A stuttering rugby season has been revived as Nelson College beat its Tasman rival Marlborough Boys College 35-21 in Blenheim.
NC entered the match bottom of the new South Island Boys 1st XV competition and second last, just below MBC, in the Miles Toyota Premiership.
The visitors were desperate to win at Lansdowne Park as they lost both games to Marlborough last year, the first in controversial fashion.
Despite missing key forwards and backs, an aggressive Nelson side rocked the home side early with captain and No. 8 Rei Pouri-Lane and prop Coby Davis both powering over to score.
A lineout drive led to Marlborough second five Justin Prescott claiming the first of his two tries and then a horror 10 minutes saw the visitors turn the ball over six times.
But the pressure was lifted when wing Isaac Harvey snaffled an intercept and sped away to score.
Right on half-time Justin grabbed his second try after another lineout drive to close the gap to 21-14 to Nelson.
Opting to for an attacking scrum, rather than a shot at goal, paid off for NC early in the spell as impressive second five Viliami Holani was unstoppable close to the line.
Another intercept saw elusive fullback Liam Soper shred the Marlborough defence from long range to stretch the lead to 21 points.
Marlborough managed a third try but Nelson defused a bomb to the corner and the hosts then blew a tap penalty in the final minutes.
NC claimed a rare bonus point this season in the 35-21 victory, importantly denied MBC any competition points and moved ahead of its rival in the Miles Toyota Premiership.
The only disappointment was Rei leaving the field with an injured left hand which he thinks was the result of a tackle.
“It was good to come out here and get the win over a good team. It was a timely boost before the Quad tournament in Whanganui next week. It’s the 100th so it’s a big occasion and it will be the first time for some of the young boys,” says Rei.
