Harlies rein in Lae rugby

By LARRY ANDREW
TWO second-half penalties by five-eighth Sawi Sukumbal helped Harlequins edge the Unitech Reds 6-5 in the Morobe Rugby Football Union premier grade final on Saturday.
In the A grade decider, Defence held on beat Harlequins 11-10.
The premier grand final, controlled by referee Joseph Wamapiri, was every bit an even contest as the final score suggested.
The Reds, the defending champions, led by captain Kini Roy Yaki applied pressured on the Harlies line with their bigger pack.
The Reds bombarded the Harlequins line but were held out by some smart and gritty Harlies defence before Yaki crashed over late in the half.
The Reds would have been disaapointed at not turning their territory and possession into more points but they took a 5-0 lead to halftime.
The Hornibrooks-sponsored Harlies maintained their cool and never looked like they had given up. Captain Clifford Vali supported by Bojay Bogan, Manu Gairo Jr and Terence Roana started to turn the tide in the second 40 minutes.
That pressure finally reulted in a penalty inside the Reds 20m which Sukumbal knocked over to be two points behind at 5-3.
Harlequins better conditioning started to show as they pushed the Reds back deep into their half and played the game there.
The Reds were bound to infringe at some point with the mass of bodies desparately trying to shut down and slow the Harlies attack.
The penalty finally came and Sukumbal obliged kicking the match-winner to get his side ahead by a point.
Harlequins had to withstand a desparate Reds over the final eight minutes.
Harlies’ stamina and composure were their biggest assets and that enabled them to manage the final few minutes to win the title.
Harlies took the MRFU trophy and the cash prize of K3000.