With a rare win in Cromwell last Saturday, the Wakatipu Premiers couldn’t have started their Central Otago rugby season in better fashion.
They won 19-17 at Anderson Park, piling on all their points through three tries and two conversions inside the first 43 minutes.
New coach Jordan Manihera says he was ‘‘pretty happy with the boys’ efforts, but obviously there’s plenty of work-ons’’.
Conceding 17 unanswered points didn’t faze him too much — ‘‘that’s footy’’.
‘‘You can’t take anything for granted in this comp, you’ve got to play the full 80.’’
Manihera also blooded several debutants, either from the get-go or off the bench, and says ‘‘they really held their own’’; they included newly-arrived former Moana Pasifika loosie Don Lolo, who came off the pine.
Meanwhile, new Arrowtown coach Jackson Wallace was also ‘‘pretty pleased’’ with his team’s first game — an at-home clash against last year’s winners, Alexandra.
Alex won 39-26, after leading 17-7 at halftime, but Arrowtown then ran in two quick tries to briefly head them.
‘‘We know what we did wrong to give it back to them — that’s all good, it’s a learning curve,’’ Wallace says.
The comp breaks for Easter, then Wakatipu play Maniototo at home on April 6.
Arrowtown, however, have a bye that week end, so their next game’s an eagerly-anticipated Battle of the Basin game, at home, against Waka on April 13.
