ON THE CHARGE: King Country’s Kristian Standen braces for contact against Thames Valley. PHOTO SOFIA WOOD
FIVE points is all that stood between King Country and Thames Valley in their Bunnings Heartland Championship clash last weekend. The visiting Thames Valley Swamp Foxes left Taumarunui sporting big smiles as they recorded a 19-15 victory against a plucky King Country Rams outfit. King Country featured several backline changes from the game against Whanganui with loan player and first five Quinn Collard and winger Zach Wickham-Darlington the only two survivors. Fleet-footed fullback Oliver Foote and his brother Kaleb Foote were unavailable meaning halfback Zayn Tipping wore the number 15 jumper with Kane Tamou starting at halfback. Loan player Leigh Bristowe made his first appearance of the campaign on the left wing, taking the spot of Diego Rangi, while Carlos Bellass, who was making his first start of the campaign, lined-up at second five and Jonathon Malo at centre, a new midfield pairing from the week before. Up front the pack has gone well with Darren Tiumalu the only change from Whanganui.
STRONG PHASES Some strong phase play and a solid build up saw Thames Valley score the opening try through loose forward Laulea Mau Fangufangu, while their second was scored by first five Todd Doolan after some poor recycling by King Country. First five Collard went close before Cruise Dunster scored to make it 14-5 with the visitors adding another effort just before halftime following a poor kick from King Country. Coach Craig Jeffries said there were positives to take from the defeat. “The second half was a lot better from us. In the first half we gave them two very soft tries and they took a good opportunity themselves.
STOP MAKING MISTAKES “We just need to stop making mistakes which are letting teams in for tries.” Jeffries gave credit to the visiting Thames Valley line up. “They are a good side. They looked to spread the ball quickly and we hadn’t experienced that, and they caught us out there. It showed why they have been a top team the past few seasons.” He did admit it was a game they should have won. “We made 137 carries in the second half, that’s a phenomenal effort. The guys really stepped up, that just shows we didn’t get the number of points we should have with that much ball.” The forwards again impressed with tight head prop Dan Ross, Cruise and Karney Dunster and skipper Liam Rowlands leading the way.
BEST GAME “Dan probably played his best game in the long time for King Country, while Cruise was absolutely outstanding scoring two tries. “Our forwards have been strong each week and giving us a good platform. Leigh also showed on the wing what a handful he can be, and it was good to have him back on the park.” While they managed a losing bonus point, Jeffries said they wanted maximum points. “The ground was 100 percent better than Cooks Garden. We could have played in a cow paddock and that would have been better than Whanganui. “We always enjoy playing in Taumarunui and Saturday was no different even if we didn’t get the result we wanted.”
LEVIN BOUND This weekend they travel to Levin to take on Horowhenua Kapiti in what is shaping as a must win clash for King Country. “They’re always a challenging side and have started reasonably well. “We want to play some attacking rugby, but Saturday’s weather doesn’t look great.” Jeffries is pleased with the fitness of his players as no injuries came from the weekend’s loss. They lose Kristian Standen to Ireland this weekend and another player, but Jeffries is confident they’ll fill those voids ok.
