Jville Upper Hutt and OBU collect last club rugby titles of the year

Club Rugby 4 September

The 2010 Wellington club rugby season wrapped up on Saturday with the last of the finals being the Senior 3 Johnsonville Centennium Cup and the Reserve Grade Division 1 and 2 finals.

The Senior 3 Johnsonville Centennium Cup was won by the Johnsonville club, who beat Marist St. Pat's 23-21 in the final at Evans Bay Park.

Upper Hutt J8s beat the MSP internationals 18-5 to take out the Reserve Grade Division 1 final and in an all-student affair the OBU Yardies beat the OBU Therapists 18-5.

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WRFU Representative Teams round-up 4 September

There were competition wins on Saturday for the Wellington Development and Wellington Maori teams on Saturday, while the Wellington U20 A, U20 Development and U18 sides all won their pre-season games.

There were three games played at Porirua Park, while a third, between the Wellington Pride and the Canterbury Women, was cancelled due to tremors of the earth.

On the number two field, the Wellington U20 Development team beat Horowhenua Kapiti U20 81-10 and the Wellington U20s overcame the Wellington Samoans 44-31.

On the main ground, the Wellington Development XV played well for their 32-10 win over their Taranaki counterparts in their first match in defence of the Hurricanes region Development title, also involving the Hawke's Bay and Manawatu second fifteens.

Elsewhere, the Wellington U18s overcame a HOBM Academy side 41-7, while the Wellington Maori made it two bonus point wins from two with a 35-29 win over Wairarapa-Bush B in their second round RDO Cup fixture in Masterton. ?

In the main game at a sunny Porirua Park, the Wellington Development side scored five well-taken tries and also played extremely well defensively for long periods against Taranaki. Wellington restricted Taranaki to just one try and kept them scoreless throughout the second half.

Highlights for Wellington were a committed effort from the tight five, particularly through an increasingly dominant scrum, strong games in the loose by flankers Masefau Leuluniu and Galu Taufale and No. 8 Misipalauni Moananu (first half) and two great first half tries to home town hero James So'oialo.

Right wing So'oialo flashed in for two tries and converted the second himself to give Wellington a 12-0 lead inside the opening quarter, after skipper Taufale had won the toss and elected to play into the northerly breeze in the first half.

So'oialo finished off an early period of good continuity inside Taranaki's territory to score his first try, following an initial intercept and bust up the middle by livewire hooker Aiden Cains.

A break up the grandstand touchline 10 minutes later by Leuluniu and swift recycling at the breakdown had Taranaki stretched. Wellington took a quick tap from a penalty in front of the posts and swung the ball across to the unmarked So'oialo who collected his brace.

Taranaki, featuring several former and current ITM Cup players, fought back and first five-eighth Cody Rei put them on the board in the 29^th minute with his third penalty attempt. Lock Leon Power then galloped clear from close range to score a try for Taranaki. Rei's conversion closed Wellington's lead to 12-10 with halftime approaching.

However Wellington hit back right on halftime with a decisive try to evergreen No. 8 Moananu off a lineout drive, after a strong run up into Taranaki's turf by fullback Tau Mamea and an ensuing penalty inside the 22. Opting for the lineout, lock Shahn Eru won the ball and the forwards drove on hooker Cains and then Moananu in the corner. So'oialo couldn't quite swing the conversion around but Wellington went to the sheds holding a 17-10 halftime lead.

With the breeze at their backs in the second spell, first five-eighth David Palu played for territory and Wellington probed for more points through a long-range So'oialo penalty attempt and Palu dropped goal attempt. So'oialo made it third time lucky with a penalty in front to extend the lead to 20-10.

Then in the 52^nd minute Leuluniu ran on to a lovely short pass by halfback Jared Kahu and pushed through to score Wellington's fourth and bonus point try, extending the advantage to 27-10.

The visiting team spent the next 25 minutes searching for opportunities as Wellington dug deep on defence and held them out. Wellington's scrum then provided for their last try and the clincher, forcing a turnover near halfway and a try to replacement hooker Caleb Mawson. Centre Brett Pigott lined up the final kick of the match but couldn't convert and the final score remained at 32-10.

Left wing Leka Tupuola provided more excitement right at the end with a sizzling run up the touchline, before being tipped into touch on fulltime.

Wellington's next two games in the Hurricanes region Development competition are at home at Porirua Park, starting with Hawke's Bay this coming Saturday afternoon and Manawatu the following week.

At Memorial Park in Masterton, the Wellington Maori came from behind to grab a bonus point 35-29 win over Wairarapa-Bush B in their RDO Cup fixture, also involving the B sides from the Wanganui, Poverty Bay, King Country and Horowhenua-Kapiti Heartland Championship provinces.

Playing into a freshening wind in the first half, the Maori conceded an 8-19 deficit at the halftime turnaround and were guilty of trying to play too much rugby and conceding penalties at the wrong end of the park.

After the break, they played with more patience and added another three tries to the one they scored earlier and hit the lead inside the last 10 minutes.

In a tense finish, the Maori defended their line gallantly as the Wairarapa-Bush side pressed hard for a converted try to win the match. The match ended with the home team's winger being tackled into touch searching for the winning try.

The win over Wairarapa-Bush B follows on from their good first up 25-19 bonus point victory against Wanganui B last week. Wanganui are the Heartland Champions from last year and a number of the players they faced played in the pre-season Ranfurly Shield challenge against Southland. ?

Jason Love, Apanui Heemi, Dane Robertson and Max Pearson all scored tries against Wanganui and Perry Hayman kicked a conversion and Daley Harper a penalty. In difficult conditions following heavy rain, the forwards played well their set piece and driving play and several further opportunities were also missed.

The Maori have intermingled a number of younger players from the Colts grade and College 1st XVs into the squad so there is very much a developmental aspect to the side this year.

The RDO Cup takes the form of a five-week round-robin series to decide the winner, with the Maori playing away matches against Poverty Bay, King Country and Horowhenua-Kapiti over the next three weeks.

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WRFU representative team results 4 September

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At Porirua Park:

Wellington Development XV 32 (James So'oialo 2, Misipalauni Moananu, Masefau Leuluniu, Caleb Mawson tries; So'oialo pen, 2 con) beat Taranaki Development XV 10 (Leon Power try; Cody Rei pen, con). HT: 17-10.

Wellington U20 Development 81 beat Horowhenua Kapiti U20 10?

Wellington U20A 44 beat Wellington Samoans 31

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Also:

Wellington U18 41 beat HOBM Academy 7

At Masterton: Wellington Maori 35 (Eammon Tawhirangi, Joe Hopkins, Rawhiti Smallman, Perry Hayman tries; Hayman 3 pen, 3 con) beat Wairarapa-Bush B. HT: 8-19.

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