1995 NPC Results: semi-finals
From: Paul Waite
NZ NPC
RUGBY IN 1995 _________________________________________
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THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
SEMI-FINALS WEEKEND
--====--
This article features short reports, news,
and results from NPC matches played in New Zealand
for the weekend of 7-8th October, 1995
HEADLINES
~~~~~~~~~
Auckland put on a sparkling display to smash an injury and illness
hit North Harbour side 60-26, and book a place as obvious favourites
for the NPC final against Otago next week.
Otago augmented their excellent away record this season by beating
Counties at Pukekohe by 41-32 in an exciting match which gives them
the chance to meet Auckland in the final next week.
Northland ground Hawkes Bay into the dust 36-6, and deservedly
obtained a place in the NPC second division final where they will
meet Taranaki.
Taranaki visited Bay of Plenty and comfortably beat them 37-12 in
the end on a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Thames Valley beat Horowhenua 32-17 in an effort which owed much
to their excellent forward pack.
Wanganui failed to pull off a Houdini act this week, losing against
a good Poverty Bay side by 26-19.
MATCH REPORTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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### DIVISION 1 ####################################################
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AUCKLAND 60 NORTH HARBOUR 26 Half-time: 28-9
at Auckland
Auckland tries: E Clarke, L Stensness, T Nu'uali'itia,
Z Brooke, M Jones, J Chandler, C Dowd,
Penalty try
kicks: A Cashmore(4 conv, 3 pen), C Spencer(1 drop)
North Harbour tries: E Rush, Penalty try
kicks: W Burton(2 conv, 4 pen)
An injury and illness hit North Harbour side came up against an Auckland
team seemingly out to prove that they are more than simply a set of
world-class forwards. Harbour had no answer to the most complete
Auckland performance this season, featuring ferociously committed defence,
awesome forward power, and a set of backs which clicked on the day.
To be fair to Harbour their personnel problems before the match were
severe enough, with Liam Barry suffering with a virus, and Frank Bunce
with a badly torn groin muscle. During the course of the match, captain
Ant Strachan also came off after only 21 minutes with medial ligament
damage, and hooker Slade McFarland and prop Scott Palmer were both
replaced. This resulted in a considerably disjointed and under-par
North Harbour side.
During the match no-one except Eric Rush could really be singled out
for praise. Rush once again showed what exceptional form he is in this
season with a superb try down the left wing, cutting effortlessly
Adrian Cashmore in doing so.
On Auckland's side, it is hard to know where to begin when looking
for good things to say. The forward pack performed, as ever, very
strongly all round. Michael Jones had a standout game on the blind
side flank, and likewise Mark Carter featured in some excellent break-
away moves. In the backs Tu Nu'uali'itia, and Carlos Spencer worked
well, begging the question of whether Graham Henry will recall All Black
halfback Junior Tonu'u for next week's final or not. In midfield Eroni
Clark ran strongly, and Lee Stensness looked like he might be starting
to find his confidence once again.
In the first quarter Auckland got a penalty try, and Burton replied with
a couple of penalties. The penalty try resulted when Auckland, who almost
complete dominance of the Harbour pack, shunted the latter back in a
push-over try attempt, which was foiled by foul play.
The 7-6 score soon became 17-6 care of a Mark Carter break and Zinzan
Brooke centering kick. As the ball came loose Dowd was on hand to force.
Two minutes before half-time, Zinzan executed a push-over try, and at
28-9 down, with their scrum going backwards, it looked like it was going
to be a long second half for Harbour.
Spencer kicked a drop-goal, Stensness went over when Glen Osborne, in
a worrying rush of blood, elected to run it out with no support, and
Michael Jones and Jason Chandler both finished off moves which showed
some slick handling in the backline. After 17 minutes into the half
the score stood at 48-12.
Eric Rush, who stood head and shoulders above his team-mates, scored his
try but no Harbour fans got enthusiastic. Replacement flanker Dylan Mika
then produced a run to set up Tu Nu'uali'itia for a try, then a minute
from time Eroni Clarke went over in the corner after a Sotutu break.
_____________________________________________________________________
COUNTIES 32 OTAGO 41 Half-time: 17-19
at Pukekohe
Counties tries: J Lomu, Penalty try, P Fatialofa, G Laupepe
kicks: D Love(3 conv, 2 pen)
Otago tries: J Leslie, N Moore, M Ellis, J Wright, P Cooke
kicks: T Brown(2 conv, 2 pen, 1 drop), J Wilson(1 pen)
Otago deservedly won an exciting game at Pukekohe, where both sides
came to run the ball and chance their arm to get into the NPC final.
Otago ran onto the pitch at Pukekohe with Jamie Joseph playing at lock,
and Tony Brown taking Stephen Bachop's place at first 5/8. Bachop sat
on the reserves bench, and came on late in the game after Brown went
off after being injured by a Junior Paramour punch which saw the latter
sent from the field.
Both sides were totally focussed and committed to the task at hand, and
the crowd were soon entertained.
