OBU in box seat for semi-finals, defending champions rue missed chances

Above: It was tight in the first half between Northern United and Paremata-Plimmerton on the former's Old Timers' Day, before Norths pulled away to win in the second half.

UPDATED: On their Old Timers’ Day at the Basin Reserve, Old Boys-University have won their fourth straight Jubilee Cup match to take an outright lead at the top of the standings and take a significant step towards booking their semi-final place.

OBU pulled clear of Marist St Pat’s in the second half to win 29-20 and become the only unbeaten side, after Tawa were pipped on fulltime by Petone 31-30 in their match at Lyndhurst Park.

Defending champions the Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles still haven’t won a game in the second round, but their 22-22 draw with Oriental-Ronogtai at home at the Hutt Rec has left their playoff hopes still alive – despite several missed opportunities to win the match.

Both Petone and HOBM reeled in deficits to win and draw their matches respectively, Petone coming back from 10-20 at halftime and HOBM coming back from 0-17 behind against Ories, whose left wing Afa Fa’atau was the Player of the Match. Fullback Brandyn Laursen then missed a difficult penalty attempt in the shadows of fulltime after the Eagles had got back on level pegging terms. In all the Eagles missed five penalty shots on goal.

In an absorbing first half, OBU led MSP 9-8 at the interval after MSP wing Mike Buckley scored out wide right on halftime. But second half tries to centre Wes Goosen and new first five-eighth Levi Kemp and late penalties to fullback Sam Chamberlain helped seal victory.

Wainuiomata also grabbed a vital 37-20 win over the Wellington Axemen to keep their top four hopes alive for another week. Wainuiomata skipped out to a 34-6 lead partway through the second half, and held off the Axemen’s challenge from there.

With three rounds to play in the Jubilee Cup, OBU are on 17 points, Tawa 14, Ories 12, Petone 10, MSP 8, Wainuiomata 6, HOBM 5 and the Wellington Axemen 4.

Hardham Cup

This year’s Hardham Cup is shaping up as a cracker, with another competitive set of games in the fourth round.

Just five competition points separates the leading five teams, with sixth placed Paremata-Pimmerton just behind and still very much in the playoff hunt.

Avalon and Northern United both earned wins today on their Old Timers’ Days.

Avalon pulled away from Poneke in the second half to win 27-6 and propel themselves into a top four position. Poneke have won one from four so far and a home semi-final for them is probably now out of the question.

Northern United defeated northern neighbours Paremata-Plimmerton 29-14, but had to dig deep in the second half to secure victory after Paremata-Plimmerton kicked a penalty early in the second half to take a 14-12 lead.

Johnsonville were the other big winners today, defeating the Upper Hutt Rams 24-21 at home at Helston Park. Like Norths and like Petone in the Jubilee Cup, the Johnsonville Hawks came back in the second half after the Rams held a 14-10 lead at the interval.

Premier Reserve

Poneke and Old Boys University are the two unbeaten sides after four rounds of the Premier Reserve competition.

Poneke defeated the Avalon Wolves 65-12 and Old Boys University beat MSP 20-6 in their respective Hardham Cup and Jubilee curtain-raisers today.

HOBM, Wainuiomata and Ories have each won three from four, HOBM beating Ories 28-16 and Wainuiomata overcoming Wellington 27-8.

Norths beat Paremata-Plimmerton 62-8 and Johnsonville beat the Upper Hutt Rams 38-26 in the other two matches.

Premier Women’s

Northern United earned a 46-19 Old Timers’ Day win over Old Boys University today in the feature Victoria Tavern Trophy match.

Norths pulled clear in the second half after leading 24-19 at halftime. They also retained the Challenge Cup.

Avalon beat Hutt Old Boys Marist 31-10 in the other Victoria Tavern Trophy fixture today. Ories had the bye.

In the two senior women’s matches Wainuiomata defeated 68-5 for their second straight bonus point win of the second half and Tawa beat Johnsonville 53-5.

Paris Memorial Trophy

Northern United sauntered to their 11th straight win of the season in the Paris Memorial Trophy Colts competition today, beating Tawa 55-15 at home at Jerry Collins Stadium.

Norths, haven’t had their bye yet, but with three rounds to play before the Colts playoffs they are 16 points clear of fifth equal HOBM Green and Petone Blue.

