1995 NPC Results: week 4
From rec.sport.rugby Mon Aug 28 12:02:23 1995
From: wft@math.canterbury.ac.nz (Bill Taylor)
Subject: Weekend NZ NPC summary. by Paul Waite.
Date: 28 Aug 1995 05:10:20 GMT
NZ NPC
RUGBY IN 1995 _________________________________________
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THE NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP
--====--
This article features short reports, news,
and results from NPC matches played in New Zealand
for the weekend of 26-27th August, 1995
HEADLINES
~~~~~~~~~
Despite putting in an uninspiring performance, Auckland still scored
scored an emphatic win 46-15 over King Country and picked up 4 points.
Wellington entertained an on-form Otago team at Athletic Park and
were unfortunate to go down by 33-19 in what was a brilliant
advertisement for running rugby.
Waikato shrugged off their disappointing loss in the Ranfurly Shield
challenge last week at Lancaster Park and trounced Southland 42-15.
Counties beat Canterbury 41-39 in a thrilling match in which the
outcome was uncertain until the last two minutes of time.
MATCH REPORTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 1 ####################################################
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
AUCKLAND 46 KING COUNTRY 15 Half-time: 25-10
at Auckland
Auckland tries: Z Brooke(2), C Riechelmann, L Stensness,
A Uluinayau, Penalty try
kicks: A Cashmore(5 conv, 2 pen)
King Country tries: D Matthews, D Wilson
kicks: M Blank(1 conv, 1 pen)
Auckland did not look convincing in a game which started with a hiss
and a roar with a scoring rate of a point-per-minute for the first
quarter of an hour.
The fluency was not there however, and repeated fumblings made last
year's NPC champions look an outside bet to repeat the feat this
season unless they improve before facing an in-form Otago team at
Carisbrook next week.
Zinzan Brooke had a good game, scoring two. The first was scored from
a lineout 5m from the KC line, with Brooke taking the ball at the
back and mauling over. The second was scored off the back of a scrum
once again 5m out.
Hot-shot Auckland fullback Adrian Cashmore was on target, and the
17-0 lead looked ominous. However uncertainty crept in, and the
advantage was squandered by the blue and whites. The Auk forwards
managed to bring back some drive with lock Charles Riechelmann having
a big game, and Craig Dowd and Olo Brown also in excellent form.
Riechelmann forced his way over for a deserved try four minutes from
the halftime whistle, and Auckland immediately attacked from the
restart. The final pass was intercepted by King Country winger Dion
Matthews however, who ran 80m for the try.
In the second forty, Lee Stensness showed some of his old form by
side-stepping his way through to give him a superb solo try, but
the best try of the match came from KC's Doug Wilson who evaded
Waisake Sotutu 60m out, and then beat Adrian Cashmore to score.
_____________________________________________________________________
WELLINGTON 19 OTAGO 33 Half-time: 16-16
at Wellington
Wellington tries: B Cavubati
kicks: J Preston(1 conv, 4 pen)
Otago tries: P Cooke(2), T Randell
kicks: T Brown(2 conv, 4 pen), J Wilson(1 pen)
Two moments in this tense and exciting game played in beautiful
sunny comditions held the key to the outcome. Playing against the
wind in the first half, Otago scored a superb try to No.8 Taine
Randell about midway into half. The second moment, and the nail
in Wellington's coffin, was a bad mistake by Bill Cavubati when
he handed a try on a plate to Paul Cooke when Wellington were on
attack and looked likely to score themselves.
The 33-19 scoreline didn't reflect the closeness of the match at
all, an only desperate Otago defence in the last 10 minutes, as
well as persistent 'professional' infringing prevented the match
from becoming a cliff-hanger at the finish.
The battle of the match was in the loose, and particularly between
rival opensiders Gordon Simpson for Wellington, and Otago's All Black
incumbent Josh Kronfeld. Certainly, on this occasion Simpson won
the day, and looks set to become a fine prospect if he maintains
his form. Overall however the two loose trios cancelled each other
out, and other areas spelled the difference between the sides.
My own feeling was that basically Otago have a side which has been
around the block a few more times than this Wellington outfit, and
this showed in the way they managed their possession. With a clear
advantage due to their fine efforts to be 16-all at half-time even
though they played against the wind Otago looked to be favourites
as the second 40 minutes began. However Wellington started well,
and looked to be getting on top despite an almost total failure in
the lineouts, which were rendered of less importance due to a
policy of keeping the ball in hand.
