Match Report: Carterton v Greytown – 28 May 2022

Carterton 36 (Brandon Wright 2, Inia Katia, Shaiane Daniel, Jack Loader, Aseri Waqa tries; Sam Morison 3 conversions) Greytown 27.

Carterton returned to Greytown to enjoy a second sun-drenched visit this season with a hard-fought 36-27 victory over a much-improved home team.

In front of a rather smaller crowd than for the Lane Penn Cup clash between these two teams four weeks earlier, Carterton took an early 7-0 lead when Brandon Wright strolled through a midfield gap to score by the posts, but then conceded three unconverted tries in the next 20 minutes to trail 15-7.

A Greytown mistake in kicking a goal line dropout out on the full gave Carterton the attacking platform from which Inia Katia scored after 30 minutes, Sam Morison’s conversion from in front bringing Carterton back to 14-15 at half time. Aseri Waqa’s athletic catch-and-pass put Shaiane Daniel in for a try after 44 minutes, but Greytown immediately scored again to lead 20-19 after two Carterton defenders collided. Second-five Wright then scored an identical try to his first-half effort after 60 minutes and when Jack Loader scored a pushover try from a scrum after 65 minutes Carterton finally looked good at 31-20 ahead. But Greytown were not finished, closing the gap to 31-27 and going close again before Carterton finally sealed victory with a brilliant long-range try to Waqa on 78 minutes.

Carterton was missing six forwards for this match and understandably struggled at times for combination at the set piece. But they hung tough in the second half despite having only one tight forward on the bench, with James Church and Blair Heming both keeping the engine running for the full 80 minutes and Terongo Tekii – playing half the match at open side and half at hooker – getting through a power of work. Jack Loader returned for his first match since 2020 and picked up where he left off, driving the team forward at every opportunity.

The outside backs were superb on attack, cutting Greytown to ribbons in the second half. Shaiane Daniel enjoyed his best game in a Carterton jersey and fellow winger Fiula Tameilau broke countless tackles in his numerous runs. The outstanding performance came from fullback Aseri Waqa, who found space at will in the second half and clocked up huge run metres before creating and eventually scoring the final try.

3-2-1
1 point Sivo Karavaki
2 points Aseri Waqa
3 points Brandon Wright

Supporters’ Vote – Fiula Tamielau

#CTB AD