OBU remain unbeaten as Wainuiomata snatch late win over Upper Hutt Rams

Above: Poneke fullback Michael Sage crossing on the stroke of halftime this afternoon at Kilbirnie Park to close the gap to 10-14 against Hutt Old Boys Marist. The Eagles held on and won 17-13. 

Defending first round champions the Old Boys University Goats remain unbeaten in the Swindale Shield, beating Petone and registering their fifth straight win this afternoon, while Wainuiomata snatched a 78th minute victory over the Upper Hutt Rams in two of seven tight matches this afternoon.

OBU held off Petone to win 27-20 at the Petone Rec retain the Marc Verhoeven Memorial Trophy and win the Bill Brien Challenge Cup, while Wainuiomata’s try in the shadows of fulltime gave them a 27-24 win over the Upper Hutt Rams in their Peter Jones/Dave Ritchie Cup fixture.

Playing with the wind, OBU scored consecutive tries to take a 15-3 lead into halftime. The Goats then scored twice more early in the second spell, with flanker Sam Coventry finding the chalk and loosehead prop Finnbarr Kerr-Newell sprinting all of 40 metres to score a popular individual try. Petone came back with two tries but the lead was enough for the visitors.

Over the hill at William Jones Park, the Rams were leading 21-5 at halftime, on the back of tries to flankers Dan Schrijvers and Mitchell Markov (2), but Wainuiomata controlled possession and territory from the get-go in the second half. The green and blacks starved the Rams of ball and cut their earlier errors and came roaring back. The Rams still led 24-22 late with fulltime fast approaching, but couldn’t prevent the winning try to mark prop Justin Va’a’s 150th match for them.

The five other fifth round contests were close on a fine but blustery afternoon for club rugby around the region played on soft grounds after recent heavy rain.

Tawa tipped over previous unbeaten Northern United 24-17 at Lyndhurst Park on their Old Timers’ Day, to win the Sammy Saili Memorial Trophy.

Tawa opened the scoring with a try to Ben Lam after combining with centre Pepesana Patafilo. Norths came back to score through Japanese fullback Takehiro Nakezawa. Tawa lost a man to the bin, but in this time they crossed for their third try to halfback Kemara Hauiti-Parapara and they led 21-5 at the break.

Against the wind, Norths controlled possession and territory for most of the second half and scored two tries, but a James So’oialo penalty was enough to see Tawa hang tough for victory. For Norths, who were left to rue a wobbly lineout and some mistakes at key times, No.8 Mike Ioapo impressed with his ball carrying and halfback Tom Finai played well, while for Tawa forwards Hemi Fermanis and Matt Treeby were workhorses all match.

Oriental-Rongotai beat the Wellington Axemen 24-3 in a mudfest at Hataitai Park to slip into second on the table, just ahead of a three-way tie for third between Norths, Wainuiomata and Marist St Pat’s.

Ories had first use of the strong wind and established a 5-3 lead midway through the first half with left wing Malo Tuitama scoring first. Scrum pressure led to them doubling their lead to 10-3 with a try to right wing Malachai Unasa, before flanker Serge Hollis crossed to make it 17-3 to the Magpies. Tuitama thought he had a double but was called back for a forward pass, however fullback Andy Ellis sealed victory with their fourth and bonus point try.

MSP pulled clear to beat Johnsonville 26-14 in their match at Evans Bay Park, celebrating halfback Peter Sciascia’s 200th game in the Premier ranks. This was a closely fought match early on, with Johnsonville leading 8-7 at one stage, before MSP a yellow card to Johnsonville No. 8 Kane Thompson saw the scarlets cross from a resulting scrum to put them ahead 14-8 at the break.Prop Vince Sakaria crossed for the first scoring of the second half to extend the lead to 21-8, before both sides scored late tries to keep the scoreboard operators busy.

Across the road at Kilbirnie Park, Hutt Old Boys Marist held off home side Poneke on the latter’s Old Timers’ Day to win 17-13 and reclaim the Roy John Trophy.

In an old fashioned Kilbirnie Park arm-wrestle, both sides scores did their try scoring in the first half. HOBM had the use of the stroppy wind in the first half, but they were put on their heels throughout most of the first 40 with Poneke playing positive rugby and starving them of possession for long periods.

Early pressure finally saw Poneke cross first, to centre Levi Harmon, but in their only foray in to the opposition 22 thus far, HOBM struck back with a try to industrious prop Joe 'Apikotoa to make it 7-5. First five-eighth Glen Walters scored following strong work by the forwards to put the Eagles in front 14-5, before Poneke fullback Michael Sage crossed on halftime to cut the lead to 14-10. The second half remained tight throughout, HOBM denying the streetkids the opportunity to come back with the wind. A long period of attack resulted in a 70th minute penalty to Poneke, but following a scuffle and double sinbinning, HOBM pulled the three points back with a penalty.

A physical match was played out at Ngatitoa Domain between Avalon and Paremata-Plimmerton, with the two sides sharing the spoils after a 17-all draw.

The wind played a big factor in determining the result with the northerly gusts benefiting the home side in the opening half, helping them to a 12-8 half-time lead. 

Halfback Kalib Martin opened the scoring for Pare-Plim, capitalising on Avalon's weak ruck defence to dart over from close range.