With the scores locked at 19-all after 17 minutes of the second
half the ball came out right on a Wellington attack to big prop
Bill Cavubati, trying to emulate Jonah Lomu on the wing. The big
130Kg forward blotted his excellent copy-book by flicking a behind
the back pass to Otago winger Paul Cooke however, who said "thanks"
and proceded to score a break-away 80m try under the Wellington
posts.
It was a telling blow, and Wellington heads drooped as the try was
converted. The home side tried hard, but were not the same after
that. Full marks must go to the Otago defence for keeping out
a sustained Wellington attack in the final 10-15 minutes, however
it is time the powers that be reviewed the penalty try and its
application to persistent professional fouling close to the line,
as happened in this case. Had one been awarded, the crowd would
have enjoyed a heart-stopping last 8 minutes or so, where a
converted try might have drawn the match. As it was, the three
points were useless to the home team, and Otago knew this only too
well.
In the final analysis, Wellington just lacked that little bit of
experience against a smoothly operating Otago outfit in fine form.
Their failure to break the Otago defence, except with the occasional
break-away which was quickly covered, pointed to a need for more
variation. This should not over-shadow the fact that the Black and
Golds have become a team which opponents must once again respect.
_____________________________________________________________________
WAIKATO 42 SOUTHLAND 15 Half-time: 17-8
at Hamilton
Waikato tries: E Martin, R Ellison, D Monkley, W Jennings,
D Muir, D Coleman, C Wilson
kicks: E Martin(2 conv, 1 pen)
Southland tries: K Bruning, D Hopley
kicks: S Culhane(1 conv, 1 drop)
A seven tries to two trouncing of luckless Southland saw Waikato come
on form in this NPC clash at Rugby Park, Hamilton.
The match was a real thriller, with some superb running rugby, and
allowed Waikato to put the Ranfurly Shield challenge disappointment
behind them. Southland never gave up however, managing to recover
from a 17-3 deficit before fiftenn minutes were on the clock to
get to 17-15 just after half-time.
Waikato scored immediately from the kickoff however, through winger
Warren Jenkins, and two more followed after 25 minutes of the second
half had elapsed, one from No.8 Deon Muir, a pushover try, and the
other from blindside flanker Dean Coleman after a backline move
which saw every player handle the ball.
Southland were out of the match at 34-15, however Waikato's Craig
Wilson scored from a charge-down, and Martin added a late penalty.
_____________________________________________________________________
COUNTIES 41 CANTERBURY 39 Half-time: 23-16
at Pukekohe
Counties tries: J Coe, J Vidiri, J Lomu, T Marsh
kicks: D Love(3 conv, 5 pen)
Canterbury tries: C England, T Matson, J Marshall, T Gibson
kicks: A Mehrtens(2 conv, 5 pen)
Counties won this thrilling encounter which was full of enterprise and
running rugby with a last gasp penalty kick. The difference between
the two sides at the end was a single conversion kick.
Counties scored first after 10 minutes of play after Laupepe broke
through a Matson tackle, and evaded several defenders before trying
to pass wide to Jim Coe. Coe stooped to regather the ball before
driving over with Simon Forrest only able to hang on for the ride.
The sides traded penalties to take the score to 10-3 after 16 minutes,
then 4 minutes later Canterbury utilised their forward dominance
to drive Chris England 20 metres from a lineout win, over the
Counties line to score. Mehrtens added the extras to level the scores
at 10 each.
Two further Canterbury penalties brought the scoreline to 16-10 in
Canterbury's favour, and the Red and Blacks seemed to have the upper
hand, particularly in the forward exchanges, with 23 minutes gone.
Counties hit back hard with a classic try to Joeli Vidiri. Seeing
the big winger ranging out wide Danny Love lobbed a huge miss-out
pass straight to him from midfield. Vidiri stepped inside Mehrtens
before powering over in Forrest's tackle. Love converted to put
Counties back in front 17-16.
With five minutes to go until half-time, Counties got a couple of
penalties to make it 23-16, and certainly looked to be worthy of it,
playing some very positive running rugby.
To this point Jonah Lomu had rarely seen the ball except when he
came into midfield occasionally. The reason was Canterbury's tactic
of standing up well offside in midfield to stop the ball getting
wide to his wing.
After the restart Canterbury got an early penalty, then finally
Jonah Lomu got the ball with some space to run and lost no time in
stepping through a fairly strong tackle by big Tabai Matson and
going past Forrest to score a typical JL try. Love converted to
bring the score to 30-19 after 50 minutes.
Having had Richard Loe sin-binned for grabbing at the ball when a
Counties player was trying to take a quick tap kick Canterbury came
back with Matson breaking the Counties midfield defence brilliantly
off a Mehrtens pass. The conversion brought it to 30-26.
