1995 NPC Results: week 8
From: Paul Waite
NZ NPC
RUGBY IN 1995 _________________________________________
/oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo/|
Results /oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo/ |
Reports /oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo/ |
News |________________________________________|_
| /oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo/ |
| | /oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo/ | |
|_|___|______________________________________|______|_|_________
/|/| / / / / / |/| / /
/ | |/ / / / / | |/ /
/ |/ / / / / |/ /
/ / / / / / / /
/ / / / / / / /
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 23-24th September, 1995
HEADLINES
~~~~~~~~~
The powerful Auckland forward machine ground Canterbury into small
pieces on the way to beating them 35-0 to win back the Ranfurly
Shield in a match which had tension but lacked open running play.
North Harbour thrashed King Country 44-18 to give them a reasonable
chance of making the NPC semi-finals once again.
Waikato beat Wellington 36-28 in an exciting match featuring a good
deal of open running rugby.
Otago managed to grab a 43-38 win over Counties despite being
outdone by 6 tries to 5. Both teams are guaranteed semi-finalists,
with only the order to be determined.
MATCH REPORTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 1 ####################################################
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
CANTERBURY 0 AUCKLAND 35 Half-time: 0-7
at Christchurch
Canterbury tries:
kicks:
Auckland tries: J Kerr(2), E Clarke, Tu Nu'uali'itia
kicks: A Cashmore(3 conv, 3 pen)
Auckland gave Canterbury a lesson in powerful, forward-led,
percentage, test-match style football to win the Ranfurly Shield from
them in a tense struggle at Christchurch.
Right from the very first minutes, one was able to sense the total
test-match level comittment of the Auckland side, and Canterbury were
quite obviously daunted. Naturally the Red and Blacks never shied away
or shirked a tackle, but psychologically they seemed to be on the back
foot after only 10 minutes or so, and the breakthough which would
have reversed that state of affairs never came.
Let's be clear about this Auckland performance. It owed everything
to the vast All Black test experience of their tight-five. They
employed everything in their considerable repertoire to win this
match: skill, physique, gamesmanship, and infringing. They were
awesomely hungry to win the Shield, and constantly overstepped the
mark by rampaging through Canterbury rucks, coming up well offside,
and with their loosies constantly hounding key players like Mehrtens,
and hitting them with hard tackles. Another aspect of the match
was Canterbury's lack of locking depth, exposed by the classy Auckland
second row, especially at lineout time.
It was a demonstration of what we might call these days "the old
rugby style", where the play is centered on the tight-five and the
backline is only used sparingly, as dominance is gained and points
are built up. In short it wasn't pretty, but it was effective.
After 20 minutes, Andrew Mehrtens was caught in possession in an
isolated position and was thrown heavily to the ground injuring
his shoulder. This proved to be a key point in the game, as Mehrtens
operated in extreme discomfort until he was forced to retire 13
minutes from time, and was quite ineffective, missing penalty kicks
which for him would normally be a simple affair, and failing to run
the game with his long range touch-finders and tactical flair.
As far as the match itself was concerned, even though Auckland
had 'the wood' on Canterbury in the forwards, it was by no means
a walkover. The Aucks only led 7-0 by halftime through a fine
36th minute effort by Eroni Clarke, burrowing through the Canterbury
defence close to the line from a ruck.
With a Cashmore penalty making it 10-0, things looked bad for
Canterbury, who couldn't get the ball, and on the few occassions
they did have it, couldn't put together a sustained series of
phases in the face of ferocious Auckland defence.
Canterbury became desperate, and the resulting attempts to break out
were their undoing, and led to Auckland netting more points than
was representative of the difference between the sides.
One came from halfback Tu Nu'uali'itia and resulted from a Mehrtens
missed touch in the 63rd minute. Another try came from a Mehrtens
drop-out intended for Bale on the wing. Instead it was intercepted and
new JK look-alike James Kerr ran in for a simple try.
But by then Canterbury were well subdued by the Auckland power
performance, and probably did not really care about the actual score
itself, as much as simply the loss.
