Riversdale Waikaka Vikings loosehead prop Joey McClure played a blinder last Saturday, scoring 35 points in his side’s 60-33 win against Te Anau in the Rugby Southland division one competition.
McClure scored three tries, kicked seven conversions and two penalties. It was initially thought he had scored 30 points but it was later corrected to 35.
The opportunities to score points presented themselves, McClure said.
‘‘I was just in the right place at the right time. It was basically the whole team getting us in the right end of the park and I was the beneficiary of that.’’
He scored one try from a rolling maul and two from pick-and-go options.
It was the first year he had taken on the goal-kicking duties for the Vikings.
When coach Paul Glynn asked him, he said he was happy to oblige if that was what the team needed.
‘‘It was something I knew I could do.’’
When he was playing in Whanganui he did some goal kicking but for the past five years, since being in the South, he had not done any.
He had spent a lot of time practising as a boy and now the effort was paying off.
About 90% of his kicks went over on Saturday.
‘‘There have been weeks when it hasn’t been going so good but everything sort of came together on the one day.’’
McClure was quite rightly named player of the day.
