.

In other results, Nelson defaulted their game against Kahurangi to extend their lead on top of the table, while Stoke piled on a 54-21 win over Moutere and Central had a bye.

The 20-18 win was the perfect way for Waimea Old Boys to put a full stop on their club day, with a back-and-forth game going the way of the home side at Jubilee Park.

Action started slowly, with the first points on the board taking 20 minutes as first-five Sam Briggs split the defence and beat the last man to score a self-converted try.

Having moved to Waimea from Marist in the off-season, there was a sense that he wanted to make a statement over his old club with an impressive performance.

Having played over 100 games in the green and black hoops, he was impressive for Waimea with a kicking game that had Marist on the back foot for the majority of the game.

But Marist were never going to go down without a fight, putting their first points on the board from the tee as first-five Luke Kilworth split the posts.

That was the only time they scored in the first 40 minutes, and Waimea added a penalty of their own to take a 10-3 lead into the break.

The start of the second half saw a change in tide, with Marist taking just three minutes to score their first try and tie the game as Ratu Baleisomosomo rumbled it over the line.

A Waimea penalty retook the lead, before Marist scored one of their own to tie it up again.

With the game on the line, both teams had their chances to make a statement but it was Waimea who would come away with the bragging rights.

Substitute forward Sio Latu powered the ball over the line as his team regained possession off the kickoff and found themselves instantly in attacking field position.

A try to Marist flanker Te Puoho Stephens, as he powered through the defences on the flank, gave Marist a sniff, but it was too little too late.

With the conversion going wide, they were down two points and Waimea were able to hold on with some heroic defence inside their own 22 to close out the game.

Marist assistant coach Kane Hames stepped into the top role this weekend as coach Seta Sariua took the field.

He says it was a bitter pill to swallow, believing their own mistakes let them down.

“For us, it’s a lot of missed opportunities.

“It was closer than I think it should have been.”

He says it’s tough to have so many close losses to start the season, believing they needed to make better decisions at the death.

“It was almost a game of, not who wants it more, but who was the smartest.”

Waimea coach Scott McKenzie says it was good to come out on top after a battle of wits.

“The game was on a real knife edge. All it would take is one tackle, or one play to change things.”

He says with such a low scoring game, it was always going to go down to the death.

“It was a real battle. It was a real Marist against Waimea of old.

“I’m wrapped we managed to hold on.”