Off the Ball for 24 July

Above: Oriental-Rongotai prop Whetu Henry and others discussing the conditions on Saturday with referee Mike Pinfold in his team’s final match of the Premier season against Petone on Saturday. Photo by David Brownlie Photos

Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max , Lovelocks Sports Bar  and Harcourts Johnsonville 

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.

Then there were four. Top qualifier Old Boys University will host Tawa (venue TBC at time of publication) and Marist St Pat’s will host Hutt Old Boys Marist in this coming weekend’s two Jubilee Cup semi-finals.

This weekend will also see Women’s Division 1 and 2, Ed Chaney Cup, Colts Division 1 and 2 top four playoff matches.

The Hardham Cup has three weeks to run, with the Upper Hutt Rams leading on 32 points, Johnsonville on 29 and Poneke on 21, being the three teams still in contention to win this year’s Premier 2 title.

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Old Boys University first five-eighth Dale Sabbagh has set a new Billy Goats single season points scoring record. He has scored 226 points so far in 2017, surpassing the 195 points that Glyn Champion posted in 1994.

With his first conversion on Saturday Joyner Key brought up his 200th point for the season for the Upper Hutt Rams. With three rounds to play, Key has scored 212 points, with 8 tries and 172 points off his boot.

For the record, the all-time single season points scoring record is 286, which was set by Hutt Old Boys Marist’s dead-eye-dick Brandyn Laursen in 2013. Ben Aoina is Upper Hutt’s single season point scoring record holder with 240 in 2006.

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Brandyn Laursen got 3 points in the Best & Fairest competition yesterday, but the Billy Wallace competition is down to just two players, but only one can do anything about it. Also with 3 points, Wainuiomata's Ben Tupuola took his total to 23, matched by Tawa's Hemi Fermanis who was awarded 2. However with Tupuola done for the year, its over to Fermanis to see if he can add to his total in this weekend's semi-final against OBU (and potentially in the Jubilee Cup decider the weekend following), or will he share the title like his brother TJ did?  Barring two man-of-the-match performances from a quartet of players involved in the playoffs, Petone's Lester Maulolo will finish third alone on 18.

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Poneke’s Michael Sage is the season’s top try-scorer with 14 tries, one ahead of teammate Nick Robertson, Petone’s Lester Maulolo and MSP’s Mike Buckley, all on 13. Sage and Robertson have three more games to extend their tallies, with Buckley a possible two. Northern United flanker Parekura Lalaga has ended his season as the leading forwards try-scorer with 12, but he could be overtaken by Upper Hutt Rams flanker Mitchell Markov with 12 and a possible three games to play.

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The Paremata-Plimmerton Premiers got on the board on Saturday with their first win of the season. Paremata-Plimmerton comfortably accounted for Avalon 40-5, after drawing 17-17 with them in the Swindale Shield and losing 15-21 to them in their first Hardham Cup meeting.

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A special milestone was achieved over the past weekend with Marist St Pats' Michelle Smyth becoming the first woman to bring up 50 games for the club. Smyth's total - which includes games played when MSP combined with Poneke - dates back to her debut in 2008 following stints in Wanganui and with both Wellington and Oriental-Rongotai, and interrupted by a serious ankle injury that threatened to end her career in 2009, and two seasons playing for the Wanderers club in Edinburgh, Scotland. Even with her own admission that "most of my teammates are half my age", and having played most positions from midfield to the front row, Michelle was presented with her club blazer on Saturday night, and a fitting acknowledgement for the self-described 'rugby nut' for her service to the club both on and off the field, and who's connection with the game also includes refereeing.  

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In women’s games on Saturday, Petone beat Tawa 94-0, with eight different players scoring at least one try each. Ories fullback Timena Tumaai bagged four tries in her sides 62-10 victory over OBU on Saturday. This was her second four-try haul in a match, after also scoring 4 tries against Poneke in 2015.

Petone’s Kiani Tahere-Porter scored 3 tries in the win over Tawa, and she is the leading point scorer in the women’s second round with 56 points* Northern United’s Lyric Faleafaga leads the try-scoring list with 11. Kiani (Kapiti College) and Lyric (St Mary’s College) are both school players so perhaps Michelle isn’t too far off when she says most of her teammates are half her age!
*No try/points scorers received for Wainuiomata for four of their matches.

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Petone men’s hooker Eugene Smith (no relation to Dominion Post regular reporter Doug?) ended his season on Saturday with his 199th cap, so there’s a high chance the former Swindale Shield winning captain will be back in 2018.

The players still playing Wellington Premier rugby in 2017 since our database started in 2005 include: Ian Kennedy, Eugene Smith, Justin Va’a, Ryan Setefano, Fa’atonu Fili, Peniasi Tokakece, Matt Mullany, Kane Thompson, Polonga Pedro, Nick Risdon, Peato Lafaele, Henry Smith, Misipalauni Moananu, Stu Simonsen and Cameron Cross.

