WAINUIOMATA AND TAWA ON TOP AS ORIES PRESENTED WITH THE REBECCA LIUA'ANA TROPHY

The Oriental-Rongotai Women's team with the Rebecca Liua'ana Trophy after their win over Marist St Pats

Wainuiomata and Tawa are the two unbeaten teams through two rounds of the 2019 Jubilee Cup Championship round-robin, after both had tight results in the two Hutt Valley games on Saturday.

At William Jones Park, Wainuiomata scored a late converted try to pip Northern United 24-22, while at the Hutt Recreation ground, Tawa held off a fast-finishing Hutt Old Boys Marist to win 24-21.

In the third match of the second round, Poneke beat Petone 24-13 at Kilbirnie Park.

In the Premier 2 Hardham Cup, Old Boys University topped Paremata-Plimmerton 63-7 at Ngatitoa Domain, the Avalon Wolves defeated the Johnsonville Hawks 53-27 and the Wellington Axemen beat the Upper Hutt Rams 45-18.

Oriental-Rongotai won their eighth straight Women’s Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy match to win the first round title, beating Marist St Pats 50-17.

Ories will be joined by Norths, Petone, Old Boys University and possibly one other (to be confirmed) in the second round Division 1 competition starting next Saturday.

In other Women’s matches, Norths beat Petone 46-0, OBU beat Wainuiomata/Avalon 67-0 and Paremata-Plimmerton defeated Poneke 91-0 to seal either the fifth Division 1 spot or top Division 2 spot depending on what the make-up of the second round will be.

The Avalon Wolves U85kg side also won their first round title on Saturday, shooting to an unassailable lead at the top of the first round competition with a round to spare with their hard-fought 13-10 win over the Paraparaumu side.

The Wolves will collect the JC bowl next week when they meet the second placed Upper Hutt Rams, who beat the Wests Roosters 36-24 on their Old Timers’ Day.

The second round of Championship matches were played on a cold, blustery afternoon around the region.

At the Hutt Rec, home side and first round champions HOBM started strongly, but were met by a wall of Tawa defence that was to prove tough to crack all day.

Tawa withstood the pressure and broke out to score two first tries, to prop Sitiveni Paongo and wing Romu Senileba to go to a 14-0 lead at halftime. Turning with the wind, Tawa added a third try, to Senileba.

The Eagles hit back with two quickfire converted tries to cut Tawa’s lead to 21-14, before replacement Tawa first five-eighth Sam Clarke kicked a penalty to restore a buffer. However, HOBM scored with the last play to come away with a losing bonus point.

At William Jones Park, Wainuiomata scored the winning try to replacement wing Saita Tuaoi with just over 5 minutes to run after a rush up the left hand lane and fullback Josh Robertson-Weepu converted to give them their 24-22 win over Norths.

Wainuiomata came back from an early deficit after Norths had made a fast start with hooker Ethan Robinson-Mate scoring in the opening minute of play and then No. 8 Luca Rees crossing to make it 12-0.

Wainuiomata first five-eighth John Monu scored a solid individual try in reply to make it 12-7, before his opposite Jackson Garden-Bachop kicked a penalty to make it 15-7. Wainuiomata would go ahead 17-15 through the boot of Roberton-Weepu and a try to halfback TJ Va’a who stripped the ball free in the tackle and scuttled clear. Norths re-took the lead through a try and conversion to Garden-Bachop but lost a player to a red card which aided in the home side’s win at the end.

At Kilbirnie Park, Poneke beat Petone 24-13 in a dogfight. Playing with the wind, Poneke opened the scoring with a Pakai Turia penalty, followed soon after by No. 8 Tupou Sopoaga getting across the line after kicking ahead for himself. Turia strolled over from a scrum move before penalties led to a 16-8 halftime lead.

A break for a change of referee early in the second spell seemed to galvanise the home team and a period of pressure saw prop Soti Faamausili cross the chalk. Petone responded through centre Josh Onekawa but the loss of Adam Simpson to the bin proved too much to overcome, with Turia adding a fourth penalty on fulltime.

In the Premier 2 Hardham Cup, OBU were too fast in the backs for Paremata-Plimmerton in beating them 63-7. Playing into a stiff wind in the first half, OBU scored four first half tries and took a 24-0 lead into the break. Paremata-Plimmerton’s forwards had their moments and went close to scoring just prior to halftime but were held out by determined defence.

OBU spun the ball wide from the opening kick-off of the second spell and speedy right wing Trevahn Ta’ufo’ou flew over for the match-winner in the far corner. Second five-eighth Dale Sabbagh slotted the sideline conversion and at 31-0 the game was in the bag.