After only a minute Danny Love put Counties on the board with a penalty
for offside, however Otago came back strongly and after fluffing an
attempt at the 5 minute mark they scored a marvellous try though captain
John Leslie, who dived under the tackle of Jonah Lomu in the right hand
corner.
The next scoring action was again from the men in Blue. A lineout about
25m out from the Counties line saw halfback Stu Forster feed Nick Moore
who broke through, fending off a bemused Peter Fatialofa in the process,
to go over and score. Tony Brown converted to make it 12-3 to the
visitors.
Counties came back strongly, and Otago desperately defended, only just
holding up Counties players over the line in two separate attacks.
Finally Jonah Lomu, coming off his wing took the ball up and drove over
the line with three Otago men clinging to him. Nobody could stop him
from grounding the ball. Danny Love converted to make it 10-12 with
half an hour gone.
Next John Leslie gathered after charging a Counties clearing kick down,
and passed to Ellis who scored. Tony Brown converted the try to make it
an unfortunate 7-pointer against Counties.
With their pack having slightly the better of their opposites, Counties
came back and earned a penalty try for an illegal offside when Otago
tried to stop a quick tap kick near their line. Danny Love made it a
close 17-19 at half-time.
Tony Brown popped a drop-goal over at the 43 mintue mark, then Peter
Fatialofa made up for his earlier missed tackle to score a try in the
45th minute, bringing the scores level at 22-each.
George Laupepe then scored the try of the match for Counties, racing
and stepping through tackles from Forster and Wilson on his way to the
line. Love's conversion made it 29-22 to Counties on the 48th minute.
Otago hit back only 2 minutes later with a try to winger Jason Wright,
and a Tony Brown penalty brought it to 30-29 to Otago. A Danny Love
penalty got Counties' nose in front once again, then the see-saw battle
swung the other way with a Brown penalty to make it 33-32 to Otago.
Counties were now under considerable Otago pressure, and Vidiri tried
to run the ball out of his 22m area and then pass when he got into
trouble, turning the ball over. Paul Cooke made no mistake and finished
up with his well-known six-gun salute. At 38-32 down, Counties could have
come back, but a penalty taken by Jeff Wilson with a minute to go
shut the door on them.
For Otago, Anton Oliver, Josh Kronfeld, Arran Pene stood out in the
forwards, whereas Tony Brown had a superb game in his new spot of first
5/8 in the backs. The other standout was Jeff Wilson, whose defensive
and attacking prowess were shown to the full.
Counties were in this match until the last 10 mintues or so, but didn't
quite have what it takes to break the Otago line when it mattered.
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### DIVISION 2 ####################################################
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NORTHLAND 36 HAWKES BAY 6 Half-time: 11-6
at Whangarei
Northland tries: M Going(3), S Moore
kicks: W Johnston(2 conv, 4 pen)
Hawkes Bay tries:
kicks: J Cunningham(2 pen)
A competetive Hawkes Bay side were deservedly beaten by a Northland
unit which came out by far the more intense and determined of the
two teams. The Northland defence was just too much for the Bay
to handle, and in the end they never penetrated it.
Taking a mjor part in the victory was 21-year old Milton Going, the
son of legendary All Black Sid Going. His hat-trick of tries was
taken in fine style, and he turned on a superb all round display
at centre.
The Northland pack including captain and flanker Glenn Taylor, his
fellow loosies Richard Hilton-Jones, and John Campbell, and also
Tau Siale were on top form.
Hawkes Bay, as a whole, made too many mistakes under the pressure
exerted on them by the committed Northlanders. Another player to
catch the eye was 20 year old Northland first 5/8 David Holwell,
in his first year, who played the position like a seasoned veteran.
Hawkes Bay took the advantage of the breeze in the first half, and
got two early penalties. However Northland replied when Going made
the break and scored his first after a high kick ahead and regather
by Holwell.
A Warren Johnston penalty had them 11-6 up at halftime. After only
a minute in the second spell Johnston slotted another penalty, and
Milton Going went over for his second, which came from a silly
decision by Jarrod Cunnigham to take a quick throw in only metres
out from his own line.
Going scored his third when the Bay were caught napping, thinking
Johnston would opt for a kick at goal. The tap and lob-pass to
Going resulted in the try.
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BAY OF PLENTY 12 TARANAKI 37 Half-time: 9-19
at Rotorua
Bay of Plenty tries:
kicks: A Miller(4 pen)
Taranaki tries: J Cameron, S Lines, D Magon(2)
kicks: J Cameron(1 conv, 5 pen)
A combination of an excellent forward platform, and a superb game from
first 5/8 Jamie Cameron saw Taranaki on their way to the second
division NPC final with a convincing win over Bay of Plenty.
The game started with some heat and niggle, with both hookers sent to
the sin-bin after 5 minutes. In another incident early on, Taranaki
prop Gordon Slater was taken out, and was stretchered off with a
suspected broken leg. The referee maintained good control however, and
the niggle largely dropped out of the match.
Bay scored first through an Andy Miller penalty after 5 minutes. Jamie
Cameron replied in like manner at the 18 minute markand two more to
Taranaki saw them leading 9-3 at the half-hour stage.
