The might of the Ngāti Porou proved too strong, as North Otago struggled to get past East Coast in 24-18 loss in Weston.
It was North Otago with the strong start as they went close to scoring early. First five Greg Dyer put a kick into the corner for winger Oli Knopp to run onto, only just being beaten to the ball by the covering East Coast defence. The home side got on the board minutes later, courtesy of a penalty to Dyer.
Playing under advantage, North Otago chanced their arm with Dyer tucking the ball under his arm and cutting through a gap. His pass back inside was knocked down by an East Coast defender before the ball found it's way into Mavaetangi Finau's hands. Finau carried on the break before passing back to Dyer, who stepped inside the last defender before running it round closer to the posts for the opening try of the game. The conversion was added for a 10-0 lead.
The visitors got on the board moments later when they opted to run the ball out of their own half. With limited room on the blindside, they managed to sneak down the sideline before popping the ball back inside like a basketball pass for halfback Sam Parkes to score in the corner. Fullback Fletcher Carpenter added the conversion from out wide to close the gap to 10-7.
East Coast grabbed the lead minutes later. They spread the ball wide from a scrum near the North Otago line, winger Pamona Samupo then stepped inside three defenders before crashing over in the tackle to score. Carpenter added the extras to lead 14-10.
North Otago closed the gap to one point on the stroke of halftime. Dyer kicking a penalty from a handy range, to trail 14-13 at the break.
It was East Coast who were first to score in the second half, with Carpenter kicking a penalty to extend the lead for the visitors out to 17-13.
After large spells on attack, North Otago finally got across the line and back into the lead with just under 20 minutes to go. Ben McCarthy recieved the ball from halfback Jake Matthews off the back of the scrum, before running it in from the 22m line and using his speed to beat the East Coast defence. Dyer missed the conversion, though North Otago led 18-17.
East Coast didn't waste time in responding. From a penalty just inside the North Otago half, they kicked to the corner and set about mauling from the lineout. They drove their way to the North Otago line, where Hooker Joe Royal broke off the back to score the try and take back the lead. Carpenter again added the extras to lead 24-18.
North Otago pushed hard to gain the lead back in the final minutes of the match, attacking the line constantly but they couldn't seem to find a way through the tough defence. East Coast held firm to close out the 24-18 win.
North Otago 18 Greg Dyer, Ben McCarthy tries; Dyer 1 con, 2 pen
East Coast 24 Sam Parkes, Pamona Samupo, Joseph Royal tries; Fletcher Carpenter 3 con, pen