A few minutes later Counties responded in kind, but through a sad
mistake from Canterbury. Joeli Vidiri showed scorching pace on the
right wing but was forced to kick ahead into the in-goal. First to
the ball was Simon Forrest who unfortunately flew right over it
barely touching the leather. Counties second five-eighth Tony Marsh
was on hand to accept the gift gratefully, but Love failed to
convert.
After a couple of penalties were exchanged, Canterbury came back from
the dead to score two tries in 4 minutes, with neither of them
converted by Mehrtens. The first came from a mistake from the Counties
fullback, who ran the ball out and grubber kicked on half-way, only
to turn the ball over and face a concerted Canterbury attack. The
ball went from Chriss England to Sexton and then on to halfback
Justion Marshall who went over in the right-hand corner.
The second try came from a break through weak defence from Counties
prop Peter Fatialofa by Adrian Tukaki who fed winger Tony Gibson
for him to score in the same corner.
This brought the scoreline to 39-38 in Canterbury's favour, with
only a mere 2 minutes to play. The crowd couldn't believe it, but
Counties didn't panic. They managed to get possession through a
head high tackle care of Richard Loe, took a tap kick and then
Canterbury committed the cardinal sin of giving away a silly penalty
from an ensuing ruck only 30m or so out from the line. Love did
not hit the ball sweetly, but it was good enough to earn Counties
the 4 points.
It was a disappointing result for Canterbury, however they didn't
really play with as much consistency and overall control as they
are capable of, and the result was probably a fair reflection of
the match overall.
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 2 ####################################################
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_____________________________________________________________________
NORTHLAND 29 BAY OF PLENTY 13 Half-time: 17-3
at Whangarei
Northland tries: J Campbell, T Monaghan, G Taylor, N Maxwell
kicks: W Johnston(3 conv, 1 pen)
Bay of Plenty tries: M Haig
kicks: A Miller(1 conv, 2 pen)
The key to this match was a two-try burst from Northland just
four minutes before half-time, both of which were converted.
Although failing to obtain lineout possession in the first half an
hour, Northland played well together in other phases of the game.
Players who stood out were nineteen year-old lock Norman Maxwell
who raised his game in the second spell to even out the lineouts,
and score a try, No.8 John Campbell, captain and flanker Glenn
Taylor, halfback Steven Moore, fullback Warren Johnston, and Milton
Going playing in the centres.
Bay of Plenty scored their try from a surprise quick restart grubber
kick which was regathered and passed to Haig who ran in for a fine
try.
Bay of Plenty were dominated in the forwards, and could not find
a way through the tough Northland backline defence, although in
part their problems have been exacerbated by injuries. Standout
players for the Bay were lock and captain Steve Axtens, and No.8
Glen Remnant.
_____________________________________________________________________
MANAWATU 47 WAIRARAPA BUSH 7 Half-time: 25-0
at Palmerston North
Manawatu tries: J Telford(3), C Cullen(3), C Gowler
kicks: C Cullen(1 conv, 2 pen)
Wairarapa Bush tries: S Coley
kicks: M Berry(1 conv)
Wairarapa-Bush were bested in all phases of this game, and came
down to Earth with a bump after last week's big win over South
Canterbury.
The turning point in the first half came when Manawatu fullback and
New Zealand Colt Christian Cullen intercepted a pass from Kelsey
Beales when Bush were on attack and looking like crossing very
dangerous. Cullen ran the length of the field to dot down.
Manawatu shot from only 8-0 up to being 25-0 in the lead at the
halfway stage, and things looked bleak for Bush. However the
visitors dug in and played valiantly to keep Manawatu from adding
any points until the last 20 minutes.
Winger Jarrad Telford, Christian Cullen, Chresten Davis, No.8 Karl
Williams and lock Andrew Pavitt all stood out for Manawatu.
_____________________________________________________________________
MID CANTERBURY 24 SOUTH CANTERBURY 25 Half-time:
at Ashburton
Mid Canterbury tries: S Middleton, D Perfect
kicks: S Middleton(1 conv, 1 pen)
South Canterbury tries: G Burgess
kicks: G Dempster(1 conv, 5 pen, 1 drop)
South Canterbury's Graeme Dempster produced a winning drop goal in
the 77th minute after an exciting and tense game, and took his personal
tally to 20 points.
The visitors knocked the home side back with a try after only 3 minutes
had gone, with Dempster once again the man of the moment, finding a
gap from a ruck before passing to winger Gareth Burgess.
Mid-Canterbury hit back after 12 minutes through center Steve Middleton
after some good work in the backs off a scrum. The Dempster boot kept
the visitors ahead, and they extended their lead to 22-16 by the
three-quarter mark.