In a steady rain, Taranaki opted to play the percentages, keeping it
tight and then mostly using Jamie Cameron to kick for position.
However the first try came from a neat backline movement wherein Jamie
Cameron looped around moving to the left and went toward the Bay line,
selling a nice dummy to score himself. The conversion made it 16-3
to the visitors. Penalties were exchanged and the scoreboard stood at
19-9 at halftime.
Cameron slotted another penalty just after the restart. Then we had to
wait a further 20 minutes until an Andy Miller penalty broke the spell.
Of the two sides it always looked like Taranaki would score, with their
clever use of the ball in the conditions, and their good ball retention.
Halfback Michael Carr made a try for Scott Lines with a nice dab through,
beating a man or two before off-loading.
With only 6 minute to go it was all over, however debutant fullback
Dean Magon got in on the Taranaki act with two nicely taken tries which
he will remember for a long time.
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### DIVISION 3 ####################################################
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THAMES VALLEY 32 HOROWHENUA 17 Half-time: 12-3
at Paeroa
Thames Valley tries: G McGliver(3), G Sutton
kicks: D McCallum(3 conv, 2 pen)
Horowhenua tries: B Sanson, L Aiono
kicks: D Nepia(2 conv, 1 pen)
The Thames Valley forwards paved the way for a well-deserved win over
Horowhenua. Right from the outset they dominated their opposites,
denying them good quality ball, and cancelling out their impressive
backline.
Scoring began with a McGliver try from a pushover, which McCallum,
recovering from early nerves which saw him miss two penalties,
converted.
The Horowhenua defence was tight, and McGliver's second only came
about when Valley shoved the Horowhenua scrum off its own ball on
the goal line. In the final 10 minutes of the first half Valley
sat back a little, but managed to keep Horowhenua out.
After the restart, McCallum landed two penalties, and Valley seemed
to be comfortably controlling the game. Then Horowhenua ran in two
quick tries under the bar to open things up somewhat. The first saw
replacement Bevan Sanson win a kick and chase from halfway with the
aid of a lucky bounce. The second came from a well-executed up and
under by Nepia which the defence allowed to bounce, letting in
winger Lepitia Aiono to score.
McLiver marshalled his forwards and, controlling possession, they
scored from another pushover. After the conversion Valley stormed
straight back and tight forward Glynn Sutton secured the ball from
a lineout to score.
In the space of only 3 minutes Valley was out to 32-17 and the game
safe.
_____________________________________________________________________
POVERTY BAY 26 WANGANUI 19 Half-time:
at Gisborne
Poverty Bay tries: J Martin, D Andrews
kicks: A Rangihuna(2 conv, 2 pen, 2 drop)
Wanganui tries: C Trembath, J Hamlin, B Ross
kicks: G Lennox(2 conv)
Wanganui failed to foot it with a determined Poverty Bay outfit, which
boasted the clinically accurate boot of Api Rangihuna.
Bay went out to 6-0 with two Rangihuna penalties one for obstruction
by Jason Caskey, and the other for a ruck infringement after 16
minutes had gone. At the half-hour mark Rangihuna added a drop goal.
Then in the 25th minute from a lineout about 7m out from the Wanganui
line a loose ball was pounced on by Bay's John Martin. Rangihuna
converted to make it 16-0.
An unforced error on Wanganui's part resulted in a scrum from which
Dean Andrews scored. With the extras added by Rangihuna the scoreboard
showed 23-0 to Poverty Bay.
Coming back into it a little, Wanganui then scored a try though Craig
Trembath, and Guy Lennox comverted it to make it 23-7. Poverty Bay
were still in the driving seat, but an intercept against the run of
play by centre Jason Hamlin resulted in a try.
Rangihuna slotted another drop goal, to make it 26-12, and then in a
final flourish, Wanganui grabbed another try through prop Blair Ross,
and Lennox converted to make the final score 26-19.
NEXT WEEK
~~~~~~~~~
Key: RS Ranfurly Shield at stake
= NPC Division I
+ NPC Division II
# NPC Division III
Sat 14th Taranaki + vs Northland New Plymouth
Thames Valley # vs Poverty Bay Paeroa
Sun 15th Auckland = vs Otago Auckland
Note that the venue for the Taranaki vs Northland match is a guess at
present until I can obtain further information.
Well no prizes for guessing that I will be picking Auckland to win the
NPC title this year. Barring an absolutely amazing upset, the Aucks
are now too strong for any other side in the NPC, and I think they
will win the final comfortably. With Otago presenting a much greater
presence away from home, they will certainly have a battle on, however
one can't ignore that fact that the Auckland forwards should be too
much for Otago to handle.
In the second division final, I pick Taranaki, although this match is
not at all easy to predict and could go either way. Either side would
be a refreshing addition to the first division next season.
The third division final is also difficult, however I pick Thames
Valley for this one since they are at home, and have an excellent
pack, led by captain and No.8 Gavin McGliver.
Cheers,
Paul.
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Paul Waite doc@docdevl.actrix.gen.nz
Wellington, New Zealand +64-4-233-1764
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