The home side briefly threatened, again through the forwards, and tighthead prop Junior Davey scored. From there, OBU ran in several more tries. Ta’ufo’ou scored a hat-trick and fullback Sam Reid and replacement wing Jack Green scored a double.

At Hataitai Park, the Wellington Axemen were comfortable winners over the Upper Hutt Rams.

The Rams opened the scoring through hooker Josh Houston-Tupou, but the Axemen struck back with a trio of tries to flanker Max Allen, midfielder Eremia Tapsell and No. 8 James Poloniati. The Axemen would go on to lead 24-18, after they scored their bonus point try to Teo Fudakowski and the Rams crossed again.

The Axemen pulled ahead 38-18 midway through the second half, and then scored once more to seal their win.

At Fraser Park, the Avalon Wolves were also impressive against the Johnsonville Hawks. The Wolves were coming off their bye and raced to a 29-10 halftime lead. Centre Jordan Aquila, loose forward option Scott Waldrom and blockbusting midfielder Ale Peni scored their first three tries as they went ahead 19-5. Jordan Aquila scored his second try just before the break.

Fullback Site Timu and Waldrom scored again to seal the match. Johnsonville came back, including left wing Connor Franklin scoring a double, but replacement Avalon halfback Jordan King scored and converted his own try to clinch victory.

Marist St Pats earned their second straight bonus point win in the Division 1 Colts John E Kelly Cup competition, beating Oriental-Rongotai 30-0.

First round winners Old Boys University Green bounced back from their loss to Ories last week by beating Paremata-Plimmerton 20-0. OBU had first use of the wind but took a long time to settle. An early penalty was eventually followed by a forwards try from a lineout drive and they went up 10-0.

Paremata-Plimmerton tried to avoid too many set-piece exhanges and attacked with vigour early in the second half. OBU withstood this, and scored their second try through a lineout drive to go up 15-0. They then crossed for their third and match-winner out-wide with about 15 minutes to play.

Tawa beat Petone 36-19 and Norths beat HOBM 34-25 in the other two Division 1 Colts games. In Colts Division 2, OBU Black and the Avalon WolfCubs are the two unbeaten teams, OBU beating Wainuiomata 43-8 and Avalon defeating Johnsonville 42-14.

The early Premier Reserve game at Kilbirnie Park was as tight as the main game that followed it. Petone’s 15-0 halftime lead had been pegged back to 15-14 when former All Black Piri Weepu entered with 15 minutes to play. Wearing #1 but at first-five his influence was immediate and dramatic as the visitors scored three times to pull away to win 34-14.

The other two Premier Reserve Ed Chaney Cup matches saw Tawa beat HOBM 44-26 and Norths ease past Wainuiomata 86-7.

In Premier Reserve Division 2 HD Morgan Memorial encounters,  the Upper Hutt Rams edged Wellington 19-17, while OBU beat Paremata-Plimmerton 38-18 and Johnsonville toppled Avalon 51-28.

-WRFU

CLOSE GAMES AND COMEBACK WINS MARK SECOND ROUND

PHOTO: David Brownlie

A series of close games and come-from-behind wins has marked the second round of both the Premier Swindale Shield and Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield competitions, played on another glorious day around the region on Saturday.

With the exception of a couple of blowout results, the rugby was generally hotly contested, as teams again battled the prevailing warm weather and hard grounds as well as their oppositions.

Northern United and Oriental-Rongotai sit atop the Swindale Shield with two bonus point wins, while Poneke and Hutt Old Boys Marist are the other two unbeaten teams.

The Northern United – Old Boys University Premier Reserve match ended in a 19-19 draw after OBU chased down a kick and ran in a late try, and it seemed the Premier contest that followed was heading the same way at 25-25 with two minutes to play.

But, livewire Norths first five-eighth Esi Komaisavai intercepted a pass in general play and sprinted 60 metres to score the match-winning try and see his side retain the Ken Douglas Trophy with a 30-25 victory.

In a tight seesaw match, OBU had taken a 15-10 lead into halftime, weathering waves of Norths possession and territory at the other end, to counterattack and score two forwards tries from their only two clear chances of the half.

Norths broke open the game immediately after halftime, with a turnover from a lineout on halfway and a runaway try, but OBU hit back once more when second five-eighth Izzy Foai joined his forwards at close-quarters and dived over to keep the game on tenterhooks.

