Poneke Close To Within Three Points Of Norths

Next week's final Swindale Shield round is set up to be a thriller after Northern United were almost upset by Avalon and Poneke grabbed a bonus point win over Tawa to close the margin at the top between Norths and Poneke to just three points.

Barring a major boilover between Poneke and Upper Hutt next week, Norths must beat the Wests Roosters in their last round encounter to defend their first round title.

Desperate to stay in contention to play the Jubilee Cup, Avalon pushed Norths all the way at Porirua Park before going down 18-9 late in the match, while Poneke beat Tawa 22-3 in their game at Lyndhurst Park.

The bottom four Hardham Cup spots were also confirmed with a round to spare, after Wests saw off the spirited Wainuiomata 32-15 at William Jones Park, with Wainuiomata and Avalon booked in to join Oriental-Rongotai and Upper Hutt in the second tier competition.

Other round ten results saw Marist St. Pat's edge out Upper Hutt 21-20 at Maidstone Park, Petone beat Hutt Old Boys Marist 27-16 at the Hutt Recreation Ground and Old Boys-University dispatch Oriental-Rongotai 36-10 at the Basin Reserve.

It was a close run thing between Norths and Avalon, with a committed Avalon holding the home team to a 5-3 halftime lead, and continuing to apply the pressure after the interval. First five-eighth Cameron Cross' second penalty gave them the lead, before Norths were stung into action through wild-child right wing Sinoti To'omaga who gave them the lead with his second try of the day. Avalon weren't done yet, with Cross' third penalty closing Norths' lead to 10-9 with the clock ticking.

But enter returning Norths lock Tim Faleafaga, 2004 Jubilee Cup winning captain and playing in his 100^th game for the side. Back from a stint in the Manawatu, where he played a full NPC Second Division season at lock in 2005, Faleafaga was driven over the line for the match-winning try.

Poneke's win over Tawa on Tawa's Old Timers' Day was marred by a long second half injury break in which promising winger and joint leading try scorer so far with nine tries, Ambrose Plaister was forced from the field with a suspected fractured ankle. With Poneke leading 10-3 at the time, the game wasn't completed until 5 pm, the red and blacks running in two more tries as darkness fell.

The Roosters confirmed their spot in the Jubilee Cup with their most convincing display yet this year in seeing off Wainuiomata 32-15. Two first half tries to fullback Tristan Meo and No. 8 Natano Tiatia gave them a 13-0 lead. Wainuiomata briefly threatened, but a chargedown try to livewire openside Scott Fuglistaller midway through the second half sealed the deal.

Petone defeated Hutt Old Boys Marist by a comfortable margin and won back the McBain Shield and the Bill Brien Challenge Cup?in the process. Petone came back from a 9-0 deficit after the opening 30 minutes, with a try just before halftime and then two more in the second 40 minutes, coming into form nicely at the halfway point of the season.

Meanwhile, MSP broke Upper Hutt hearts with a successful late penalty giving them a dramatic 21-20 win over the home team at Maidstone Park. It seemed Upper Hutt were on target for their second win of the season when right wing Shannon Nightingale slotted a penalty to put them in front 20-18 with five minutes to go, but much to their disappointment MSP had the final say.

Old Boys University's superior back play and slick counterattacking proved the difference between them and Oriental-Rongotai in this week's Club Weekly feature match at the Basin Reserve.

The students ran in six tries to one, five of them scored through the backs, through first five-eighth Seminar Manu, second five-eighth Matt Hill (2), centre Paula Kinikinilau and left wing Sheldon Goodin. In a more evenly fought affair in the closer exchanges, it was their fast passing and greater expansion out wide that gave them a comfortable victory.

In contrast Ories were a step behind in their open field play, making too many unforced errors and kicking the ball away far too often - which directly played into OBU's hands and helped push the winning margin out further than it should have been.

With the wind behind them, Ories enjoyed their best period of the game in the opening 25 minutes. Their forwards came to play and they would have scored some tries but for their inability to create chances out wide.

Instead it was OBU who opened the try scoring in the 28^th minute, with blindside flanker Ian Kennedy - brother of Ross who left midweek for his new province Otago - crossing to the right of the uprights. They scored again soon after when prop John Bell broke a tackle and offloaded to Hill for his first try of the day. Manu's conversion put them ahead 14-3 approaching halftime.

Ories hooker Lui Aukuso was sinbinned right on the halftime interval for throwing a punch in a ruck right in front of the touch judge. They soon paid for this indiscretion when OBU pivot Manu took advantage of their seven-man scrum and one fewer defender and sliced through a hole to score under the bar and a 21-3 lead from an attacking set piece play.

Ories then hit right back through their first five-eighth Maradona Matu'u with a brilliant solo try, Matu'u splitting the defence and making a beeline for the tryline. But that was all they were to cheer about as OBU finished the game with three more equally classy tries.

Manu triggered the first with a clever cross kick for fullback Beau Brown to collect and offload to Kinikinilau who scored unopposed for the bonus point try, while the other two were both the result of swift counterattacking and were both run in from inside their own half. Goodin given space was a threat all day, scoring the first of these tries with a clever chip and chase and making an outside break and linking up with Hill for the second.

For Ories, the loss seals them as Hardham Cup contenders for the fourth year running, while OBU confirmed they will always be a threat in the Jubilee Cup provided they have their full complement of forwards firing on all cylinders in the second round.

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