The Masters took to the field in Palmerston North today to begin the 2012 ZM National Touch Championship. There were plenty of thrills and spills as teams jockeyed for position in the lead-up to Tuesdays finals.
With all teams playing each-other once in the Over 30 Mixed grade, Bay of Plenty have 'won' the initial round robin. Wellington had the better of Taranaki in the opening match but couldn't back up against BOP later in the day, losing 6-8 in a tight tustle. Taranaki and Bay of Plenty then met in the afternoon and played out an entertaining match that featured World Cup winning players Steven Toki and Tristan Mana turning it on in a big way for a 9-3 win.
The Glen Osborne-coached North Harbour Over 30 Women's team put themselves in a strong position for the finals after two strong wins. First up they took apart the Over 35 Counties Manukau women with an impressive 13-0 victory. Maraea Rameka starred with a number of fine plays including a late cut and pin-point pass to create one of the best touchdowns of the day.
The Over 30/35 Mens saw Canterbury head off a massive challenge by North Harbour t and are the team to beat in the Mens Over 30s grade. The two teams met in the final match of the day and pulled out all stops to gain the all-important momentum leading into the finals on Tuesday.
If Auckland's Over 40 Mens were considered to be the team to beat in this grade before the tournament, today's results did nothing to alter this view. The Aucklanders won all three matches in convincing style but a spate of injuries could come back to haunt them later in the tournament.
North Harbour have proven to be the strongest side throughout the opening rounds of the Over 50 Mens grades. Canterbury are currently second in the group after a win against Wellington before drawing with Counties Manukau to close the day.
Last Modified on 27/02/2012 14:32