U19 claim PNG win

People of Samoa were treated to a stunning match of rugby on Thursday – both teams chanced their arm and in the end the Cook Islands snuck home 15-14 against Papua New Guinea, at the FORU under 19 tournament.

From the outset the Cook Islanders were intent to use their extra muscle, rolling mauls and pick and goes were the preferred choice.

Inch by inch they carved territory and the game seemed all theirs after rattling up 2 fine tries.

Murphy Taramai got the scoreboard ticking after a quick penalty tap, Adam Tangata dotted down soon after and the plan looked like plain sailing.

The gutsy PNG boys joined the party, they were always eager to spin the ball and with outstanding player Jackson Pato in the centre of everything they got a bit of momentum.

Play started to go their way and long passages saw them control the ball and make the Cooks do all the tackling.

Play was fierce and frantic as both sides flung themselves at each other, one player from each side however did get in trouble for foul play.

While they were sunbathing on the side for 10 minutes this intriguing match leapt to life.

PNG’s first five Royce Bua then grabbed the match and set the crowd into frenzy.

Back in defence in his own half he swooped on the ball and counter attacked and glided around some would be tacklers, intuitive enough he put a cross kick in, the bounce was perfect and Jackson Pato was on the end of it to aerially dive 8 feet in the air for a fine try.

This act almost put 14 kilos on each of the PNG players, all of a sudden they were competitive in the scrums and they were having a crack at the Cooks forwards.

PNG’s revival then changed a gear, right wing Henry Liliket plucked out a wild pass and darted over in the corner.

The sideline conversion sailed over and the self-belief of the PNG side went mountainous.

The patient and grinding Cooks then drew a penalty in front from the PNG infringement, up stepped Nadave Tereapi to close the deal, 15-14 it was.

In the end the Cooks won, it was a tad ugly at times and they also got the shock of their lives from a courageous unit.

The Cook Islands are yet to face Vanuatu in their pool.