MSP and Norths share Jubilee Cup after stalemate at Westpac Stadium

Jubilee Cup final. Westpac Stadium 9 August: Marist St Pat's 10 (Peter Sciascia Try; Fa'atonu Fili Con; Pen) Northern United 10 (Francis Seumanutafa; Sio Thomas Tries)?HT: MSP 10-0.

Jubilee Cup final: The 2008 Jubilee Cup title has been shared between Marist St. Pat's and Northern United who battled to a 10-all draw in the final at a cold and wet Westpac Stadium on Saturday evening.

Nothing could separate the two sides after 80 minutes of hard fought end-to-end rugby, meaning the Championship will be shared for the first time?since 1982 when Wellington and Petone jointly held the Jubilee Cup aloft, and for the first time since the current semi-finals and final system was introduced in 1993.

For MSP it is their 12th Jubilee Cup title win since their first in 1978 - which they shared with Wellington - and their first since 2002, while Norths get their name engraved on the silverware for the third time after previous wins in 2004 and 2006.

In a dramatic second half, Norths came storming back to draw level with just seven minutes on the clock, scoring two unconverted tries after MSP halfback Peter Sciascia had seemingly delivered a decisive blow to their chances with a converted try right on the halftime hooter.

Sciascia's try scored under the bar and converted by first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili gave his side a decisive 10-0 lead at the break, after Norths had made much of the running in a rain soaked opening 40 minutes but came up short on several occasions.

Norths exerted pressure early and should have put points on the board in the opening exchanges, and again at the 18th minute mark when wing sensation Sinoti To'omaga failed to capitalise on their best chance of the half when he spilt the ball forward in the tackle over the line in the corner.

There were other early opportunities, including clean breaks to veteran loose forwards Sene Ta'ala and Anare Koliavu and teenaged centre Alipati Leuia, and a missed penalty to first five-eighth Rob Aloe.

MSP recovered quickly and the best defensive team of the competition quickly got into their work through their incredibly committed tight five and the tactical kicking games of Sciascia and Fili that put added pressure on Norths at the back.

A penalty for pulling down a lineout presented Fili with his second kick at goal after missing his first, and the Club Weekly Player of the Year made it 3-0 after 14 minutes.

The next 15 minutes was dominated by driving rain as both teams struggled for ascendancy in the wet and now extremely slippery conditions, each hoping to induce the other into errors.

That mistake came just as the rain started easing off, To'omaga unable to field a Sciascia up-and-under and spilling the ball forward. MSP set up a ruck from the ensuing attacking scrum and lock Marcus Slade couldn't believe his luck when he picked the ball up and skipped straight past the Norths first line of defence and then found Sciascia who crashed over the try line in the tackle.

As the second half unfolded, Sciascia's try appeared to be a match winning one, with MSP's forwards continuing to shadow their Norths opposites and preventing them from climbing back into the game.

Norths badly needed a spark, and it came through a break out from inside their own 22 and the mercurial skills of To'omaga, who carried the movement on up past halfway and kicked ahead and out towards the sideline into space for his chasing wing partner Francis Seumanutafa. The unmarked Seumanutafa regathered To'omaga's kick and ran on to score a popular try in the corner.

Aloe's difficult sideline conversion was unsuccessful, but with Norths now at just 10-5 behind and with their tails up the Jubilee Cup final had come alive.

Their second try was created by a pinpoint kick into the corner by second five-eighth Siaosi Anamani, forcing MSP left wing Jope Naubo to run the ball into touch and give Norths an attacking lineout inside the 22.

From the set-piece won cleanly by lock Chris Middleton, Norths hammered away with a series of pick and drives and eventually forced a 5-metre scrum. More relentless attack followed and evergreen reserve hooker Sio Thomas came up with the equaliser to the dismay of MSP's supporters?in their papal livery?behind the goaline.

Aloe's conversion fell well short, creating a tense final few minutes that ebbed and flowed, and visions of last-gasp dropped goals or penalties caused anxiety amongst both sets of vocal supporters. But the sound of the fulltime hooter and referee Mike Fraser's final whistle ended the final on a stalemate and a shared Jubilee Cup.

This is the seventh time the Jubilee Cup has been shared since its inception in 1929 and the fifth time involving a Marist team, after St. Pat's Old Boys (1949) and Marist Brothers Old Boys (1962 and 1964) each shared Jubilee Cups, and now MSP in 1978 and 2008.

Norths lock Middleton was awarded the Jim Brown Medal for Player of the Final.

?