Despite registering their first win of the season last Saturday, the Wakatipu Premiers rugby side’s got no time to rest on its laurels.
They’re about to play the Central Otago comp’s two unbeaten sides — Cromwell at home, this Saturday, then Upper Clutha in Wānaka the following Thursday, which will double as a White Horse Cup challenge.
The side, however, was still hugely relieved to beat Maniototo 22-16 in a topsy-turvy game in Ranfurly, thanks to fullback James Valentine scoring 90 seconds from the end.
The win, following two pre-season losses and two home-game losses, will hopefully see the side, who won last year’s comp, turn the corner, coach Brett Anderson says.
‘‘To actually get that ruthlessness to finish the job and win the game, hopefully that starts breeding a bit of a culture and builds confidence, and the boys will continue to keep trying to land that killer blow.’’
Anderson says he’s also hoping he can now get some selection consistency following a lot of personnel changes.
He’s expecting a ‘‘very tough game’’ against Cromwell.
‘‘They’ve been a mammoth of the competition for seven-odd years, they look like they’ve got a pretty similar squad back, and they’ve had a couple of big wins so they’ve obviously got the ability to score points.’’
Saturday’s kick-off at the Queenstown Rec Ground is at 2.30pm.
Meanwhile, Arrowtown lost 45-7 at home to Upper Clutha last Saturday, after trailing just 17-7 at halftime — their third loss in four games.
Coach Simon Harper says he thinks their sole win over Wakatipu, the week before, ‘‘took a lot out of them, and they were potentially a little bit fatigued’’.
He feels the final score flattered Upper Clutha ‘‘a little bit’’.
‘‘They scored a lot of 80-90-metre tries where the ball got dropped or was just a breakout from a missed tackle.
‘‘We were good in patches, like we always are, our defence was again pretty good … but we just gave away too many penalties, made too many mistakes, and you just can’t, at this level.’’
Arrowtown will also be trying to redeem a home loss with a win over winless Maniototo in Ranfurly this Saturday, but Harper’s well aware ‘‘it won’t be an easy game’’.
