Clean sweep for Norths as OBU and Upper Hutt make Jubilee Cup

There was much to celebrate for Northern United on their Old Timers' Day on Saturday after their top three sides had won all three of Wellington club rugby's first round competitions - the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup, the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield and the Premier Swindale Shield.

Norths collected all three first round titles after its teams had each won their final round matches on Porirua Park against visiting Poneke sides. Their Senior 2nds won 29-20, their Senior 1sts prevailed 50-14 and their top side overcame the red and black incursion 34-18 for their 11th straight win of the Swindale Shield round.

Down the table, the other significant outcome of the final round set of Swindale Shield matches was OBU and Upper Hutt winning and grabbing the remaining two spots for the upcoming Jubilee Cup, ahead of Tawa and Wainuiomata who were both still in contention to make the top eight heading into the last week.

Led by first five-eighth Lima Sopoaga who kicked 25 points, OBU comfortably held off Wainuiomata's challenge at the Allied Nationwide Finance Basin Reserve to win 35-18 and stop Wainuiomata's promising season dead in its tracks with other results also going against them.

Upper Hutt's 46-15 bonus point win over Johnsonville and the Wests Roosters' upset 29-17 defeat of Tawa allowed Upper Hutt to grab eighth place after seemingly being out of contention three weeks ago.

In other round eleven Swindale Shield results, Marist St. Pat's got up to win a tight one at Evans Bay Park 22-20 over Hutt Old Boys Marist to retain the Father Cleary Shield and Oriental Rongotai blasted past Petone 29-19 to win the Bill Brien challenge Cup and the Jimmy Brown Memorial Trophy.

Consequently, there was no change to the order of finishing amongst the leading teams after the last round. First round champions Norths finished well clear on 53 points, followed by Ories and MSP tied on 40 and Poneke, Petone and Hutt Old Boys Marist bringing up the minor placings.

MSP's win over HOBM for the Father Cleary Shield was the closest result of the round, snatching their eighth consecutive victory of the round through a last-gasp try in the corner to replacement flanker Sio Tuia and a sideline conversion by first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili.

In a close game throughout, HOBM had seemingly done enough to hold on for the win when right winger Brad Hines scorched in for his second try to break a 15-15 deadlock and put his side ahead 20-15.

Earlier, MSP had scored two first half tries through hooker Liu Taituave and fullback Apoua Stewart against one to HOBM first five-eighth Glen Walters to lead 12-5 at halftime. Walters then added a penalty and Hines scored his first try to put the visiting Eagles in front at 15-12. But Fili evened the ledger with a penalty to set up an epic finish.

Norths' 11th straight win of the season was effectively sealed just before halftime when they scored their third try to winger AJ Va'aleepu and first five-eighth James So'oilao converted to give them a 24-8 lead. So'oilao's conversion of this try also brought up his 200th individual point of the season, a new first round record by any player.

Poneke, who were stung early by the loss of vastly experienced prop Luni Moananu, had previously got back into the contest with a try to his replacement Kenny Anderson, after Norths fullback Buxton Popoalii had started proceedings by scoring his 18th try of the season - another first round individual record. Poneke were then the first to score in the second half through a penalty to close the score to 24-11.

But from there Norths pulled clear with a conveted try to new second five-eighth Perry Hayman and a So'oialo dropped goal. Poneke were awarded a penalty try at the end.

At the Petone Recreation Ground, Ories inflicted Petone's first defeat of the year at home and came away with the Jimmy Brown and the Bill Brien trophies after scorching into the lead with penalties and a long-range try midway through the second half to take a match winning 26-14 lead into the business end of the match.

Petone fullback Ben Aoina had slotted a penalty to put his side within a point of Ories at 14-15 behind, but soon after when visiting Ories winger scooped up a dropped ball and ran 60 metres to score their third try their earlier one-point advantage was now 12 points.
Petone close to within seven points when veteran winger Alex Telea scored, but a further penalty to Ories sealed their win and gave them their highest Swindale Shield finish since 2003 when they also finished second to first time champions Norths.

In the battle for the remaining Jubilee Cup places, Upper Hutt entered the last round needing Wests to beat Tawa first and foremost and then having to beat Johnsonville, preferably with a bonus point as well.

Whilst the other result was out of their hands, they got stuck into achieving their goals early in their match against Johnsonville at home at Maidstone Park. Wingers Ofa Pongi and Greg Tweddle both raced in for early tries and they led 10-0 inside the opening five of play. Then when centre Brett Pigott intercepted a pass and raced in for their third try they were almost there.

Goalkicking continued to be a problem for Upper Hutt, and when Johnsonville halfback Denis Sim replied with a try out wide their lead was only 15-8. But they scored and converted their bonus point try before the break which also gave them more breathing space at 22-8 in front.

Again Johnsonville came back to within seven points through an intercept try to centre Nathan Collins. But this was quickly followed by Upper Hutt's fifth try to fullback Jarred Chruchwood that put them ahead 27-15, and then three more over the final quarter to seal a well-deserved victory.

The afternoon then got better for Upper Hutt's supporters when news of the Wests Roosters' 29-17 victory over Tawa drifted through the Stone. In another game that went down to the wire, Wests and Tawa were locked up at 17-17 before Wests found their mojo and scored two late tries to deny Tawa any points and blow them out of the Jubilee Cup backdoor.