The game was opened up however by a try to Mid-Canterbury when second
five-eighths Darryn Perfect forced his way over.
The tension built as the home side eased ahead through a good drop
goal from first-five eighth Paul Treves. With only 6 minutes left
on the clock it looked as if they might pull off a 'Houdini', however
South Canterbury came back strongly onto the attack, and gave Dempster
the chance to kick his match-winner.
_____________________________________________________________________
TARANAKI 104 NELSON BAYS 12 Half-time: 50-5
at New Plymouth
Taranaki tries: E Manu(2), N Whiting, E Sharrock, A Slater(2),
S Tiatia(2), R Wheeler(2), S Lines(2),
S McDonald, Penalty try
kicks: J Cameron(11 conv, 4 pen)
Nelson Bays tries: B Havili, D Mytton
kicks: C Lott(1 conv)
In a decidedly one-side match Taranaki blitzed their way to a National
Championship match record 104 points, 1 more point than that scored by
Counties over Poverty Bay in 1993.
A Taranaki record was also set by first five-eighth Jamie Cameron who
went home with a 34-point total under his belt, once again besting
the previous record, Kieran Crowley's, by a single point.
As if celebrating the fact that that No.8 Andy Slater was playing
his 100th rpresentative game for them, Taranaki went on the rampage,
led by charismatic captain and prop Mark 'Bull' Allen.
Played on a windy but sunny afternoon, the home crowd of 3,000 or so
spectators saw an excellent match with both sides running the ball.
This tremendous win sets up an interesting confrontation with
unbeaten Northland at Whangerei next week, which could have an
important bearing on the second division championship.
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 3 ####################################################
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BULLER 20 WANGANUI 13 Half-time: 7-10
at Westport
Buller tries: T Stuart, M Coghlan
kicks: T Pratt(2 conv, 2 pen)
Wanganui tries: J Hutana
kicks: G Lennox(1 conv, 2 pen)
Dominating the game throughout, Buller deserved it's 20-13 win against
Wanganui yesterday.
Wanganui scored first with a Guy Lennox penalty, but Buller moved into
the lead with a try from Thomas Stuart, who made it into the Buller
record books with his 38th try in representative rugby.
Wanganui scored through Jamie Hutana, and Lennox converted, giving
them a 10-7 lead by the halfway mark, however the second half belonged
to Buller.
Two Tony Pratt penalties gave them a 13-10 lead, and continued attack
brought the reward of a try to Michael Coghlan. Wanganui were awarded
a penalty towrds the end.
_____________________________________________________________________
THAMES VALLEY 57 EAST COAST 31 Half-time: 38-5
at Coromandel
Thames Valley tries: D McCallum(2), A Gibbs, N Manu, C McDuff,
F Teague, W Hodges, B O'Carroll
kicks: D McCallum(7 conv, 1 pen)
East Coast tries: A Naituiyaga(2), T Devery, B Poi, J Munaka
kicks: E Manuel(3 conv)
A resurgence in the second half by East Coast was not enough to stop
Thames Valley from registering a decisive win 57-31.
Valley had a comfortable 38-5 lead at halftime after taking control
through it's excellent forward play. However they began slowly after
the resumption, and East scored a converted try, and then continued
to run the ball strongly. Winger Chris Paea, centre Illiata Na Bewa,
and flanker Aminiasi Naituiyaga found the Valley defence uncommitted
in the tackle, and made several tries.
With 15 minutes left, and the score standing at 52-31, East Coast
were gone, and Valley had the final say with a try to replacement
winger Brendon O'Carroll on his debut.
_____________________________________________________________________
MARLBOROUGH 14 HOROWHENUA 33 Half-time: 12-3
at Blenheim
Marlborough tries: M Mains
kicks: C Forsyth(3 pen)
Horowhenua tries: C Kennet(2), P Hirini, D Jackson, Tio Iono
kicks: K Williams(2 conv)
Horowhenua took it's chances well to beat Marlborough yesterday.
Craig Forsyth kicked a penalty to put the home side in front but a
converted try by flanker and captain Cory Kennett put Horowhenua
on the victory road.
Kennett's try was made to look simple, rising high top take the
ball in the lineout and going over to touch down.
Forsyth closed the gap to 7-6 with a penalty, but Horowhenua's
lead was increased further with a Tia Iono try converted by Kyle
Williams. Then Kennett went over for his second to make it 19-6.
Marlborough No.8 Mark Mains closed the gap again with a try, however
an intercept try through Paul Hirini killed off any chances they
might have entertained.
The final say went to Horowhenua with another try, this time to
lock Dwayne Jackson.