Avalon responded through wing Peter Ekevati to take a 8-5 lead but just minutes later the hosts' first five-eighth Jonathan Sabo picked off an Avalon pass to jog in for a try to put Pare-Plim back in front.

The second half began to get scrappy, though, with the wind now at their backs, Avalon played much of the second forty in Pare-Plim's half and managed to keep the score ticking thanks to the boot of fullback Cameron Cross.

An outstanding 50-metre try to wing Sam Filipo put Pare-Plim up with 10 minutes remaining, though a late penalty goal to Cross - his fourth of the day - saw the match finish all square.

Other Grades

Harper Lock Shield Premier Reserve

Hutt Old Boys Marist remains on top of the Harper Lock Shield Premier Reserve points table after five weeks, despite being held to a 18-18 draw by Poneke today in the early game on Kilbirnie Park.

This was the first of two Premier Reserve draws, the Paremata-Plimmerton and Avalon fixture finishing on 17-17 – the same score as the Swindale Shield game that followed.

Tawa edged Northern United 24-18 in the other close second XV match of the day, while OBU blanked Petone 25-0 and the Rams had a 38-7 victory over Wainuiomata. In two high scoring affairs, MSP accounted for Johnsonville 74-26 and Ories ran through Wellington 72-12 in a match that was transferred to the Te Whaea artificial.

Women's

In Fleurs Trophy Division One women’s matches played today, Northern United got their second straight bonus point win, beating defending champions Wainuiomata 62-5, while the Old Boys University Impalas defeated Hutt Old Boys Marist 36-10. For OBU, replacement back Siteri Tabua and Te Aniwa Hurihanganui each scored two tries.

Petone, Paremata-Plimmerton, Marist St Pat’s and Poneke have all wins in the first two weeks of the Division Two competition. Petone beat Tawa 82-0 to put themselves on the board, while MSP beat Poneke 26-15 in their opening fixture today.

Colts Division One Knockout Final

The OBU Green side won today’s inaugural Colts Division One knockout title, beating the Upper Hutt Rams Colts 25-14 at Prince of Wales Park.

OBU came back from 3-14 behind to win the final, scoring three tries and kicking a penalty in the second half.

The Junior Rams’ pack, led by their barnstorming No. 8 and their lock, took the game to OBU, the heavy underfoot conditions suiting their abrasive style of play better than that of the more structured Goats who also made a lot of mistakes. With first use of the wind, the Rams led 6-3 late in the first half, before finally scoring what was to be their only try of the final with the last play before the turnaround after an attacking scrum inside the 22. This put them up 11-3 at halftime.

The Rams continued to pile on the pressure in to the second half, a big run by their aforementioned lock almost resulting in a second try and instead settling for a penalty in front to extend their lead to 14-3. They could easily have gone up further after another raid and only desperate defence holding them out.

This proved to be a turning point, OBU, searching for a spark, finally got one when they broke out from near halfway and their lock crashed over to score a try that was converted from out wide. They went back to back and hit the lead with their centre finishing off a terrific 50 metre try after a kick through by the flyhalf that was reeled in by the right wing and passed inside to the try-scorer. A further penalty pushed their lead out to 20-14 with about 10 minutes remaining and they scored again late to seal the game.

Meanwhile, Ories beat Norths 22-0 in the Colts bottom four final and Petone beat Kapiti by default in the Division Two final and with OBU Black and Johnsonville drawing 12-12 in the Division Two bottom four final.

The Colts grade proper starts next week, with the WRFU expected to release the draw early in the week.

Other results were as follows:

First Grade Knockout (Division One) – Week 2
Northern United A 34 - Poneke 10, Petone 41 - Old Boys University 7, Hutt Old Boys Marist 55 - Marist St Pat’s 29, Northern United B - 38 Stokes Valley A 24, Top Four Finals Next Weekend: Northern United A v Petone and Poneke v Old Boys University. Bottom Four Finals Next Weekend: Hutt Old Boys Marist v Northern United B and Marist St Pats v Stokes Valley A.

First Grade Knockout (Division Two) – Week 2
Johnsonville Cripples 27 - Tawa 12, Stokes Valley B 8 - Avalon Wolves 5, Poneke Ruffnuts WBD Marist St Pat’s Internationals, Upper Hutt Rams Pirates 28 - Wainuiomata 19. Top Four Finals Next Weekend: Johnsonville Cripples v Stokes Valley B and Tawa v Avalon Wolves. Bottom Four Section Next Weekend: Poneke Ruffnuts v Upper Hutt Rams & Wainuiomata v MSP.

Under 85kg Knockout (Division One) – Week 2
Eastbourne 16 - Tawa 15, Avalon Wolves WBD – Wellington, Johnsonville WBD - Western Suburbs Old Boys University Bunnies - WBD Marist St Pat’s Red. Top Four Finals Next Weekend: Eastbourne v Three teams which will be confirmed Monday. Bottom Four Finals Next Weekend: TBC Monday

Under 85kg Knockout (Division Two) – Week 2
Kapiti 17 -Stokes Valley 8, Hutt Old Boys Marist 39 - Wainuiomata 0, Upper Hutt Rams - Petone Poneke WBD - Marist St Pat’s Green Top Four Finals Next Weekend: Kapiti v Hutt Old Boys Marist and Stokes Valley v Wainuiomata; Venues TBC Monday Bottom Four Finals Next Weekend: Will be announced Monday as no Upper Hutt Rams v Petone score received.