At Fraser Park, Oriental-Rongotai’s top team won relatively comfortably against Avalon but not without the home team threatening a comeback with a burst of try-scoring themselves midway through the second half.

Ories had too much firepower out wide in the first half, as wing Tuga Mativa’s hat-trick helped them to a 29-7 halftime lead. This soon became 41-7 with two more tries. but Avalon struck back to close the deficit to 41-24 after 55 minutes and it was game on. However, the scoring dried up completely and that became the fulltime score.

The Harper Lock Shield match at Fraser Park saw Avalon leading Ories 19-7 at halftime and still ahead 33-21 after 65 minutes, but a late burst by Ories gave them a 42-33 win.

At Lyndhurst Park, Hutt Old Boys Marist edged Tawa 25-24, pipping the home side after scores were deadlocked 10-10 at halftime when Tawa centre Pepesana Patafilo burst through to score under the bar.

Tawa lost a player to the sin-bin after the break, leading directly to a HOBM try and a 17-10 lead for the Eagles. Tawa hit back with a try to hooker Tony Coburn to lock it up at 17-17, then took the lead when left wing Faraimo Nofoaiga scored and flyback Sam Clarke converted. Trailing 17-24, the Eagles came back to win at the end with a try and a penalty.

For HOBM, Centre Jordan Bradbrook, first five-eighth Anthony Utanga and prop Rei Manaia scored their three tries and halfback Sheridan Rangihuna found his range off the kicking tee.

Tawa won the Harper Lock Shield curtain-raiser 70-14.

The Upper Hutt Rams supporters can thank a strong second half at home at Maoribank Park from their Premiers, as that propelled them to their 46-26 win over the Wellington Axemen. After a tightly contested first half and a tense third quarter, the Rams came through late to take their 20-point victory.

Openside flanker Dan Schrijvers scored a hat-trick, his brother Hayden scored one try and fullback Tyler Tane scored two in the seven tries to four win for the Rams.

The Rams won the Premier Reserve early game 73-5.

At Ngatitoa Domain, home side Paremata-Plimmerton pushed Poneke hard throughout the main match, before going down 17-37.

As they always do playing at home, Paremata-Plimmerton brought a lot of early energy to the encounter and they applied all the early pressure and opened the scoring. It was 10-10 late in the first half, before Poneke took the lead for the first time to take a 15-10 lead into the break.

Poneke’s Moananu coaching duo of Misipalauni and Toto made strategic personnel changes at half time, up front and in the midfield and this soon paid off as they pulled clear in the final quarter. Fullback Michael Sage finished with two tries.

Poneke won the earlier Harper Lock Shield game against Paremata-Plimmerton 57-8.

At William Jones Park, home team Wainuiomata overcame Petone 18-13 to win the Darren Larsen Cup that is played between these two sides.

There was little room given defensively by both teams, as Wainuiomata led the Villagers 13-10 at halftime and battled hard in a sloppy second half to win. Petone, missing several key players for this match, were left to rue moments of inaccurate play and handline errors. Wainuiomata physicality in the breakdown proved telling, but poor discipline also let them down and they were reduced to 13 players at one point. Lock Teru Teru and left wing Saita Tuaoi scored their only two tries.

Roles were reversed in the early match at William Jones Park, with Petone winning 41-17.

Marist St Pat’s were the day’s biggest winners, over-running the Johnsonville Hawks 71-5 at home at Evans Bay. MSP won 10 tries to one, with eight individuals crossing the whitewash and wings Ricky Manulaiatea and Iosefo Aukusitino bagging braces. Centre Willie Shultz slotted nine conversions and a penalty for 21 points.

For Johnsonville, their only try was scored by replacement lock Taewa Rima.

MSP’s Premier Reserves and defending Harper Lock Shield champions overcame the Hawks second XV 101-5.

MSP, Tawa and Ories are three teams unbeaten on 10 competition points after the first two rounds of the Harper Lock Shield. 

-WRFU

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS OPEN WITH WINS

Round two of the Swindale Shield sees a mouth-watering clash at Porirua Park between defending first round Swindale champions (Northern United) and last year’s Jubilee Cup winners (Old Boys University).

Both Norths and OBU were two of six teams to start their 2019 seasons with bonus point wins in an opening round, played in hot sunshine throughout the region.

Norths were the day’s biggest victors on the scoreboard, beating the Johnsonville Hawks 76-17 at home to retain the Barlow Trophy. Norths scored 12 tries and first five-eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop kicked eight conversions.

