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Tomarata RFC has cemented its place in the Northland Rugby Union South Zone Championship semi-finals after a 51-5 victory over Pipiwai at the Tomarata club on Saturday, June 22.
Pipiwai came onto the field with a fire that quickly turned to fury as Tomarata maintained an unbreakable line, holding them scoreless until half-time.
Despite clear technical skill from senior players, such as Richy Lockington, and younger ones, like
Danyon Tana, Tomarata coach Philip Tana modestly puts the team’s superior performance down to just hard mahi.
He says as a smaller club with fewer players, Tomarata’s play style relies on being fitter and faster to tire their competition out before the end of the game.
“The boys are farmers and tradies from Wellsford and Mangawhai, so they are used to hard work,” he says.
The team has benefited from eight skilled premier division players from Wellsford, who have dropped down a grade because of the more relaxed commitments.
Tomarata is fourth in the standing tables but the difference in points among the top teams is negligible.
“The tables in the round robin are irrelevant – it’s how you play in the finals,” Tana says.
Tomarata is most likely to play table leaders Mid Western in Maungakaramea for its first game of the semi-finals, which may be a challenging match.
“Mid Western are training twice a week, treating it like it is prems, and it shows in their performance.”
Tana says Tomarata is struggling for numbers in both its junior and senior grades, and busy lifestyles mean training sessions are not always well attended.
“Everyone likes to play rugby matches, but they’re not necessarily keen on training,” he says.
“I like winning, but I understand people exit the game because there is too much of an emphasis on winning when the socialising is just as important.”
Coach Tana believes the team is capable of winning the championship and he might just have a surprise up his sleeve.
“Mid Western play a similar game to us, so we are going to have change up our style. It will be a challenge, but we have the capability.”
