In the first game of the day on Saturday 14th April we had He Tauaa and Cowboys putting their undefeated run’s on the line.

Both teams showed why they were the two top clubs in the competition.

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Right from the kick off the pace of the game was sensational and the hits were crunching tackles . Cowboys gave it to He Tauaa , but He Tauaa gave it back just as good as they were getting.

We knew this was going to be a thriller and the hardest game we would see to date.

There was nothing between the two , they went try for try for majority of the game and when one team would score to go ahead on the score board. The other team would then take the lead. This game was a heart stopper and keep the supporters on the side on their feet.

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Cowboys began to dig deep with only twenty minutes left on the clock and started to open the gap between the two. He Tauaa tried hard to fight back into the game , but found that they were tiring from all the defence they had to do.

The more He Tauaa fought back , the more Cowboys started to come back at them just as hard. At the end of the 80 minutes , both teams showed each other the respect they deserved. Cowboys were the better team on the day and lead the points table going into the Southland/Otago part of the competition.
What a game for the eyes to see,

COWBOYS 52 – HE TAUAA 24

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In the second game of the day we had Cooks vs Winton City.
Winton City struggled to find player numbers for today and had to default to Cooks.

Players from the other clubs and a couple of supporters stood up to help Winton City field a team to play Cooks, , it still gave Cooks a chance to practise their moves and defence.

Due to default Cooks will get the two competition points and 30 points for and 0 points against.

COOKS 30 – WINTON CITY 0

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A big thank you must go out to Mike Lemalie for refereeing both games today.
The touch judges did a good job and made Mikes job in the middle a lot easier.

Southland Rugby League – The History under 18’s

Today we saw the return of Under 18’s club rugby league.

Cowboys and He Tauaa decided to set up a three game series between themselves , after two clubs were unable to field a team to start an under 18 competition.

When talking to He Tauaa & Cowboys about the Under 18’s and what made them want to set up a three game series for the club. The answer was clear. It was about keeping these young guys involved in rugby league and about building our club for the future. Most of the boys play rugby Saturdays , so we thought if we play Sundays we are not stepping on rugby’s feet.

This was the first game of the three.

Both teams played with a lot of heart and the game was amazing to watch. These young guys showed how much they enjoyed having the opportunity to play rugby league for there desired club of choice.

When talking to some of the players , they talked about how both clubs had given each other a bit of banter at school.

It was a fast and an exciting game to watch today. He Tauaa got on the score board first and then Cowboys equalled them. It was starting to look like we were watching the a replay of the He Tauaa vs Cowboys premier game a day earlier.

Cowboys fought hard with only having the one reserve on the bench and made it hard for He Tauaa to get a flow on. It didn’t take long before He Tauaa got themselves back into game mode and they began to fire. Both forward packs ran strong all day and both side defended well. It was good to see tackling around the boot laces , cutting down momentum.

The backs on both teams were awesome to watch , as they put there game plans into action. Southland has some young talented young men coming through the ranks and if we can keep them interested in rugby league , we will be looking good for the future of the sport.

Referee – Patrick Sililoto
Touch Judges – Dave & Ned

Half time score: He Tauaa 24 – Cowboys 12 Full time score: He Tauaa 48 – Cowboys 24

Story thanks to Southland District Rugby League

Photos: Dave Loudon Photography

Southland Rugby League Weekend Wrap Up

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