Off the Ball for 30 July

Try time for Upper Hutt Rams midfielder Konelio Feaunati on Saturday. The Rams came back to draw level at 24-24 and force extra time, before Petone kicked a penalty and scored a try to win 32-24. 

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.

Welcome to finals week!

All roads head to the Petone Recreation Ground this coming Saturday, with eight finals taking place there including the 90th edition of the Jubilee Cup, which will be won by either Old Boys University or Northern United.

The Jubilee Cup final is of course one of eight that the WRFU have scheduled for Saturday, the others being the Hardham Cup final and the Division 1 and 2 Premier Reserve, Women’s and Colts finals. More details and previews out later this week.

Can’t make the finals? Both radio channels will be carrying the Jubilee Cup final. Gordon Noble-Campbell and Andy Leslie will be anchoring the coverage on the Saturday Rugby Club on 1503AM and Adam Julian and Brad Hudson and special guest MSP captain Joe Walding-Karaitiana will be calling the final on Te Upoko O Te Ika on 1161AM.

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Locally, there is a full round of schoolgirls rugby this coming Wednesday, including a scheduled encounter between St Mary’s College and Aotea College at Porirua Park on Wednesday at 5.30pm.

A Wellington Lions XV plays Auckland at Evans Bay Park on Friday afternoon in a Men’s NPC pre-season fixture. Kick-off time TBC, but this is preceded by Tasman vs Manawatu as part of a double-header.

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Presumably, a Wellington Lions squad will be announced early this week by the WRFU, or a squad for this match that hopefully won’t include any players in the four clubs playing in the Jubilee and Hardham Cup finals.

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This coming weekend is also the final round of the Premiership First XV competition, with the four semi-finalists found but the order of finishing and who will play whom in the playoffs to be decided. St Pat’s Silverstream have already booked their home semi-final and barring a shock shutout at the hands of Kapiti College this weekend will finish top. Scots College will just need a bonus point against Kapiti College to also seal a home semi-final, while St Pat’s Town should finish third ahead of Wellington College with victory over Porirua College.

A bit worrying to some that Porirua College defaulted their Premiership match on Saturday to Wellington College. Yes, Porirua College had given it their all and were upset after their Co-ed Cup final and Beard Trophy loss to Aotea College last Wednesday but a default in the top tier is not good. This will also mean that Wellington College won't have played for a month when they line up against Rongotai College this coming Saturday.

Elsewhere, Christchurch Boys’ High School beat Nelson College on Saturday to lift the famous Moascar Cup, which is the ‘Ranfurly Shield’ of First XV rugby. Nelson successfully defended the Moascar Cup 14 times. The record is 22 by new holders CBHS, who are also unbeaten in their past 21 UC Championship games.

The top Hurricanes region school plays the top South Island school in the first match of the National ‘Top 4’ tournament this September. This could be CBHS (last year Southland Boys’ High School). That Hurricanes school could also be St Pat’s Silverstream. It could also be Napier Boys’ High School, who host Palmerston North Boys’ High School this Wednesday in their famous Polson Banner match.

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Is there a sense of inevitability about the Super Rugby Final this coming Saturday? The TAB certainly thinks so, with head-to-head odds of $1.09 for the Crusaders and $7.50 for the Lions.

It’s tough on the Lions coming from the high veldt and sunshine to single figure temperature and rain (the forecast as of Monday). That is the purpose of 'home ground advantage, but perhaps the Super Rugby grand final should be at a pre-determined neutral venue every year like the NFL Superbowl. The finals teams could both have a week off to freshen up and prepare as well.

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Heading into this weekend’s Jubilee Cup final, Northern United have scored 107 tries, while Old Boys University have scored 96. Rain is forecast, but Off the Ball predicts a high-scoring final. Our prediction is 35-30 – but we are not stating who to!

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In beating Hutt Old Boys Marist 41-26 on Saturday, Norths have won eight of the 11 Jubilee Cup semi-finals they have been in.

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This coming Saturday’s Jubilee Cup final is between top qualifier Northern United and second placed qualifier Old Boys University. The Jubilee Cup final has between 1 v 2 in eight of the past 14 seasons since 2005 when this website started, as below:

2005 Norths v Petone (winner)
2006 Poneke v Norths (winner)
2007: Marist St Pat’s v Hutt Old Boys Marist (winner)
2010: Poneke v Northern United (winner)
2012: Oriental-Rongotai v Marist St Pat’s (winner)
2014: Hutt Old Boys Marist (winner) v Wainuiomata
2015: Old Boys University (winner) v Marist St Pat’s)
2016: Marist St Pat’s v Tawa (winner)

Since 2005, the Top qualifier has won six of 13 Jubilee Cup finals:

2008: MSP (shared with Norths)
2011: Ories
2013: Tawa
2014: Hutt Old Boys Marist
2015: Old Boys University
2017: Old Boys University

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The halfback-first five-eighth axis has traditionally been the positions where Jubilee Cups have been won or lost. However, should they both play, we say the juiciest match-up will be at openside flanker between OBU’s Daven Candy and Norths’ Du Plessis Kirifi. Candy had a busy semi-final on Saturday against Ories, while Kirifi has probably been the form player of the Jubilee Cup.

