Off the Ball for 30 April

 Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max, Lovelocks Sports Bar,  Motor Doctors and Sarah Kilner Real Estate 

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 week.

After three matches in a week, it is a case of back to normal for Wellington’s Premier rugby players, with Saturday fixtures back on the cards for the rest of the season.

Previews coming up at the end of this week but the clash at the Hutt Rec between leaders Hutt Old Boys Marist (35 points) and seventh-placed Tawa (26) looms large. Other teams at the top of the standings such as OBU, MSP and Norths will be gunning for a Tawa win, while mid-table sides Wainuiomata, Upper Hutt Rams and Oriental-Rongotai will all want HOBM to win.

In two notable interclub trophy matches, Petone and Ories will by playing for the Jim Brown Memorial Trophy and Poneke and Wainuiomata for the Hakaraia Trophy.

+++++

The Hawke’s Bay and Tasman NPC squads meet at the Hutt Rec this Wednesday at the Hutt Rec, kick-off 2.00pm, in a NPC pre-season meeting.

The Horowhenua-Kapiti and Wairarapa Bush squads also play each other in Wellington on Saturday (time and venue TBC).

+++++

Poneke won the Jimmy Grbich Memorial Shield off Oriental-Rongotai on Saturday. Their 28-25 win was their first Grbich Shield win since 2010, ending a run of seven consecutive Ories wins. Their last four Swindale Shield meetings have been extremely close, these being: 28-27 to Ories in 2015, 20-19 to Ories in 2016, a 30-30 draw in 2017 and a 28-25 win to Poneke in 2018. Thus Poneke are ahead by 1 point across their previous last-four Grbich Shield encounters!

++++++

The Upper Hutt Rams haven’t beaten Marist St Pat’s in Premier rugby since 2002. They clash at Maidstone Park this coming Saturday.

+++++

All three Taumoli sisters started for the Oriental-Rongotai women’s side in the front row on Saturday against Poneke. Fuamai was at loosehead prop, Barbra at hooker and Janet at tighthead prop.

+++++

On Opening Day of the 2016 Avalon outside back Donell Anae suffered a double compound leg break on the Fraser Park turf early in the Premier sides 11-all draw that day with Ories. 764 days later he returned to club rugby, coming off the bench for the Wolves Premier Reserve side in their 31-34 loss on Saturday.

+++++

Overheard at Helston Park on Wednesday; “G’day Jeff, I’m John. And you guys are still on a warning”. That came in the Hawks’ Anzac Day clash with Norths when John Ballingall replaced a hobbled Mike Pinfold as referee with 20 minutes to go, introducing himself to home skipper Jeff Makepelu and reminding him just where his team stood. And to his credit Makepelu saw the funny side of it.

+++++

The Preston family achieved a special milestone Saturday versus Johnsonville  Kyle (Halfback), Ryan (Centre) and Adam (Replacement wing) all scored tries during the match The try Kyle scored should have been a second for Ryan whom displayed brotherly love by passing the ball to his younger brother to dot down for the try. Ryan went on to get a double later in the match.

To cap off a fine day for the Preston Family the boy’s father Richard coached the Colts to their victory over Petone at the Petone Rec.
 
Kalim Kelemete achieved his Blazer for the Tawa Premiers - his proud parents in attendance having flown in from Australia.
 
Tawa’s discipline was punished with referee Richard Gordon on Saturday, issuing two yellow cards to two Tawa players in thr second half. Despite this numerical disadvantage, they scored three tries with a player down and being briefly down to 14.

+++++

An experienced Wainuiomata bench on Saturday against Petone. When you can bring on the likes of Justin Va’a, Henry Smith, Uale Mai and Teru Time you know you’re still in the game if it’s close. Prop Va'a and hooker Smith entered the fray together with about 400 Premier caps between them after 60 minutes and they eventually came back to draw 26-26.

+++++

Jarrod Adams captaining Petone from the wing. Not too many sides are captained by the outside backs – what other Premier club sides in recent years have been? 

+++++

Forwards have scored 13 of HOBM’s 42 tries this year.

HOBM first five-eighth Glen Walters became the first player this year to crack 100 points. Ories No. 8 Luca Rees is the top try scorer with 8 tries.

+++++

College rugby gets underway in earnest this weekend with grading matches in some divisions and pre-season matches in others. At the sharp end last year’s Premiership semi-finalists are all in Masterton for the first of three weekends of the Tranzit Festival, while 16 other teams begin the process of sorting out who the other 6 teams to join them are.

+++++
 
Paremata-Plimmerton’s clubrooms were packed to the gunnels following their Old Timers’ Day, with presentations at the after match to five of their Premier players. As well as acknowledgement of Shane Hedges playing his 200th first-team match and Danny Herewini his 100th, there were also blazer presentations to lock James Corcoran, hooker Alex Hinchliffe, and utility back Matt de Terte.

+++++

Likewise, the Cambridge was in good form on Saturday night as Old Boys University celebrated prop Finnbarr Kerr-Newell’s 100th Premier game that he reached last Wednesday.

+++++

In 27 games Simi Navoka has played for the Johnsonville Premiers he has played in 4 different positions.

He has gone from loosehead prop to tighthead prop to No 8, and then on Saturday against Tawa he played on the wing.

+++++

Thinning ranks of fit and available front rowers in Wellington club rugby at the moment – but seemingly not at the Tawa club. Their Colts edged previously unbeaten Petone on Saturday and their two props were both instrumental in the win. Admittedly, Petone was undermanned up front, but they also both played well around the field for the 80 minutes. With the likes of the Coburns, Korori, Paongo and Tolu, their Premiers are well stocked too.

+++++

There were two defaults in five matches in Hawke’s Bay Premier rugby on Saturday. In the new formatted Nash Cup quarter-finals, Tamatea defaulted to Napier Old Boys Marist and Central defaulted to Clive in the playoff for 9th v 10th. Central cited injuries and Tamatea front row problems.

+++++

Sam Wasley started for the Upper Hutt Rams on Wednesday at No. 8 in their 36-34 win over Ories and then played for and scored a try for the Feilding Yellows in their 25-22 win over Varsity in Manawatu club rugby on Saturday.

Former OBU fullback Jono Ihaka picked up 2 Best & Fairest points for Kia Toa in their 56-19 win over Old Boys Marist.

+++++

A ‘H.Henare’ scored 5 tries and kicked 9 points for a 34-point haul for Levin College Old Boys in their 67-12 win over Rahui in Horowhenua-Kapiti club rugby on Saturday.

+++++

A solid first up win for the New Zealand U20s on Friday night in the first round of the Oceania Championship, beating Tonga U20s 97-0. Australia beat Fiji 51-5 in their match. Being kind, the coverage of this on the All Blacks website could be seen as being underwhelming.

New Zealand’s next match is tomorrow evening at 5.00pm (NZT) against Fiji, followed by the likely decider against Australia at 9.00pm (NZT) next Saturday.

+++++

The New Zealand Universities side had a 58-31 win over a Kyushu XV first-up on their current tour, with 18 players on debut. The team now travels to Osaka in preparation for Thursday’s game against Kansai (West Japan) Universities.

+++++

Brad Shields has started 38 matches in a row for the Hurricanes, a big feat in the modern game.

The Hurricanes have won their last 15 matches in a row against non NZ teams at home. Julian Savea has scored a record 25 tries at the Westpac Stadium.

The Hurricanes host the Lions from South Africa on Saturday night in a contest dubbed Retro Night.

Have a story or some news or information? Email editor@clubrugby.co.nz