Harlies bank eighth win to stay unbeaten in Capital Rugby

By MICHAEL PHILIP
HARLIEQUINS notched their eighth straight win for the season following a 29-12 triumph over Juggernauts in round 8 of the Pepsi Capital Rugby Union competition at Bava Park in Port Moresby on Sunday.
The inclusion of experienced Emmanuel Zoriry, Himson Tukar, and Shaun Ongapa in the Juggernauts line-up saw a competitive contest but it was not enough to derail the Harlies express who remain undefeated so far in 2024.
In the other match, a focused and determined Nova ensured there were no lapses as they eased to a 21-5 win over the struggling Wanderers to close out the premier grade fixtures for the first half of the season. While the Wanderers are at the bottom of the standings the men in maroon can still turn things around in the second half of the season and snatch a finals spot in the nine team competition.
The return of PNG Pukpuks squad member and speedster Kennedy Benjamin provided the University Piggies to record a 33-17 win over the improving Crusaders, while the Valley Hunters are rumbling up in the competition table recording a closely fought 26-24 win over an in-form MBB Marlins.
“We had good energy today,” Harlequins coach Billy Rapilla told The National.
“The result is okay and that’s what we need and have been aiming for. There’s a lot of intensity in the game today after last week’s bye so the boys were a bit flat in certain areas where we should have held on to the ball a little bit more but these a just minor mistakes.
“But over all I am quite happy with the boys intensity. Our set pieces, lineouts and scrums were perfect and that’s what we going to maintain going forward. Credit to the backs, they did well defensive tackles as well so that was good.”