New Norths recruits, No. 8 Luca Rees (4 tries), openside flanker Bruce Kauika-Petersen and centre Losi Filipo were amongst the scorers, while second five-eighth Kienan Higgins crossed for a brace.

The OBU Billygoat’s forwards paved the way for their 30-6 win over the Upper Hutt Rams at Maoribank Park.

OBU held a 10-6 lead after 20 minutes and were ahead 23-6 by halftime with their four-try bonus point locked away.

The second half remained scoreless until a few minutes before the end when OBU were awarded a penalty try, which sealed the outcome.

Other first-up bonus point winners were Oriental-Rongotai, Petone, Hutt Old Boys Marist and Avalon.

At Ngati Toa Domain, Ories turned a 10-0 halftime lead into a 57-0 win over Paremata-Plimmerton. Ories’ superior physicality and size took its toll on Paremata-Plimmerton as the contest developed.

Both Petone and Poneke had wins over other sides expected to challenge for the Jubilee Cup later in the season.

At Lyndhurst Park, Petone beat home side Tawa 41-22 – scoring four tries directly off Tawa’s dropped passes and intercepts. Two of these to right wing Willie Fine were runaway tries virtually from their own goal line totally against the run of play and both proved decisive.

The first of Fine’s tries came early in the second half with a player in the sin-bin and Tawa building momentum after getting back into the game just before halftime, with a penalty try after a break by centre Pepesana Patafilo and deliberate knockdown. Instead of being 10-22 behind and probably about to close the gap further, Fine scooted away to put Petone ahead 27-10.

Later, at 22-34 down and with a completely dominant scrum, Fine intercepted again and raced the length of the field to score the winner.

Petone first five-eighth Piri Paraone scored two of their other five tries, left wing Mark Telea the other. As well as their penalty try, Tawa crossed through prop Ben Aumua-Peseta and debutant right wing Caleb Cavubati.

For Petone, openside flanker Mateaki Kafatolu was a standout and lock Eduan Struwig toiled hard all match. Petone only made substitutions all match in their forwards, while Tawa made several and will need to shore up their errors fast, in particularly a misfiring lineout and a mistiming backline, apart from Patafilo who was a standout.

At Evans Bay Park, Poneke beat Marist St Pat’s in the ‘Battle of Kilbirnie’ and for the Horan-Millar Trophy 25-21, after taking an emphatic 18-0 lead into halftime.

Poneke first five-eighth Pakai Turia kicked two penalties and converted his own try to put Poneke ahead 13-0, before hooker Andrew Jones crossed the chalk to give Poneke a notable lead. It got better for Poneke early in the second half, when MSP flanker James Tuia was sin-binned and Poneke wing Royce Tonumaipea scored soon after to put them up 25-0.

MSP hit back with three tries of their own to cut the margin but ran out of time to affect a comeback win. To compound their problems, MSP ended the match with a couple of injury concerns. Poneke, who had several new players in their team, will be buoyed by this victory.

The Avalon Wolves started their 40th season and their first at the Fraser Park Sportsville complex by beating the Wellington Axemen 27-15. Second five-eight Jordan Aquila scored two of three first-half tries in their 19-5 halftime lead. Axemen prop Jason Bird scored to close the gap to 10-19 but flanker Sefo Aumua scored to clinch the win. For Wellington, prop Max Allen scored their other two tries. Avalon turned the clock back in this match with the Waldrom brothers, Thomas and Scott, both featuring.

Over the Wainuiomata hill, visitors Hutt Old Boys Marist overcame sweltering heat to defeat the home team 37-19. Fullback Glen Walters scored two tries as the Eagles extended a halftime 13-7 lead to 27-14 and held their advantage to fulltime. Left wing Salesi Rayasi was also full of running and flanker Jordan Gillies was as busy as he was all last season.

In the Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield, last year’s first and second round champions Marist St Pat’s kick-started their year with a 46-22 win over Poneke.

Tawa held on to beat Petone 43-40 in a thriller, after taking a 24-0 late in the first half. Petone came back to reduce the deficit to 10 points, and then to three points with a try in the corner that was converted. Tawa had the deciding say with an intercept try a few minutes from the end.

The Upper Hutt Rams and Wainuiomata second XVs both reversed their Premier results that were to follow. The Rams beat the OBU Goats 15-12 and Wainuiomata defeated HOBM 39-19.

Northern United beat Johnsonville 48-5, Oriental-Rongotai beat Paremata-Plimmerton 45-21 and the Avalon Wolves beat the Axemen second XV 38-15.

Round two of both competitions is this coming Saturday 30 March.

-WRFU