Arrowtown’s rugby captain Ryan Egerton — delighted his side pushed new White Horse Cup holders Wakatipu so close in their Battle of the Basin clash last Saturday — only hopes his side would play like that more often.
Waka won 16-10 on their home ground, but the result was in doubt till a late penalty.
‘‘We had our chances but they defended pretty well towards the end and came away with the chocolates,’’ Egerton says.
‘‘We’ve been hoping for that sort of outing at some stage.
‘‘It would be nice to be able to do that every week and not have to just build up a big Waka derby game to get the best out of the boys.’’
He’s looking forward to a bye this weekend — ‘‘I think the boys are a bit battered and bruised after that one’’ — but says they’ll probably have to win two of their last three games to make the semis (they’re currently placed fourth).
Those games are against Cromwell (sixth), Upper Clutha (first) and Maniototo (fifth).
Meanwhile, Waka coach Jordan Manihera, though stoked with the win, was ‘‘more relieved, to be honest’’.
His pre-match prediction Arrowtown would grow an arm and a leg had come true.
He’s not making excuses but says they weren’t helped by some late-stage squad changes.
He’s also hailing the contribution of his skipper Rube Peina both as a player — kicking four from four and setting up their only try —
and ‘Mr steady the ship’ leader.
‘‘He’s always been a good player, but now he’s becoming a great consistent player.’’
Waka face a tough away game against Maniototo tomorrow Saturday, with Manihera hoping to add a couple of new things to see if they might work for games to come.
● Wakatipu v Maniototo, tomorrow, 2.30pm, Ranfurly
