Off the Ball for 8 May

Above: With 12 tries so far, Ories wing Ayesha Leti-li'ga is the top try scorer in men's and women's club rugby, ahead of Fereti Soloa (HOBM) with 8 tries and Michael Sage (Poneke) and Mitchell Markov (Upper Hutt Rams), both with 7. 

Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max , Lovelocks Sports Bar  and Harcourts Johnsonville 

Looking at some of the news in briefs, milestones, happenings, statistics and observations from the weekend of rugby just gone and what’s coming up this coming week.

With the start of college rugby on Saturday and club rugby in full swing, the season’s now firing on all cylinders. Supporters can catch their collective breaths early this week before we do it all again on Friday and Saturday.

The rugby started on Friday night at Alex Moore Park, Te Whaea and Westpac Stadium, with the defending U85kg champions the Tawa Titans starting their season off with a bonus point win (they were defaulted to the previous week), the defending Colts champions OBU Green held to a 19-19 draw by Norths and the defending Super Rugby champions the Hurricanes winning late against the Stormers.

A magnificent day on Saturday weather-wise saw the Ories Women and the MSP Women win the respective division 1 and 2 first round women’s titles. The second round women’s competitions, including the championship Victoria Tavern Trophy starts this coming weekend. The MSP Women’s team has been ‘promoted’ to Division 1 and HOBM’s drops down to Division 2 for the second round. More on the second round to come later.

The Premier Swindale Shield points table has closed up after Saturday. With four rounds to play, just Johnsonville, Paremata-Plimmerton and Avalon have been officially eliminated from Jubilee Cup contention.

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This coming weekend sees the annual match that stops the river flowing, the McBain Shield clash between Hutt Old Boys Marist and Petone.

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Across in Miramar, should he play, Marist St Pat’s first five-eighth Fa’atonu Fili will line up for his 200th Premier match for MSP. This will be against Oriental-Rongotai, the club Fili played for in 2013. He played his 200th match overall last year.

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Kelburn Park hosts its maiden Premier Swindale Shield/Jubilee Cup rugby match this coming weekend when Old Boys University hosts Wainuiomata for the Bill Brien Challenge Shield and for the Peter Dunford Cup. Kelburn Park previously hosted two Hardham Cup matches in 2010 (MSP home team) and one Hardham Cup game in 2012 (OBU home team). Scores in these three contests were: 24-24, 18-12 and 15-14.

Should they play, Old Boys University’s Joe Hill and Tomasi Palu will both notch their 100th Premier appearances at Kelburn Park on Saturday.

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A unique event at the Axemen this weekend where at the Old Timers' day two members of the Premier Team played their Blazer (50th) games for Wellington Football Club. Possibly not so unique but it is when their blazers are presented to them by their fathers who each played 100 games for the club. Hilton Mexted and Sam Gard’ner received their congratulations from Murray Mexted and Brendan ‘Compost’ Gard’ner in front of a good crowd of former players. Hilton was part of the Colts team 8 years ago that started the Axemen return to Premier Rugby in Wellington and Sam is the current Premier Captain. Just reward for two blokes that have, and so, work very hard for the club.

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Each week, several players receive their blazer games for their clubs. On Saturday, Ories women’s loosehead prop Raylene Lolo played her blazer game and fittingly scored two tries in her side’s Fleurs Trophy deciding 48-7 win over Northern United. Lolo scored her team’s first and last try.

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A bit of movement in the Best & Fairest competition after this past weekend. At the top of the standings, Wainuiomata’s Ben Tupuola has joined Northern United’s Antony Fox on 11 points. Tupuola collected 3 points in his side’s 42-15 win over Paremata-Plimmerton on Saturday while Fox didn’t play against OBU but is expected back from an ankle injury soon. Poneke lock Cole Stewart collected his third consecutive 3 point award in Poneke’s 30-17 win over Johnsonville.