Old Boys University Green are now in clear second after their 27-10 win over the Upper Hutt Rams at Te Whaea. The Rams presented the Junior Goats with a strong challenge and scored a runaway try on halftime to lead 7-3 at the break. But the Goats hit back in the second half with three well-taken tries. The Upper Hutt Rams occupy third place.

Poneke are fourth after they beat last year’s finalists HOBM 28-27, while Petone are still very much in the playoff hunt after edging Avalon 18-12. The Junior Wellington Axemen are steady in mid-table despite having their bye today, while Johnsonville pipped Ories 34-32 and MSP saw off Paremata-Plimmerton in two other matches that were played today.

Paul Potiki Shield

The OBU Bunnies have taken an early lead in the second round Paul Potiki U85kg Division 1 competition, beating MSP 56-5 for their second straight bonus point win.

Promoted team the HOBM Howlers have also won two in succession, beating Avalon 17-0. The Poneke Cavs opened their second round campaign with a 39-14 win over Eastbourne, while promoted team Johnsonville beat Wellington 24-17. First round winners the Tawa Titans had the bye.

Division 2 results: Marist St Pats Green 22 - Upper Hutt Rams 17; Stokes Valley 20 - Wainuiomata 0 ; Kapiti 12 - Wellington 7; Western Suburbs WBD - Paremata-Plimmerton LBD
Wests, Stokes Valley and Kapiti are the three unbeaten teams after two weeks of the second round.

Johnsonville Centennium Cup First Grade Week 2 results:

Marist St Pats Avele 47 - Marist St Pats 15; Hutt Old Boys Marist 25 - Stokes Valley 24; Old Boys University 20 - Northern United 15 ; Petone Brotherhood WBD - Poneke LBD; Petone Saxons WBD – Tawa LBD

The Petone Brotherhood, HOBM and OBU are the three unbeaten sides after two rounds of this second round competition.

WelTec Premiership

In a major upset Wairarapa College defeated Wellington College 27-24 today.

Wellington College are now well out of the hunt and will need their extra life when the post round-robin qualifying series gets underway.

In the other two matches that were played today, unbeaten Scots College ran through Tawa College 72-0 and St Pat’s Town beat HIBS 83-0. Rongotai College and St Pat’s Silverstream meet this coming Wednesday.

Jubilee Cup HOBM v Ories Match Report

The old adage of a game of two halves is more than a bit cliche, but it was pretty much true at the Hutt Rec as Hutt Old Boys Marist and Oriental-Rongotai fought out a 22-all draw in a hard fought, but open encounter.

Ories were fastest out of the blocks, taking advantage of a flat home side to leap to a 10-0 nil lead through a try to Afa Fa'atau, converted by James Proctor who also added a penalty. HOBM eventually got into their work, but despite Fa'atau being yellow carded for a cynical infringement they couldnt take advantage, with Sheridan Rangihuna missing three penalty shots at goal.

Fa'atau was the games dominant figure in the first 50 minutes, and alongside forwards Saimon Lomaloma and Tuakana Metuarau provided the bulk of his sides go forward. Within 90 seconds of returning from the bin he again broke down the left flank and put his fellow winger Aukuso Tuitama in. In response and seeking a spark HOBM introduced Chase Tiatia from the bench for his last appearance in Wellington, but the half concluded with Ories leading 17-0.

From the resumption it was that man Fa'atau again, getting his side within striking range and Ambrose Curtis completing a trifecta for the back three when he crossed. But from that point it was all HOBM, as the Eagles finally stirred into life with their season on the line and dominated territory and possession. The pressure finally told with James O'Reilly crossing, converted by Rangihuna, to get his side on the board, with Rangihuna adding a penalty; before Brandyn Laursen crossed and converted his own try while Ories were again down to 14 with flanker Pau Halafihi in the bin.

The drama was far from over. With only four minutes left on the clock Ories pushed to close the game out, but Curtis lost possession 15m from the HOBM line; the ball was quickly shifted to Fereti Soloa who scampered 80m to score in the corner. With the scores tied up Laursen missed the conversion however, and from the restart HOBM worked their way downfield. Again Ories cracked, with Metuarau penalised for hands in the ruck on the 22m line 15m in from touch. Laursen however pushed the penalty right with the final act of the game.

Despite their indiscretions Fa'atau and Metuarau were Ories best performers. O'Reilly led his side with aplomb and along with Rangihuna cajoled their side into action - the substitution of the latter with 20 minutes to go seemed odd given the state of the game at the time. Ultimately though results elsewhere mean that Ories remain third, while HOBM's tenuous chances remain alive for another week.