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Ories loosehead prop Xavier Numia left the field injured early in the second half of Ories’ Jubilee Cup defeat to OBU. Here’s hoping it is nothing too serious, akin to Jeff Toomaga-Allen’s injury for MSP in the 2014 semi-final loss to Wainuiomata that required knee surgery and time out of the game. It is understood that New Zealand U20 prop Numia has been on the Wellington Lions’ radar.

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Despite not featuring in the post-season, it is understood that Poneke loose forward Greg Foe has won this year’s Best & Fairest competition. Look out for an update and probably wrap on the Billy Wallace competition via the WRFU as soon as Tuesday.

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Julian Savea scored his 50th Hurricanes ‘ try in the semi-final loss to the Crusaders on Saturday. Good luck to Savea and to captain Brad Shields and head coach Chris Boyd on their futures playing and coaching in Europe.

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Another haul of tries for Ayesha Leti-L’iga on Saturday in the Women’s semi-finals. Ories beat Paremata-Plimmerton 106-0 and Leti’l’iga scored five tries (five also to Bernadette Robertson). In 12 games for Ories this year she has scored 41 tries. She has scored a hat-trick or more on nine occasions. Her all-time Wellington club rugby record is now 91 tries in 43 games.

Video replays remain inconclusive, but we have been told that Luca Rees scored Ories’ first try on Saturday under a pile of forwards bodies. Rees thus ended the season with 23 tries.

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

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A solid 50-10 win for the HOBM Barbarians side over the Stokes Valley Rhinos in the First Grade competition on Saturday. HOBM are unbeaten this season and have won 5 from 5 in the Johnsonville Centennium Cup, having scored exactly 200 points and conceded 34. The First Grade semi-finals are this Saturday. HOBM plays OBU, who edged the second placed Stokes Valley Rhinos 39-38 on Saturday and leapfrogged the Stokes Valley Rhinos in the process, while the Chiefs host Petone in the other semi-final.

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There was a major boilover in the Hawke’s Bay Maddison Cup final with fourth qualifiers Clive continuing their late-season giant-killing by not just beating defending champs Napier Old Boys Marist, but resoundingly by 37-7. It was Clive's first title since back-to-back wins in 1999 and 2000, and completing a big day for the club their women also took their championship by beating Taradale by 48-28.

Manawatu's Hankin Shield was claimed by Feilding Old Boys-Oroua after a pulsating clash against neighbours Feilding Yellows by 24-22 at Arena Manawatu, winning their first title as a merged club. FOBO led 14-10 at the break and held on playing into the wind in the second half, surviving a late Yellows assault on their line to break their duck. Yellows were the top qualifiers and winners of the first-round Jubilee Cup, but their wait for a first championship since 1984 goes on.

No upset in the Wairarapa with top qualifiers Gladstone winning back-to-back titles at Memorial Park, beating Carterton 32-10. And in Horowhenua-Kapiti the Paraparaumu-based Toa - lead by recent Tawa players TJ Fermanis and Randall Bishop - claimed the Ramsbottom Cup after beating Otaki side Rahui 41-32.

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In Timaru, Celtic won a 10th straight South Canterbury club rugby championship. Celtic beat Waimate 25-22 in the Hamersley Cup final. Waimate, who finished second to last in 2017, pushed Celtic all the way in the final after conceding an early try from an intercept.

In winning a 10-peat of titles, Celtic are the most successful club in the modern era. The New Zealand record for most consecutive club titles is, of course, Southland’s Star who captured 16 straight titles starting in 1888.

In Wellington, no club has won three of more consecutive Jubilee Cup titles since Petone captured five in a row between 1967-71. Prior to that, Marist Brothers Old Boys won a three-peat between 1962-64 (two of them shared) and University won three in a row between 1952-54.

Going back further, Poneke won four consecutive titles between 1886-89, as part of seven titles in nine seasons, Petone won four on the trot between 1904-07 and Athletic won five in a row between 1911-15 (1914 shared).

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There are nine clubs represented in Finals Day on Saturday, with OBU and Ories having three teams each, these clubs being:

Old Boys University (3 teams)
Oriental-Rongotai (3)
Northern United (2)
Hutt Old Boys Marist (2)
Petone (2)
Wainuiomata (1)
Poneke (1)
Marist St Pat's (1)
Johnsonville (1)