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Wellington club rugby President’s Day was recently confirmed for Saturday 19 August, hosted by Johnsonville.

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Tries have been coming in pairs for Marist St Pat’s players this season, when Nick Harrison bagged a brace against OBU on the weekend he became the 12th MSP player to do so this season. In form fullback Andrew Wells has scored two tries on three occasions, including both games played against HOBM this season.

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Some Wellington players doing well in other club rugby competitions around the country on Saturday.

Ories wing Ambrose Curtis scored a clutch try in Old Boys Marist’s 28-27 Manawatu rugby final win over Kia Toa.

Former Northern United flyhalf Ki Anufe kicked 3 conversions, a penalty and a dropped goal for Bombay to beat Karaka 32-24 and win the Counties Manukau McNamara Cup.

Upper Hutt Rams flanker Murphy Taramai helped Northcote beat Takapuna 17-15 in the North Harbour final. Upper Hutt Rams wing Salesi Rayasi is the top try scorer (16 tries) in Auckland club rugby for his Auckland Marist club.

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Brayden Iose captained his Kia Toa side in the Manawatu final on Saturday, scoring a try in his side’s 27-28 defeat to Old Boys Marist. Loose forward Iose is still 18, the same age that Jerry Collins famously captained Northern United almost 20 years ago. Looking forward to watching Iose’s career develop for Manawatu and for the Hurricanes.

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Up in Hawke’s Bay, Napier OId Boys Marist have qualified top for next weekend’s Premier Maddison Trophy semi-finals. Their season record is impressive, winning all 18 round-robin games and scoring 990 points and conceding 173, or by an average score of 55-10.

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Players and supporters at the round 2 Jubilee Cup match at Lyndhurst Park in mid-June would have related to Jordie Barrett’s try for the Hurricanes against the Brumbies on Friday night. Barrett’s try was from a classic falcon, coming courtesy of a TJ Perenara pass that ricocheted off prop Ben May's head and into the in-goal for Jordie to collect and score off. Tawa scored a 50-metre falcon try off a scrum in their 30-26 win over Norths, a pass finding a Tawa noggin and right wing Sharn Robinson linking up with fullback Randall Bishop and halfback Jono Boyd for a match-defining try.

Wes Goosen became just the second Hurricanes player to score two tries in a Super Rugby playoff match – 20 years after fullback Christian Cullen scored two tries in the 1997 semi-final 20-33 defeat to the Brumbies in Canberra. Cullen had also scored two tries the week before against the Brumbies in a 29-35 loss at Athletic Park. Their next match against the Canberra in 1998 saw Cullen score a last-ditch try to give the Hurricanes a 32-29 win and see them become the first New Zealand side to beat the Brumbies in their own corral.

In 2017 Australian teams finished 0-26 against their New Zealand counterparts. In all matches including playing against each other, Australian sides won only 21 games this year and lost 54 (with one draw).

Goosen’s first try meant he had crossed the try line on each of the past four Super Rugby matches he had played in.

Cullen scored a Hurricanes record 56 tries in 85 matches for the franchise. On Friday, halfback TJ Perenara scored his 43rd career try in his __ match. As well as easily being Super Rugby’s leading try-scoring halfback, Perenara is climbing up the Hurricanes list as well. Tana Umaga is second with 48 tries and Ma’a Nonu and Julian Savea third equal with 44 each.

Beaauden Barrett remains on 996 career Super Rugby points. His brother Jordie is now doing the kicking, so it seems he will need to score a try to crack the 1,000 point barrier this season.

The Hurricanes can still host a home final, if they beat the Lions and the Chiefs beat the Crusaders. This would be at Westpac Stadium on Saturday 5 August, which would prove a double-edged sword for local officials as it would undermine club rugby finals day that afternoon.

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There are three First XV college games this Wednesday.

St Pat’s Silverstream and St Pat’s Town meet in their annual traditional fixture at Silverstream (kick-off 1.30pm), Porirua College host Aotea College in a Beard Trophy defence and a Co-ed Cup semi-final (kick-off 3.00pm) and Onslow College and Tawa College meet in Johnsonville in the other Co-ed Cup semi-final (kick-off 3.00pm).

Silverstream and Town have met 85 times since 1931, with Silverstream winning 60 of these. The last time Town won this Traditional was in 2010 in the SPC’s 125th Jubilee Year (19-3) when the "home" game was played at Hataitai Park.

Old Boys from Town and Silverstream will meet in the fourth annual curtain-raiser match to determine which school will hold the B P McMahon Cup for 2017. Silverstream are the current holders, having won the trophy in 2015 and successfully defended it last year.

Contributions to Off the Ball to editor@clubrugby.co.nz