Log o' Wood staying in Hamilton
Waikato opened their Ranfurly Shield defence with a 13-try blitz to down Horowhenua-Kapiti 85-0 in Morrinsville on Wednesday.
Flank Whetu Douglas opened the scoring after barely a minute, and the tries came thick and fast as Waikato galloped out to a 40-0 lead at half-time.
New Zealand Under-20 speedster Joe Webber finished the match with four tries, while rookie centre Dylan Collier and midfield utility Glen Robertson picked up a brace apiece.
It was a tough day at the office for the challenging Heartland Championship team from Levin, but they never gave up trying and pushed hard for a try late in the match.
Waikato maintained point-a-minute pace in the first spell with six tries, five of them converted by Trent Renata.
Hometown hero and Chiefs halfback Brendon Leonard, playing his farewell match for Waikato before heading to Italy at the end of the Super Rugby season, also scored a try.
Waikato's next defence of the Log o' Wood is an away match against East Coast in Ruatoria on July 30.
Scorers:
Waikato:
Tries: Webber 4, Collier 2, Robertson 2, Douglas, Leonard, Graham, Alainu'uese, Faiva
Cons: Renata 8, Hawera, Collier.
Horowhenua-Kapiti:
None
Teams:
Horowhenua-Kapiti: 15 Rob Millar, 14 Lolani Tuiavi'i, 13 Dave Thompson, 12 Garry Phelps, 11 Darryl Saunders-May, 10 James Forsythe, 9 Tainui Brown, 8 Grant Robson (captain), 7 Lennon Carrington, 6 Willie Lander, 5 John Worgan, 4 Ryan Shelford, 3 Robin Praat, 2 Luka Gibb, 1 Aaron Kearney.
Replacements: 16 David White, 17 Evan Bishop, 18 James Karauria, 19 Casey Watson, 20 Rawiri Broughton, 21 Sam Williams, 22 Mason Pakau-Wallace.
Waikato: 15 Trent Renata, 14 Semisi Masirewa, 13 Dylan Collier, 12 Joe Perawiti, 11 Joe Webber, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Rory Grice, 7 Jono Armstrong (captain), 6 Whetu Douglas, 5 Romana Graham, 4 Brian Alainu'uese, 3 Fraser Armstrong, 2 Vance Elliott, 1 Latu Talakai.
Replacements: 16 Hame Faiva, 17 Johnny Tu'ungafasi, 18 Chris Middleton, 19 Josaan Levien, 20 Jono Malo, 21 Marnus Hanley, 22 Glen Robertson.
Referee: Richard Kelly (Taranaki)
