Attractive rugby continues in miserable conditions

Swindale Shield Premier | 30 May 2010 | Steven White

The big wet came to Wellington on Saturday, but it didn’t stop attractive rugby being played across most of the Premier venues in a ninth round of heart warming and high scoring action that saw Norths tighten its grip on the Swindale Shield and the race down the table to finish inside the top eight heat up considerably.?

A biting southerly and heavy rain during the week wreaked havoc with Wellington’s winter sports officials, not least the rugby code where all lower grade rugby was cancelled outright in advance and there was a swathe of transfers across the top three grades. This included the unprecedented moving of two Premier games from Kilbirnie Park and the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve. Meanwhile, Porirua Park held up well and Westpac Stadium remains sadly unused.?

On the field, Northern United all but sealed the Swindale Shield title in an exciting 10-try 46-29 win over an unlucky Hutt Old Boys Marist at Porirua Park.

HOBM were right in the contest for long periods and Norths only made sure of their eighth bonus point victory in nine weeks through two late tries, following two of their tries in the first half that were length of the field efforts against the run of play.?

There were similar high scoring contests but with much more convincing wins for Marist St. Pat’s, Old Boys-University and Petone, while Ories and Poneke battled to closer victories more in line with the conditions.

At Helston Park, Old Boys-University enjoyed temporary home ground status with a convincing 46-12 win over Upper Hutt, Petone accounted for the Wests Roosters 40-0 at the Petone Recreation Ground, MSP were too good at Evans Bay Park for Tawa 48-0, Ories held on to beat Wainuiomata 27-17 at the Polo Ground, and Poneke battled to a 15-8 win over Johnsonville at neutral Ian Galloway Park.?

At the top of the points table, Norths (44 points) are now a tantalising one competition point away from winning the Swindale Shield. With two rounds remaining, Norths continue to hold a nine-point lead over second placed Oriental-Rongotai (35) who are their only challenger. Norths and Ories meet at the Polo Ground in next week’s penultimate round and to carry the title race into the last week Ories will have to beat them and deny them any competition points.

Norths and Ories lead a chasing pack consisting of MSP, Poneke, HOBM (all on 31 points) and Petone (30), who are jostling for the minor places and all safely in the Jubilee Cup round that starts on 19 June.?

However, there’s a upsurge of activity down the table following OBU’s emphatic and very timely bonus point win over Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata’s and Tawa’s failures to pick up any points against Ories and MSP. For the first time in several seasons, the race to finish inside the top eight and book a spot in the coveted Jubilee Cup could go right down to the wire.

With two rounds to play, four teams are still alive in chasing the last two spots for the Jubilee Cup. These are Wainuiomata (currently seventh, 20 points), Tawa (eighth, 19), OBU (ninth, 18) and Upper Hutt (tenth, 13). Confirmed Hardham Cup starters the Wests Roosters and Johnsonville are battling it out for the wooden spoon.?

MSP’s win over Tawa was the biggest, but OBU’s win over Upper Hutt was the most emphatic of the afternoon, the students running in six tries for an eye-catching victory.

With the help of Conrad Smith at centre, OBU broke the shackles against Upper Hutt and threw 10-man rugby out the window to lead 24-0 at halftime through two tries to first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga and one to fullback Beau Brown. Smith then got himself on the scoreboard and when right wing Matt Gordon crossed to make it 36-0 it was all over.

Upper Hutt came back with two tries but the damage had been done.

MSP led comfortably from start to finish in their win over Tawa, who themselves had beaten Poneke the week before. This was MSP’s sixth straight win and was achieved through the scoring of seven tries to six individual scorers. Ged Robinson, Nick Passi, Wim Baars, Joe Wright and Ryan Setephano all scored one try, while centre Chris Slade scored two tries and kicked 13 points for a 23-point haul.

Petone were also largely untroubled by the Wests Roosters in their retention of both the Bill Brien Cup and Gareth Head Memorial Trophy. Wests put up a good fight early on, but Petone’s impending victory became assured by halftime after first five-eighth Hayden Cripps had darted through to score and fullback Ben Aoina scored on the end of a backline chain. Centre Cam Incledon scored twice, right wing Sam O’leary once and there was one penalty try – one of three penalty tries awarded across all the games on Saturday.?

After being rattled by Tawa the previous week, Poneke struggled to overcome a competitive Johnsonville side at Ian Galloway Park. Having to concede home ground advantage didn’t help, but Johnsonville also played with much fervour and commitment throughout. Poneke worked hard for their 15-3 lead at halftime, through tries to returning left winger Marika Kau and Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles and were kept scoreless throughout the second spell as Johnsonville scored once through No. 8 Tavita Ah Wong.

Oriental-Rongotai were quick to bounce back from their shock thrashing at the hands of HOBM last week against the improving Wainuiomata at a water-laden Polo Ground. Wrapping the game up early, Ories steamed in for four early tries and led 24-0 after 25 minutes.?

Lock Dan Reddish and hooker Motu Matu’u opened the scoring with tries, before centre Afa Fa’atau started and finished the third try with a lovely break up field. Halfback Sean Hay then swam in for their bonus point after a surge at the line off the back of a scrum by No. 8 Joe Maiava.?

