More please, says elated Kaka | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

Gillies Kaka couldn't have celebrated his ITM Cup debut for the Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby side in a better manner.

The only try of the match as the Magpies scored their first win of the season with a fifth-round 17-9 victory against the Manawatu Turbos at Palmerston North's FMG Stadium yesterday.

Ironically Kaka, 20, didn't think his 58th-minute try, which followed a clever grubber from his cousin and fellow winger Zac Guildford, counted.

"I thought the whistle had blown because nobody was chasing me ... but I dotted down just in case," Kaka told SportToday. "I saw the opportunity as the ball came through and I managed to cling on to it."

The Palmerston North Boys' High School product was rapt to have celebrated his long-awaited cup debut with the crucial try. A niggly calf injury prevented the star of the Hawke's Bay premier club season from playing earlier.

"Hopefully I get more game time ... I just have to keep working on the work ons given to me by Peter and Tom," said Kaka, referring to Magpies co-coaches Peter Russell and Tom Coventry.

As Russell said afterwards, it was a "tough and ugly win".

"We made hard work of it and played a lot of football. But we're not being precise enough. At the same time, it was good to see the boys come off the field with a smile on their faces," said Russell.

He was far from smiling in the ninth minute when Magpies hooker Hika Elliot scored in the ninth minute, but Canterbury referee Kane McBride, who was on the other side of the pile-up at the time, refused to award it and refused to consult the third match official (TMO). "It was another one of those inconsistencies and the TMO wasn't used at a crucial time," said Russell.

"The younger referees are like the younger players in our side ... they lack a bit of confidence and that will only come with more game time."

Apart from three bad throws at lineout time from Elliot, the Magpies forwards functioned well. Prop Anthony Perenise was again powerful in all aspects of play and veteran blindside flanker Michael Johnson produced his best performance of the season.

The Magpies backs still aren't operating as well as they should be. Far too often soft turnovers were produced in the contact area and the last pass didn't stick when it should have.

Magpies fullback Israel Dagg displayed the benefits of his recent international commitments with numerous elusive runs, some clever tactical kicking and sound defensive work.

The Commonwealth Games-bound Guildford had his best Magpies performance of the season.

Magpies centre Richard Buckman made the most of his limited opportunities on attack and was solid on defence.

First five-eighth Daniel Kirkpatrick's goalkicking (four from six) was a vast improvement from the previous week's.

This was the victory Magpies prop Clint Newland, who was tireless during his 65 minutes of action, wanted in his 100th first-class outing for the side.

"It was about time we had a win," said Newland, before sending the dirt trackers off to find some well-deserved sponsors' products.

The Magpies retained the Kel Tremain Memorial Trophy and maintained their unbeaten run against the Turbos in first-class fixtures which began 14 years ago.

Results - p12.