Waikato defeated Manawatu 30-22 at Waikato Stadium today. Tries to Liam Messam and Sione Lauki in the first half saw Waikato take a 12-7 lead into half time. In the second half Sam Christie grabbed a try and Soseni Anesi scored his first try in what seemed like forever to seal a bonus point win for the Mooloo's.Match Review: We led at half time and full time, the forwards looked mostly superior, the backs at times were a little lacking in punch. A half time lead was followed by a victory at full time and an all important bonus points with only three unbeaten teams in a competition lead by Bay of Plenty things are sure to balance themselves out over time. Callum Bruce missed four shots at goal in the first half including one my dead grandmother could have tapped over. There were periods when it looked like Manawatu were dangerous.
Stadium Report: There were 11,500 supporters at this afternoon game. While this sounds great it should be pointed out that it was the Waikato Rugby Club's supporters day and all the juniors from Waikato Rugby got a free ticket.
What it costs us to support Waikato: $13 for admittance to the Green Zone, three Waikato Beers at $5.50 each, a cup of chips for $4.
Total Spend: $33.50.
Red Badge Security at the Stadium - the stars on display:
1) had to radio check our supporters flag as it constituted a security risk.
2) told a patron that they could not take water into the stadium, when the bottle was tipped out and they were asked where it could be filled up they were told "the toilets". This is not actually correct as there are various taps located within the stadium to do this.
Mooloo Money: We collected $70 for our $20 on Liam Messam to score making it $50 up at this point in the season.
Where to from here:
An unconvincing win frankly, with Sione Lauki injured and Callum Bruce desperately needs to improve his kicking. Victory against Canterbury next week seems a long way off...
