Match Report: Carterton vs Martinborough

By Andrew Dunford

Carterton 8 (Brandon Wright try; Ben Brooking penalty) Martinborough 12.

The two big winners from last week met at Regent Street, with the match moved to the side field after heavy rain which thankfully cleared away shortly before kickoff. Even at this early stage it looked likely the two teams were playing for a place in the Lane Penn Cup final.

The match didn’t prove to be the anticipated free-flowing spectacle, with neither team as precise on attack as expected and largely cancelling each other out.

Good interplay between Suitaka Toamotu and Ben Brooking after ten minutes put Carterton on attack, leading to Brandon Wright barrelling over from close range to open the scoring. Then Carterton’s emerging scrum ascendancy earned a penalty which Brooking chipped over from close range to raise an 8-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Martinborough dominated territory and possession in the second quarter but were mostly unable to capitalise until a sweeping backline move on the stroke of halftime saw a try scored in the left corner. Carterton led 8-5 at the break but hadn’t helped themselves by losing both Ben Hancox-Uelese and Fiula Tameilau to the bin late in the half.

The second half was evenly contested with Carterton having plenty of attacking opportunities before Martinborough scored the match-winning converted try after 71 minutes, holding on to claim a 12-8 victory. Although the result could have gone either way, Martinborough seemed to gain more impact from bench strength which told in the end.

A much tougher assignment for Carterton this week, and they should be better for the workout. The loose forward trio of Inia Katia, Logan Wakefield and Zac Wakefield were all prominent, Lachie McFadzean had an excellent all-round game, and props Cameron Cartwright and Tupou Lea’aemanu shone in a dominant scrum performance. The backs struggled at times to put attacking moves together but Daryl Pickering frequently relieved pressure with his booming kicks to touch.

In the early game Carterton premier reserves put up a stirring second-half performance with no reserves available to turn a 0-24 half time deficit into a narrow 17-24 loss.