Suburbs loom large on day two; MSP claim women’s title at National Club 7s

Day two National Club Sevens Bowl and Cup quarterfinal matches (Sunday 7 February):

Bowl Quarterfinals

• Poneke v Hamilton Marist, 9.17am
• Mount Maunganuui v Old Boys University, 9.34am
• Wainuiomata Bye
• Tauranga Sports Bye

Cup Quarterfinals

• Melville v Marist St Pat’s, 10.08am
• Rangataua v Karaka, 10.25am
• Upper Hutt Rams v Nelson Wanderers, 10.42am
• Suburbs v Awanui, 10.59am

Auckland champions Suburbs staked their claim as the team to beat on day two tomorrow after impressing with their pace and organisation in their three wins on the opening day of the tournament today at William Jones Park-Wainuiomata.

Led by Auckland sevens captain Rocky Khan and vice-captain Gareth Williams-Spiers, and with another three Auckland representative players in their squad, Suburbs had wins over Wellington fifteens champions Old Boys University 31-7, Tauranga Sports 31-17 and Nelson Wanderers 29-19.

Nelson Wanderers were also impressive on a high quality day of sevens rugby and they shape as a likely contender on day two should they defeat Wellington champions the Upper Hutt Rams in the third of the Cup quarterfinals on Sunday morning.

Suburbs, the Upper Hutt Rams, Counties Manukau champions Karaka and Waikato champions Melville topped the four pools.

Wellington’s Marist St Pat’s won the inaugural women’s competition, with wins over Wainuiomata, Tauranga Sports and then Wainuiomata again in the women’s final at the end of the opening day.

Defending champions and hosts Wainuiomata were knocked out of the men's competiiton Cup rounds on the opening day after a gallant 14-10 opening win over Melville but then disappointing losses to 2014 champions Rangataua (15-12) and then Wellington’s Poneke (24-19).

On a warm, breezy day, other teams that failed to fire shots included Wellington’s Old Boys University and Waikato’s Hamilton Marist. Although the Hamilton Marist Ravens were understrength with several frontline players missing.

Local women’s teams, Marist St Pat’s and Wainuiomaa met in the first match of the morning. MSP took out the match 21-12 and they would go on to beat Bay of Plenty visitors Mount Maunganui 40-0 in their second fixture.

A fired up home team and defending champions Wainuiomata defeated Waikato sevens champions Melville 14-10 in the opening men’s match. Scores were 0-0 at halftime but Wainuiomata scored two converted tries. Melville, who arrived at the tournament late on Friday night and slept on the hosts’ clubrooms, came back with two unconverted tries.

2014 champions Rangataua opened their tournament with a 17-12 victory over Wellington’s Poneke.

Northland’s Awanui overcame Mount Maunganui 19-17, scoring a last-gasp match-winner under the bar to win.

The battle of the Marist clubs saw last week’s New Zealand Marist champions Marist St Pat’s defeat the Hamilton Marist Ravens 14-7.

Auckland’s Suburbs looked slick in beating Wellington 2015 fifteens champions Old Boys University 31-7, after leading 14-0 at halftime.

Tasman contenders the Nelson Wanderers were particularly sharp on defence in holding out the third Bay of Plenty side, Tauranga Sport 24-10.

Rangataua used their get-out-of-jail-free card in beating hosts Wainuiomata 15-12. Wainuiomata were focused early and led 12-5 at halftime. Rangataua came back with a second try to close the gap to 12-10. Wainuiomata then bombed two separate try-scoring opportunities, knocking on over the line and then penalised for a double movement. The BoP team then ran the length of the field to win the contest.

Melville bounced back from their early loss to Wainuiomata with a 35-12 win over Poneke, ahead of Wellington sevens champions the Upper Hutt Rams stepping out for the first time and beating Mount Maunganui 14-7.

Melville later made it two from two in the afternoon session with a 22-0 win over Rangataua, keeping the Bay of Plenty side scoreless as part of a committed effort.

Counties Manukau champions Karaka had to wait until early afternoon for their first match, and they put in a well-deserved 24-5 win over Hamilton Marist, knocking the Ravens out of Cup contention.

Suburbs over-ran Tauranga Sports, Williams-Spiers enjoying the tryline.

Poneke starved home side Wainuiomata of ball held on for a 24-19 win over them to ensure a new name will be engraved on the trophy tomorrow.

Likewise, Melville held on to possession for long periods and denied Rangataua opportunities in their 22-0 win over them.

The Upper Hutt Rams stepped it up a gear in beating Awanui 34-12 in their second and final match of the day, as did Karaka in their 17-12 win over MSP. Tauranga Sports were more urgent in defeating OBU 21-19, while Suburbs pulled clear in the second half to beat Nelson Wanderers in the final men’s match of the day.

The women’s final was one-sided, MSP scoring virtually from the opening kick-off and holding a 19-5 lead at halftime. MSP then pulled away to win well in the second spell.

Day One Results

Men’s
Wainuiomata 14 – Melville 10
Rangataua 17 – Poneke 12
Awanui 19 – Mount Maunganui 17
Marist St Pat’s 14 – Hamilton Marist 7
Suburbs 31 –Old Boys University 7
Nelson Wanderers 24 – Tauranga Sports 10
Rangataua 15 – Wainuiomata 12
Melville 35 – Poneke 12
Upper Hutt Rams 14 – Mount Maunganui 7
Karaka 24 – Hamilton Marist
Nelson Wanderers 28 – Old Boys University 12
Suburbs 31 – Tauranga Sports 17
Poneke 24 – Wainuiomata 19
Melville 22 – Rangataua 0
Upper Hutt Rams 34 – Awanui 12
Karaka 17 – Marist St Pat’s 12
Tauranga Sports 21 – Old Boys University 10
Suburbs 29 – Nelson Wanderers 19

Men’s Pool winners:

Pool A: Melville
Pool B: Upper Hutt Rams
Pool C: Karaka
Pool D: Suburbs

Women’s
Marist St Pat’s 21 – Wainuiomata 12
Marist St Pat’s 40 – Tauranga Sports 0
Wainuiomata 12 – Tauranga Sports 10
Marist St Pat’s 31 – Wainuiomata 12 (final)