Off the Ball for 16 July

Above: The HOBM President's side after their win over Paremata-Plimmerton at Ngatitoa Domain on Saturday. PHOTO: Warwick Burke.

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.

It’s all downhill to another big weekend.

On Friday night the Hurricanes host the Chiefs in a Super Rugby quarter-final at Westpac Stadium. The quarter-finals schedule for this coming weekend is:

• Hurricanes v Chiefs, Wellington, Friday
• Crusaders v Sharks, Christchurch, Saturday, 
• Waratahs v Highlanders, Sydney, Saturday
• Lions v Jaguares, Johannesburg, Sunday (NZT)

The real rugby action is on Saturday with the final round of Premier, Premier Reserve, Colts and Women’s Division 1 competitions before the following week’s semi-finals.

The semi-finalists have been found in the Premier Jubilee Cup, but the order of finishing for home semi-finals between current leaders Northern United, Oriental-Rongotai, Old Boys University and Hutt Old Boys Marist is yet to be determined. Wainuiomata and Petone are already guaranteed of home semi-finals in the Hardham Cup, while Johnsonville, the Upper Hutt Rams and the Wellington Axemen are still in the hunt chasing the other two semi-final berths.

All the match-ups and permutations will be in the previews here and on the WRFU site later this week.

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This week is the annual Williment Tournament Week for the region’s U16 players. Four trial squads have been selected to attend this year’s Williment Week, which runs from today through to Thursday. Players gathered this morning at the Marist St Pat’s gym Wellington Lions and Academy personnel are leading the skills and unit sessions, while there are also non-rugby units for the young players, which include things as managing injuries, health and nutrition and personal development. Some 14 players have gone through Williment Week in the past and become All Blacks, the most recent being Asafo Aumua.

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Another round of rugby, and another set of milestones reached by players over the weekend. Topping the list is Wainuiomata back first-five John Monu who scored a try in his 150th Premier match for the club in their win over Johnsonville. There was less luck for Chris Middleton on his 100th for Norths with Ories stealing a late win.

In the Women's game, Ories' Barbra Taumoli and OBU's Georgia Scott were both on the winning side as they played their 50th matches for their respective sides

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Congratulations to Jack Sargentina who has recently been elevated to the WRRA's Premier panel. An accomplished cricketer as well, he follows in the footsteps of his father Scott in reaching the top of the local refereeing ranks.

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This coming weekend, Petone hooker Eugene Smith and HOBM prop Simon Malaeulu are both set to join the 200 club. Smith will play his 200th match for Petone and Malaeulu his 200th game for the Eagles.

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Ories duo Luca Rees and Ayesha Leti-l’iga continue to light up the try-scoring statistics.

No. 8 Rees scored a brace in Ories’ 37-33 win over Norths to take his season tally to 20 tries. He is comfortably this season’s leading try-scorer in Wellington club rugby and we think that he had already broken the record for most tries in a season by a forward that was set by flanker Dean Brunsdon for Norths in 2013.

It is believed that the all-time list is:
26 Michael Knight (Wellington FC) 1970
25 Mike Clamp (Petone) 1981
23 Buxton Popoalii (Northern United) 2010
22 Wayne Collins (Poneke) 1977
22 Greg Kingi (Petone) 1994
21 Alapati Leiua (Northern United) 2009
20 Bernie Fraser (Hutt Valley Marist) 1978
20 Luca Rees (Oriental-Rongotai) 2018

Left wing Leti-L’iga scored two first half tries and one early in the second in the Ories Women’s 43-36 win over Norths. This takes her 2018 try-scoring tally to 32 from 10 games played.

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In beating Northern United 37-33 on Saturday, Oriental-Rongotai also ended the former’s winning streak at 13 victories.

Since online records on this website began in 2005, this would place the current Norths side third equal on the list of most consecutive Swindale Shield/Jubilee Cup wins in this period.

The most consecutive wins from 2005-18 in Premier rugby have been:

19 – Old Boys University (2015-16)
16 – Marist St Pat’s (2008)
13 – Northern United (2010-11)
13 – Oriental-Rongotai (2012)
13 – Northern United (2018)

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New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the Hurricanes have re-signed two key players, with loose forward Ardie Savea and outside back Jordie Barrett re-committing to the national body and the Super club. 24-year-old Savea and 21-year-old Barrett have recommitted through to the end of the 2019 season.25-Test Savea made his Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes in 2013 and All Blacks Test debut in 2016. He said: "Wellington is my hometown and it's great I can stay here and contribute as much as I can for the Hurricanes. Also, we all know how important next year is for the All Blacks with the Rugby World Cup in Japan and I really want to be a part of that campaign."

