MORGANIANS head coach Shah Soohootoorah praised the efforts of his players after they overcame Hornets  22-15 in a fiercely contested friendly match on Saturday.

Morgs league fixture against Wellington III was postponed after the visitors failed to raise a side - but Soohootoorah was pleased to eventually find a game.

He said: "The pack showed great resilience today, never once going backwards, despite being the smaller group. “There's room for improvement in the lineout but we won some good ball in the second half and were able to release our fast players, and Hopkins and Pierce."

"The backs were excellent, they showed what they can do with ball in hand when given the chance. It was something we looked at after last week's performance and the game plan worked well.

"Credit to Hornets, they're a good side and pushed us very close and it sets up another big match with them towards the end of the season.”

Morganians scored three tries courtesy of Andy Kellogg-Saunders, Joe Ashwell and Jake Collard, while Jordan Mein kicked seven points.