Buller Rugby News
Poverty Bay edge out Buller for Finals berth
In a tense and nail biting semi final played at Victoria Square in Westport, Poverty Bay have clinched a place in next weekends Lochore Cup final with a last minute 32-30 victory over Buller. Electro Services Buller looked to have sealed the victory when Bevan Te Tai broke a 25 all deadlock with a try just 7 minutes from time. Buller managed to control possession for the next 5 minutes however an offensive penalty on half way gifted the ball to Poverty Bay with 2 minutes remaining. After building phases in Buller territory, Poverty Bay found space out wide where John Stewart was the benefactor of a try which ultimately broke the back of the home side. Scott Leighton sealed the win with the conversion in front of the posts and with just 30 seconds remaining Buller’s chances of progressing to consecutive home Lochore Cup final were gone.
The match began with Buller playing with a stiff breeze at their backs in the first half. Buller were able to dominate the early stages of the match and were rewarded with an early penalty goal and a converted try scored by Ben Coman. Poverty Bay were quick to respond however as two tries to the visitors by Stewart and Kelvin Smith handed them a 12-10 lead. With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Buller began to apply pressure to the visitors, Andrew Stephens kicked his second penalty goal to hand the home side the lead. Just 4 minutes later, Buller centre William Saukuru found himself in open space as he exploited a short blind to sprint 30 metres to score. Stephens conversion made it 18-12 with 1 minute remaining in the first half. From the resulting kick-off, Buller were unable to secure the ball and were later penalised to hand Leighton the chance to reduce the gap top three points heading into the sheds. Leighton obliged and with time expired, Buller lead 15-12 at halftime.
The second half started well for the home side as Phil Gibson pounced on a loose Poverty Bay pass and raced 50 metres to score. Stephens conversion gave Buller a 10 point lead early in the half. Poverty Bay replied through a penalty goal to Leighton and a converted try to Ratu Vosaki to level the scores at 25-25. Both teams continued to throw everything at each other as the intensity of the situation mounted. Te Tai’s 73rd minute try came courtesy of an extended period on attack on the Poverty Bay line however Stephens conversion into the wind struck the upright and bounced away. After the Stewart try and Leighton conversion with 30 seconds remaining, Buller managed enough time to restart the game and were successful in retaining possession. After two phases inside the Poverty Bay half, Gibson attempted a long range dropped goal to snatch victory however the ball drifted wide and went dead.
It was a disappointing end to the season for Buller who had gone through the first 4 rounds unbeaten and led the competition. In their final 4 round robin matches they suffered 3 losses by margins no greater than 3 points. The game doubled as an important fixture for open side flanker Luke Brownlee. Brownlee played his 105th first class competition match in succession, breaking the NZRU record, previously held by Thomas Stuart. Brownlee put in his usual honest effort and whilst his team couldn’t get the result they were so dearly after, they can still be proud of the effort they produced this season.
Buller 30 (Ben Coman, Will Sakuru, Phil Gibson, Bevan Tetai tries; Andrew Stephens 2 con, 2 pen)
Poverty Bay 32 (John Stewart 2, Kelvin Smith, Ratu Vosaki tries; Scott Leighton 3 con, 2 pen). HT: 18-15