Standout backs for Horowhenua were first five-eighths Williams,
winger Hirini, and fullback John Jackson. Kennet and Mark
Morrison stood out in the forwards.
_____________________________________________________________________
POVERTY BAY 35 NORTH OTAGO 25 Half-time: 20-13
at Gisborne
Poverty Bay tries: C Baistow(2), M Jefferson, E Katalau, M Ngarimu
kicks: A Rangihuna(2 conv, 1 pen), C Baistow(1 drop)
North Otago tries: M Cook(3), R Skinner
kicks: P Leach(1 conv, 1 pen)
Backline prowess beat forward power as Poverty Bay beat North Otago
35-25 at Gisborne yesterday.
North Otago's forward effort was exemplified by the sterling performance
of captain Mark Cook who scored three tries.
Poverty bay opened the scoring with a penalty kick from Api Rangihuna.
Cook scored his first push-over try after 15 minutes had gone, and
first five-eighth Pat Bleach extended North Otago's lead to 8-3 with
a penalty 4 minutes later.
Bay then scored 3 tries to shoot them into a 20-8 lead. A try just
on halftime allowed North Otago to comeback to 20-13 down.
Only 3 minutes after the restart, Baistow bagged a drop-goal for
Poverty Bay, and No.8 Mutu Ngarimu forced after breaking clear
from a lineout in the 55th minute to make it 28-13.
Baistow got his second, then North Otago hit back with an intercept
try from Ross Skinner.
RESULTS TABLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Otago 3 3 0 0 81 54 12
Counties 3 3 0 0 88 75 12
Canterbury 4 2 1 1 137 106 11
Waikato 4 2 0 2 108 104 9
Wellington 4 2 0 2 76 79 9
Auckland 3 2 0 1 70 37 9
North Harbour 3 1 1 1 42 50 6
Southland 4 0 0 4 71 112 3
King Country 4 0 0 4 55 111 0
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Manawatu 4 3 0 1 153 71 13
Taranaki 3 3 0 0 182 62 12
Northland 3 3 0 0 154 31 12
Hawkes Bay 3 3 0 0 93 53 12
South Canterbury 4 2 0 2 91 130 8
Bay of Plenty 3 1 0 2 72 60 5
Wairarapa Bush 4 1 0 3 79 143 4
Mid Canterbury 4 0 0 4 66 133 1
Nelson Bays 4 0 0 4 54 251 1
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Thames Valley 4 3 0 1 142 88 12
Horowhenua 4 3 0 1 107 73 12
Poverty Bay 3 3 0 0 104 61 12
Marlborough 4 2 0 2 111 96 8
West Coast 3 2 0 1 49 32 8
Wanganui 3 1 0 2 35 47 5
Buller 4 1 0 3 65 142 4
North Otago 3 1 0 2 68 103 4
East Coast 4 0 0 4 82 121 2
_____________________________________________
NEXT WEEK
~~~~~~~~~
Key: RS Ranfurly Shield at stake
= NPC Division I
+ NPC Division II
# NPC Division III
Sat 2nd Otago = vs Auckland Dunedin
King Country = vs Canterbury Te Kuiti
Southland = vs Counties Invercargill
Bay of Plenty + vs Manawatu Rotorua
Wairarapa Bush + vs Hawkes Bay Masterton
Nelson Bays + vs Mid Canterbury Nelson
Northland + vs Taranaki Whangarei
East Coast # vs Poverty Bay Ruatoria
Wanganui # vs Horowhenua Wanganui
Thames Valley # vs Marlborough Thames
North Otago # vs West Coast Oamaru
Sun 3rd North Harbour = vs Waikato Takapuna
The main event next week is the match between Auckland and Otago
down at the House of Pain, Carisbrook. This fixture is usually an
absolute stunner, and the way Otago are playing at present bodes
well for it this time around. Given Auckland's current form I'm
picking Otago for this one, but the Auck's forward power might
have something to say about that.
King Country entertain Canterbury, who will be anxious not to lose
twice away from home, and become labelled as simply Ranfurly Shield
defenders who only put it together when the Shield is at stake. They
are a much better team than that, and I expect them to win this
one in style, although King Country lie down for nobody, so the win
will have to be earned.
Southland are at home in Invercargill to Counties who have had a
dream start to the NPC winning 3 out of 3 so far. With their positive
running rugby, and big Jonah they will be hard to beat, however
Southland may have found their feet a little more, and be capable
of being competetive at home. I'll pick Counties for this one.
Cheers,
Paul.
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Paul Waite doc@docdevl.actrix.gen.nz
Wellington, New Zealand +64-4-233-1764
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