The last 50 minutes of play was much more even, with Wainuiomata launching a comeback and scoring tries to hooker Blake Gemmell and lock James Saolele and closing the score to 27-10. There was further hope when they were awarded a penalty try and Piri Weepu converted, but the home side held on for their victory to keep their slim first round title hopes alive and throw the race for top eight wide open.?

The Club Weekly was at a soggy Porirua Park, where Norths and HOBM also defied the difficult conditions with a six tries to four thriller that saw the home run away with the game with two late tries and all but run away with their fourth Swindale Shield title in five years.?

HOBM were right in the game with several minutes remaining and had twice closed to within three points in the second half, but Norths replacement hooker Henry Smith scored in the 73rd minute and second five-eighth Ki Anufe then sliced through for the second of his two tries to seal Norths’ ninth straight win and end the Eagles’ challenge.

HOBM will lament costly goal kicking and the letting in of two length of the field tries in the first half that led to Norths leading 22-5 with halftime fast approaching.?

Norths made their opportunities count, scoring two tries and 14 points from small errors and both totally against the run of play.?

Second five Ki Anufe finished off a 90 metre raid up the touchline started from a Faifili Levave lineout steal on his own line and right wing James So’oialo crossed after a Norths clearing kick was seemingly fumbled into touch near halfway by HOBM and the Norths backs took a quick lineout and raced clear. This second try caused a stir and it appeared to the Club Weekly up in the stand that the ball was still in play when Norths took their quick throw in. Nevertheless, the try stood and both these tries had come after the Eagles had been hot on attack and pressing for points.?

Norths scored a third try in this period through more conventional circumstances with replacement back Nene Va’alepu, on for Alapati Leuia who had just left the field with an ankle injury, dotting down in the corner on the end of the chain.?

In between the Eagles scored a brilliant counter attacking try to Taiso Silafai off a Brad Hines run from halfway and Ron Jarden-like centring kick and then, with heavy rain now falling, added a second try before the break to openside flanker Evan Gwilliam from an attacking lineout and then another after the interval to Snee who charged down a Norths kick and scampered 20 metres.?

Snee’s try closed the score to 22-19 and came moments after HOBM had very nearly driven over for a try in the grandstand corner and after he had missed a subsequent penalty, his third from a handy angle.?

Both kickers then exchanged penalties, before the try-scoring resumed when Snee failed to clear his line in the in-goal and Faifili’s brother Levine Levave pounced on a slippery ball in the in-goal.?

HOBM were rightly awarded a penalty try when their industrious blindside flanker Thomas Benson was held back at a lineout with the ball loose over the chalk and Snee converted to close the gap to 32-29 with 10 minutes left on the clock.

However, Norths regained ascendancy and all-important territory and Henry Smith rumbled over for their fifth try as they pulled clear again. Then with time almost up, Anufe finished off an attack from broken field, which So’oialo converted to give him 19 points for the match and 174 for the season so far.?

It was a strong challenge to Norths’ supremacy by the well organised Hutt side who will know next time the imperative of being as clinical as possible and finishing off chances against them.?

Their forwards played well together and exerted good pressure on their opposites in their pick and go play and in the air, while halfback Josh Raulini, Snee centre Silafai, right wing Hines and fullback Leka Tuapola all looked likely at times.

Norths started with four Super 14 players, Faifili Levave, Leiua, John Schwalger and Anthony Perenise - in his 100th Premier game, while a fifth, Api Naikatini, was a late scratching.?

Senior 1

Northern United took a big step towards winning the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield in two weeks with a 21-10 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist in their match that was transferred from Porirua to Elsdon Park.?

Norths’ win, without a bonus point, moves them to 39 points and gives them a four-point lead at the top of the table to HOBM, who were joined in second place on 35 points by Avalon after their 29-8 win over Petone at the Petone Recreation Ground to win the Morgan Family Trophy.?

In a hotly contested battle to finish inside the top four and make the Hardham Cup in the second round, Marist St. Pat’s are four points back on 31 following their 38-3 over Tawa at Alex Moore Park in Johnsonville.?

At Lyndhurst Park, Poneke beat Paremata-Plimmerton 22-7 and are fifth on 30 points, followed by Oriental-Rongotai on 28 who beat Stokes Valley 43-10 at the Polo Ground and then OBU on 27 who defeated Rimutaka 34-0 on the back fields at Fraser Park. ?

Senior 2

The National Mutual Senior 2 grade was the only other grade to get on the field in round nine, with Northern United again the big winners of the week beating Avalon 24-0 at Ngatitoa Domain and carrying a seven-point lead into the final fortnight.

Poneke have jumped up to second equal alongside Avalon following their 29-7 win over eleventh placed Paramata-Plimmerton further out back at Fraser Park.?

Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata remain in fifth and sixth respectively after Upper Hutt’s 15-3 win over OBU at an near paddock on Fraser Park and Wainuiomata’s 18-14 victory over Wellington at Hataitai Park.?

MSP climbed from ninth to sixth after edging out HOBM 34-31 at Delaney Park in Stokes Valley.?

The Wests Roosters remain steady mid-table protagonists despite losing their second consecutive game, this time to Petone 15-10 at the Petone Rec. The win for Petone was their first of the season.

Meanwhile, with all other grades cancelled, the winners of the first round 85kg Restricted and U19 grades celebrated from the warmth of their clubrooms.?