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The mild May weather brought the crowds out to the Nairnville Park terraces on Saturday. One of the biggest cheers of the day came later in the second half when a local woman jogger was clapped and cheered by the crowd when she ran around in front of the terraces. The applause was louder on her second lap, but on her third she veered off into the carpark and went off on her way.

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Tawa’s backline in the opening match of the season against MSP included Shaun Treeby and Ben Lam. Two months on and they were both playing in the same Super Rugby match, but as opponents -Treeby for The Stormers and Lam for Hurricanes. How Tawa would have loved them on Saturday against the experienced HOBM backs.

Tawa Rugby TV captures all the rugby action for all Tawa’s Premier games, and one of their sponsors and passionate supporters, Gary Hathaway and Wife Sandra (Clockwork Gold), were tuning in from Las Vegas  USA. The boys couldn’t deliver the win but the club appreciate all their support!

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Two players brought up their century of points for the season on Saturday, with OBU’s Dale Sabbargh (108 points) and Ories’ Adam Deck (106) both bringing up the ton. Upper Hutt Rams’ Joyner Key is poised on 99 points heading into this coming weekend’s 10th round.

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England coach Eddie Jones has poached another New Zealand rugby player. Upper Hutt Rams fullback Jason Woodward has been included in a 20-man England training squad for a strength and conditioning camp. The Wellington native has a year remaining on his contract with Bristol but it's believed to contain a release clause, and he has been linked with a move to join HOBM lock Jeremy Thrush at Gloucester, whose side finished ninth this year in the English Premiership. The 26-year-old Woodward left the Hurricanes last year after accepting his hopes to become an All Black were over as he struggled to earn consistent playing time, with an eye towards eventual selection for the England national side.

Meanwhile, former Petone/OBU first five-eighth Jimmy Gopperth (playing at second five-eighth) and former Northern United centre Alapati Leiua (coming off the bench) helped Wasps to top spot in the English Premiership at the end of the regular season. Wasps beat Saracens 35-15 in front of 30,000 people in the last round in their flash stadium in Coventry. Avalon’s Thomas Waldrom’s Exeter Chiefs came from behind to beat Gloucester 34-20 to book the other home semi-final berth in a fortnight.

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Beauden Barrett’s point cross-kicking yielded no fewer than four tries against the Stormers on Friday night, including the match-winner at the end from right in front of his goalposts and with a 14-man Hurricanes out on their feet, Barrett went for the attacking kick-pass option out to left wing Julian Savea, who took off up field and passed to Ngani Laumape in support who scored the winner. Perhaps the kick-pass in rugby should be renamed the ‘Barrett’.

Another of the Hurricanes tries came from a TJ Perenara stab kick and a piece of Jordie Barrett magic in chasing up, wrenching the ball from the grasp of the defender and scoring the try. Not since St Mary’s College beat Aotea College to win the Wellington schoolgirls championship last July with a barrage of Cheyne Copeland attacking kicks, has this many tries been scored directly from attacking kicks.

How to defend against the Barrett? Employ a sevens-style sweeper. But if you take a player out of the line then Barrett will run instead.

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Laumape scored two tries for the Hurricanes on Friday night, taking his season tally to 11. The list for most tries in a season by a Hurricane currently reads: Tana Umaga 12 tries in 1997; TJ Perenara 11 – 2016; Ngani Laumape 11 -2017; Lome Fa’atau 10 – 2006; Andre Taylor 10 – 2012 ; Vince Aso 10 – 2017.

Beauden Barrett is closing in on 1,000 Super Rugby points. He currently has 982 points. Although he’s not doing the kicking at present, you wouldn’t put it past him reaching the milestone this season with tries.

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What is Sky Television up to? Dumping Fan Pass when it’s patently obvious that the future is live streaming and video content. Note to Sky: Provide customers what they want, not what you want. Why too are they finishing this up just before the Lions tour starts? Coincidence?

Contributions to Off the Ball to: editor@clubrugby.co.nz