Kele Lasaqa made his official NPC debut for the Steamers in their “Battle of the Bay” against the Magpies.

With 7 minutes left on the clock, he took an offload and with no where to go, cut back inside squeezing through several defenders to run it in under the posts allowing Bay of Plenty to draw level and ultimately take the match into golden point.

However Hawkes Bay won the game in extra time with a drop goal from fly-half Lincoln McClutchie. Final score 24-21

Lasaqa made the most metres in the match with 104, had a match high 4 defenders beaten and made 2 linebreaks to add to his 5 pointer.

Maloni Kunawave made his first appearance of the season for Tasman, starting at Fullback in their loss to Auckland 21-29.

It’s his first match since his debut back in round 8 of last season.

He made 9 carries for 42 metres and 1 linebreak.

Nemani Kurucake started on the bench for Soyaux in their loss to Vannes this morning.

He played the final 13 minutes and made 1 carry and 3 tackles in a 28-9 loss where Soyaux didn’t score a try.

He played 1 last season and getting an early match this season is a good sign for the young backrower.

Semi Lagivala made his official Top 14 debut when he came off the bench early in the 2nd half for La Rochelle against Bordeaux, replacing Suliasi Vunivalu.

He made 4 carries and was tough to bring down on each occasion, carrying defenders and gaining momentum for his side. A total of 5 defenders beaten and 25 metres.

Pita Manamanaivalu made his NPC debut for Manawatu in their round 5 clash with the undefeated Canterbury. He was named on the bench and entered the game in the 59th minute.

The Turbo’s suffered a heavy defeat 53-14.

Manamanaivalu made 2 carries, 17 metres and 2 tackles defensively.