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Two first half tries for former Wainuiomata and Wellington flanker Henry Stowers over the weekend playing for the Western Force against Samoan invitational side Apia. Blindside flanker Stowers scored a first half brace in the Force’s 33-5 win in torrential rain in Perth. Hutt Old Boys Marist Lock Jeremy Thrush was also playing for the Force in this fifth game of seven in the ‘World Series Rugby’ competition. An interesting addition to the coverage is live on-field interviews with try-scorers as the conversion is being lined up. Asked to describe his first try, a nondescript forwards drive that wouldn’t have made the highlights reel, Stowers was asked to explain how it was set up. “Just push, push, I was lucky as,” he said.

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Good luck to Lizzie Goulden, the Ories women’s tee technician on Saturday, who heads to England in a fortnight to join the London Wasps Ladies team. Goulden has been living and playing in Palmerston North for the past two seasons and was on the wrong side of a one-point loss in the recent Manawatu women’s club rugby final. The Wasps Ladies side is based in Acton in West London and plays in the same competition as Richmond who Goulden’s former Pride teammate Alice Soper plays for. Ories men’s player Ambrose Curtis recently departed for Wasps who are now based in Coventry.

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Like Wellington, the club season is rapidly coming to a close around the lower North Island. Taranaki are already finished with New Plymouth Old Boys winning Saturday's decider with Coastal 29-9, but only after scoring three tries in the last 15 minutes after trailing 8-9.

Elsewhere it's semi-finals time. In Hawkes Bay Hastings go into the Maddison Trophy semi-finals as top qualifiers despite losing 36-37 to Taradale, and will face Clive on one side of the draw. On the other Taradale's win kept them ahead of Napier Old Boys Marist despite NOBM thrashing Napier Tech 69-29 (no tries for Mike Buckley this week), and they'll host the defending champions in the other.

In the Manawatu the two Hankins Shield semi-finals will be played outside of Palmerston North for the first time. Feilding Yellows - who include former Upper Hutt Rams forward Sam Wasley - topped the ladder even with Saturday's 21-37 loss to Kia Toa (with last year’s OBU fullback Jono Ihaka seemingly returned from a brief stint in the Hawkes Bay) where they rested several players and will host the Varsity Rams in one semi-final, while Feilding Old Boys-Oroua will host Kia Toa at Kimbolton in the other.

In the three Heartland unions, Ruapehu and Pirates will contest the final in Wanganui next weekend having beaten Border and Taihape respectively. The Wairarapa Bush semi-finals pit Gladstone against Martinborough and Carterton versus neighbours Greytown, and in Horowhenua-Kapiti Toa will host Levin College Old Boys in one semi-final with Waikanae and Rahui clashing in the other.

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Given the spate of signings by both unions, are Hawkes Bay and Bay of Plenty vying to be called Wellington B for the upcoming Mitre10 Cup [NPC] campaign?

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In two U18s matches played over the weekend, the Hurricanes U18s Gusts beat the Blues U18s 22-10 and the Chiefs U18s beat the Crusaders Page Boys 22-18.

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St Pat’s Silverstream openside flanker Josh Southall, who scored two tries for the Hurricanes U18s against the Crusaders U18s last year, went under the knife the other day after suffering a season-ending knee injury in pre-season. Club Rugby wishes him all the best in his road back to full health.

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From North Otago rugby on Saturday: A 20-year-old Oamaru man faces an assault charge after allegedly punching the referee at the end of a Citizens Shield North Otago rugby semifinal in Oamaru. Sergeant Blair Corlet, of Oamaru, confirmed the man was spoken to by police last night. He had been served a summons to appear in the Oamaru District Court on Wednesday. The incident happened after referee Craig Kingan blew the final whistle on the semifinal at Whitestone Contracting Stadium on Saturday. Valley won 32-29 after extra time in a game that featured three yellow cards to Old Boys players. Read more here