Rigo upset Hiri West to advance into preliminary finals of Agarobe Cup

RIGO advanced into the preliminary finals of the Hardware Haus Agarobe Cup after they edged Hiri West 18-12 at the Murray Barracks Oval in Port Moresby on Friday.
The A-grade semifinal saw the match start in favour of Hiri West with an unconverted try to hooker Lohia Arua three minutes in.
But Rigo regrouped to send hooker Amon Lesley over between the uprights for a converted try to take a 6-4 halftime lead.
The second-half was more entertaining with both teams displaying quality football which saw Hiri West five-eighth Manuel Morea scoring an unconverted try to take the lead. However, Rigo replied a few minutes when Arua’s kick-chase resulted in a converted try to give his side a 12-10 lead.
A penalty converted by Hiri West saw the scores locked at 12-12 at fulltime. But luck was not on Hiri West’s side when Rigo five-eighth Mark John crossed over for the winning try.
Rigo coach Gairo Pepena said their mobile forwards gave them an upper hand against the opposition.
“We came into the match as underdogs but I had faith in my players and they delivered the win,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aroma Coast eased to a 22-8 win over Amazon Bay. In the Under-20 division, Koiari beat Rigo 22-6 and Hiri West defeated Goilala 14-4.