Wests had dominated early and led 10-0, but Tawa had come back with a try out wide to make the halftime score 10-8 to Wests. Tawa first five-eighth Peter Goldsmith kicked his second and third penalties to put his side ahead 14-10, ahead of Wests scoring their second converted try to second five-eighth Maka Ioane. Goldsmith stepped up to kick his fourth penalty 12 minutes from fulltime, but Wests finished strongly to register their first win since the first week of the season and deny a bitterly disappointed Tawa.

At the Basin Reserve, it was the Lima Sopoaga show as the 2009 New Zealand Schools first five-eighth produced perhaps his most dominant game at club level to date. Sopoaga had a sound tactical game as well as kicking five penalties, two conversions and two dropped goals to keep his side comfortably in front all day.

A steady stream of penalties at the breakdown and mistakes inside their own half by Wainuiomata allowed Sopoaga to step up and kick three penalties in the opening 20 minutes, ahead of his team scoring two decisive tries and Sopoaga adding a fourth penalty and then a 40-metre dropped goal for good measure. OBU led 29-6 at halftime.

With the moderate wind at their backs, Wainuiomata poured out of the tunnel after halftime and threw everything at OBU for the best part of 20 minutes. But determined defence allowed the students to hold off a steady stream of attacking pressure. They then broke out and Sopoaga potted his second dropped goal to extend the lead to 32-6 and at that point the game was as good as won.

Wainuiomata offered their supporters a glimmer of hope towards the end when second five-eighth Isaiah Mamea skipped through to score under the bar and then mobile lock Shahn Eru finished off one of several desperate long range sorties with a great show of strength and skill to score in the corner. This made it 32-18 with several minutes still remaining, but with winger Michael Williams already in the sinbin their replacement hooker was red carded and it was a hurdle too far with 13 men.

Instead OBU had the last say when Sopoaga stepped up to kick his fifth penalty and Wainuiomata were left plotting their course in their fifth straight Hardham Cup when with the up and coming talent they have in their ranks they should be a Jubilee Cup side.

Apart from Sopoaga, OBU got good value out of their midfield pairing of Luke Harvey and Ti Pairama-Lewington, particularly on defence, from fullback Beau Brown on attack and in the forwards, with flankers Ian Kennedy and TJ Ioane, lock Mike Scott and prop Wilba Davies prominent.

It was Davies who scored the first try of the day from a bullocking 15-metre run one-off an attacking ruck, following a charged down kick and a 5-metre scrum. Excellent team continuity led to their second try scored by Kennedy up the left hand touchline, converted from out wide by Sopoaga.

Both tries came late in the half, after both sides had missed previous chances to cross the whitewash. Wainuiomata almost made a dream start, but winger Williams was denied in the right hand corner in the opening exchanges and OBU fullback Brown nearly sliced through in a penetrative run up into Wainui's 22 before being stopped on the line by desperate defence.

The 2010 Jubilee and Hardham Cups start next Saturday, 19 June. Look out for draws early in the week.

Lower grades

With Norths' overall victory and the top four teams to join the bottom four from the Swindale Shield in the Hardham Cup having already been decided, all that was left to find out in the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield was the order of finishing and the wooden spoon finisher.

Amongst the top four teams, MSP moved up from fourth to third by beating Hutt Old Boys Marist 22-15 at Evans Bay Park, moving HOBM down from second to fourth.

Avalon finished outright second with their ninth win of the round, beating Tawa 43-7 at Fraser Park.

OBU leapfrogged Poneke into fifth with their 31-0 win over Stokes Valley at Nairnville Park, while Petone moved passed Tawa into eighth by edging out Ories 20-15 at the Petone Recreation Ground.

In the fight to avoid the Harper Lock Shield wooden spoon, Paremata-Plimmerton climbed off the bottom of the table and overtook both Stokes Valley and Rimutaka courtesy of their 25-5 win over Rimutaka at Maoribank Park - consigning the Rams to last place. Of note, the three bottom finishing teams in this grade were all community clubs and Rimutaka made the Hardham Cup round just two years ago.

Norths had already wrapped the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup with a round to spare last week, but their last round win over Poneke gave them an 11-point winning margin on the final points table to second placed Avalon.

Needing to win in the last week to clinch the second available spot alongside Norths in the upcoming Ed Chaney Cup, Avalon enjoyed a 25-10 win away against Marist St. Pat's to achieve their goal.

Heading into the final round both Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata were still alive to grab this third spot, and both played their part in case Avalon stumbled. Upper Hutt smoked 11th placed Paremata-Plimmerton and Wainuiomata overcame mid table finishers OBU 23-9.

In other last round Senior 2 results, the Wests Roosters sealed a solid mid-table finish by beating HOBM 31-10, as did Wellington who overcame bottom placed Petone 17-10.

There was better news for Petone's Colts side, who took out the first round Paris Memorial Trophy U21 Division 1 title in style, thrashing Upper Hutt 81-0.

As well as winning with ease on the day, Petone also took out this grade comfortably in the end, with their nearest challengers, MSP and Norths, both falling over in their final round matches. MSP met a 12-19 defeat to Ories and Norths were undone 5-25 by OBU.

Meanwhile, Wellington beat Tawa 11-5 in the final of the U21 Division 2 grade.

Johnsonville collected the Senior 3 JDR Cup spoils, having won this grade with a week to spare in week 10.

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