Akarana centre Naufahu Whyte proved why he’s one of the most talked about players at this tournament, after scoring five tries for the Falcons in their 30-18 win against the Central Vipers. Despite taking an early lead, the Falcons were made to work hard for the victory, with the Mid Central boys refusing to back down in the contest. The Falcons will carry their unbeaten record into day three, where they will face the South Island Scorpions for the top spot in Pool D. Griffin Neame and Caius Fa’atili helped power the Scorpions to an impressive 56-10 victory over the Northern Swords today.
Counties Manukau Stingrays 17s emerged victorious 26-16 in their battle with Auckland Vulcans. The scores remained locked at 16 all for the majority of the second half, until the Stingrays crossed twice in the closing stages to put the game out of reach. Tyrone Waipouri and Sione Moala leading the charge for the Stingrays to put them atop of Pool C. Similarly, today’s match between Wai-Coa-Bay and Wellington also went down to the wire, with the Orcas snatching a late 18-16 victory. The win has kept alive the Orcas semi-finals chances, and they’ll take on the Auckland Vulcans for the spot tomorrow morning.
In the 15s grade, Counties Manukau put the Wellington Orcas to the sword with a mammoth 46-0 victory. Navajo Doyle scored a hat-trick for the Stingrays, who are yet to concede any points after two days of competition. The Akarana Falcons 15s held on for a tight 14-6 win over the Central Vipers to also remain unbeaten. The Falcons and the Stingrays will face off tomorrow to decide who takes the top spot in Pool A.
The Auckland Vulcans 15s survived a bruising encounter with the South Island Scorpions to win their second match 18-4. Stanley Iongi a standout for the Vulcans from dummy-half, and South Island halfback Nikau Waikato directed the Scorpions well despite the loss. The Vulcans will now face a resurgent Wai-Coa-Bay 15s side tomorrow, who bounced back from yesterday’s loss to post a confidence-boosting 40-10 win over the Northern Swords. Tomorrow sees the final matches of pool play before semi-finals commence on Thursday. Full results and standings for the 2018 NZRL Youth Nationals posted below:
15s grade:
Akarana Falcons 14 (Wetini Walker-Takai, Essendon Tuitupou, Pita Wilson; Naisa Pahulu 1 goal) Central Vipers 6 (Kodie Albert-Papuni; Tawhiwhi Karaitiana 1 goal)
Counties-Manukau Stingrays 46 (Navajo Doyle 3, Carlos Tarawhiti, Ali Leiataua, Nui-Alinghi Peni, Kavan Thompson-Campbell, Savelio Fisiiloi, Albert Finau, D’jazirhae Pua’avase; Navajo Doyle 2 goals) Wellington 0
Auckland Vulcans 18 (Stanley Iongi 2, Tremein Campbell; Tremein Campbell 3 goals) South Island Scorpions 4 (Nikau Waikato)
Wai-Coa-Bay Colts 40 (Tahiwaru Puru, Te Whatiki Childs-Katene, Jarvis Hemopo, Image Tepania, Cassius Cowley, Te Wano Ngamotu-Tahana, Joseph O’Leary; Tome Poona 6 goals) Northern Swords 10 (Kaharau Atutolu 2; Jason Te Tai 1 goal)
Pool A Standings: Counties Manukau 4, Akarana 4, Central 0, Wellington 0
Pool B Standings: Auckland Vulcan 4, Wai-Coa-Bay 2, South Island 2, Northern 0
17s grade:
Akarana Falcons 30 (Naufahu Whyte 5 tries, Moala Graham-Taufa, Jeremiah Schuster; Samuel Kamu 1 goal) Central Vipers 18 (William Mitford, Kayin Katene, Arama Miller, Zamaya Lilo-Maru; Potene Rolls-Paewai 1 goal)
South Island Scorpions 56 (Griffin Neame 2, Caius Fa’atili 2, Levi Pascoe, Thomas McKenzie, Montel Lisula Peppard-Peopaati, Quentin Nahona-Brown, Kyle Amer, Jordan Aldridge; Caius Fa’atili 3 goals, Quentin Nahona-Brown 5 goals) Northern Swords 10 (Charme Henry-Turner, Eruera Shelford; Charme Henry-Turner 1 goal)
Counties Manukau Stingrays 26 (Kina Kepu 2, Taniela Otukolo, Sione Moala; Tyrone Waipouri 3 goals) Auckland Vulcans 16 (Tristan Tuilagi, Charles Laumape, Konrad Tu’ua, William Tutai; Tuinamo Tepulolo 2 goals)
Wellington Orcas 18 (Maui Wallace, Nathan Stirling, Ioritana Tusa, Dallas McEwan; Nathan Stirling 1 goal) Wai-Coa-Bay Colts 16 (Jay Te Kani, Jack Henry, Connor Dobbyn; Ceiza James 2 goals)
Pool C Standings: Counties Manukau 4, Auckland Vulcans 2, Wellington 2, Wai-Coa-Bay 0
Pool D Standings: South Island 4, Akarana 4, Central 0, Northern 0
