Kildare start Hardy Shield with big win

Capitalising on a mistake from Mater Dei Catholic College from the kick off at Parramore Park, Kildare bounced out of the blocks with three tries in the first 10 minutes.

Bodean Tereva crashed over on their first set of the match before Sam Emery used some leg drive to carry the Mater Dei defence across the line.

Graham Seruroga then made his big frame felt as he forced his way over to help Kildare to a 16-0 lead.

Kildare couldn't sustain their frenetic pace, but coach Matthew Conn was still pleased with their performance in the 22-4 victory.

"We got lucky with a repeat set straight off the kick off as they didn't catch the ball and then they gave us a penalty and after five minutes we were two tries up and could really utilise some different combinations," Conn said.

"It really was a 22-man effort as my full bench rotation got a crack more than one, which is good leading into the next game."

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Emery continued his strong performance in the halves to extend Kildare's advantage after half-time.

However Angus Purcell, who toiled hard for Mater Dei, was rewarded late when he got his side on the board in the dying stages.

Despite conceding later Conn was also thrilled with the team's defensive effort.

"It was an outstanding defensive effort and we didn't really give them an opportunity to put back-to-back sets together," he said.

"It showed in the scoreline as we put four tries on before they got a late on."

Mater Dei will be looking to respond on Wednesday when they tackle defending champions Kooringal High School.

All Pool A teams are guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile Mount Austin High School also got their campaign off to a winning start, running out 26-10 victors over Wagga High School.

It was a tight first half before Clarrie Harris broke the game open with his speed.

Despite bombing a try late in the first half, Harris soon made up for it.

First he jarred the ball out with a textbook low tackle before scoring a few plays later to hand his side a 12-6 lead at half-time.

After the break Jack Stewart pounced on a mistake from Blake Walker at the back to add to Mt Austin's lead shortly after the break.

Harris then went over for his second before Tye Crawford put Mt Austin further in front.

Connor Webb helped Wagga High respond but it was too little too late.

After a number of lean years, coach Nick Skinner was thrilled to get a win on the board.

"We probably haven't had a win in the Hardy Shield for a couple of years so it's really good," Skinner said.

"In the first half we had a fair bit of drop ball so once we were able to control it and play a simple game we were able to score some tries."

Mt Austin will be looking to back up their win when they take on returning The Riverina Anglican College on Wednesday.

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