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U85 Club Cup off to a flying start in Northern Region
14 May 2021- Melville 85s, Fraser Tech and Morrinsville Majestic Pūkeko progress to round two
- Patumahoe U85s take win in round two clash, moving through to the round three.
The NZ Barbarians U85 Club Cup has gotten off to a flying start in the Northern Region, with four teams progressing to the next round of the 2021 edition of the weight-restricted knock-out competition.
First to take the field in this year’s Club Cup was a determined Onewhero 85s side, who proved no match for Melville 85s. The home team took the win 29-19, marking the first of the 45 teams to progress through to the second round.
It was an all-Waikato clash in Hamilton, as Fraser Tech overcame the Leamington Longhorns, bringing home the win and local bragging rights, 26-5.
In the final round one game of the day, the Takapuna Bombers took on the Morrinsville Majestic Pūkeko on the Number 1 at Onewa Domain. In a spirited display, the visiting Bombers stayed in the contest and led for a period with a well worked try, before being overrun by a strong Pūkeko side, 18-5.
Pūkeko Head Coach, Lucas McIver, was pleased with the win. “It was a pretty brave effort by the Bombers, and they wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t ‘till our forwards started winning the contact from around 50 minutes onwards that we were able to pull away”.
Rounding out the weekend’s fixtures, was a round two clash between the Patumahoe U85s and Hamilton Marist Bulldogs. Patumahoe got off to a strong start and managed to hold the lead for the remainder of the match leading 47-12, with not even a couple of late tries from the Bulldogs being enough to overturn the home side’s lead.
Patumahoe will now have a wait to find out who their next opposition is as the round three draw is finalised.
The remaining Northern Region U85 Club Cup fixtures will be played out over the next six to eight weeks.