Canterbury are a fine side, and will learn from this defeat. Auckland
in the end deserved the win, although followers of the 'new' style
of open running rugby will not be pleased. It must however be remembered
that rugby is an amalgam of all these facets. An imbalance of any can
result in vulnerability. Without the ability of the forwards to gain
possession and provide a solid driving platform to protect it, the open
running rugby we so admire cannot find expression.
_____________________________________________________________________
KING COUNTRY 18 NORTH HARBOUR 44 Half-time: 13-10
at Taupo
King Country tries: G Stanton, R Coventry, D Matthews
kicks: M Blank(1 drop)
North Harbour tries: M Weedon(2), P Lam, G Osborne, L Barry
kicks: W Burton(5 conv, 3 pen)
North Harbour reversed a 10-13 half-time defecit to thrash King
Country 44-18 in a match played under lights.
The home side, playing with a strong northerly dominated a first
half which was riddled with errors, and outscored Harbour 2 tries
to 1.
King Country lock Glenn Stanton excelled at the front of the lineout
and No.8 Richard Coventry won ball at the back. Reward came with the
two first-half tries and Michael Blank added a drop-goal. Neither
backline sparkled in the first 40, and Harbour's scoring consisted
of a single try, with Warren Burton adding a conversion and a
penalty.
The 3 point lead was never going to be enough for King Country, and
a Burton penalty just after the restart levelled the scores. Harbour
halfback Ant Strachan began to run the play as the visitors won
more possession.
A try to Pat Lam was followed by the best try of the match to fullback
Glen Osborne who ran 40m after being set up by Strachan and Burton.
Burton converted both tries and added a further penalty to put Harbour
out to 30-13 by the three-quarter mark.
Conditions became slippery as rain began to fall, and the players
found it difficult to retain their footing.
Victory enhanced Harbour's chances of making the semi-final playoffs,
whereas King Country's chances of remaining in the first division
now seem to hinge on their match against the other relegation
candidate Southland next week.
_____________________________________________________________________
WAIKATO 36 WELLINGTON 28 Half-time: 20-21
at Hamilton
Waikato tries: D Monkley, C Stevenson, S McLeod, R Ellison
kicks: E Martin(2 conv, 3 pen, 1 drop)
Wellington tries: T Umaga(3), K Rolleston
kicks: J Preston(4 conv)
Waikato put in a super performance against a Wellington side which
is still trying to get back on track after being humiliated two
weeks ago by Canterbury, to eventually come out deserved winners.
The performance will give Waikato the confidence they need to visit
Auckland next week and challenge for the Ranfurly Shield.
Waikato raced to a 20-0 lead after only half an hour care of two
Eugene Martin penalties in the 10th and 17th minutes, and tries
to Duane Monkley and Craig Stevenson in the 25th and 30th minutes.
Monkley's try came from a Craig Wilson dummy from the scrum. Wilson
broke a defender's tackle and Monkley was on hand to take the ball
and put it down under the posts.
The try to Craig "Hymie" Stevenson came from some solid forward play
resulting in the ball being driven over the line.
Then at 35 mins, Wellington fought back; tries to Umaga, Rolleston and
Umaga again in the last five minutes of the half left Wellington with
a one-point lead at the whistle.
Only 4 minutes into the second half Tana Umaga completed his hat-trick
and things looked bleak for Waikato. However the Mooloo men came back
with some solid play resulting in a try for Mcleod in the right
hand corner in the 58th minute.
>From this point on, Waikato dominated Wellington in the forwards both
at lineout and scrum. Wellington no longer looked to be in the match,
with very little possession coming their way, and they scored no more
points in the game.
In the 73rd minute Eugene Martin landed a penalty to tie the scores
at 28 apiece, and only 3 minutes later Rhys Ellison finished off
a classy backline movement in which Scott McLeod featured prominently
in the corner. Right on time a drop goal by Martin denied Wellington
even a bonus point.
For Waikato Scott McLeod had a huge game, and in the forwards prop
Craig Stevenson was in dominating mood and led well. The loose
trio Duane Monkley, Dean Coleman, and Aaron Hopa making his debut
made a big impression.
For Wellington the backline always looked dangerous with midfielders
O'Halloran and Broughton breaking through often. Tana Umaga looked
very dangerous and deserved his hat-trick of tries. Their problems
lay in the lack of quality ball-winning ability in the tight five.
_____________________________________________________________________
COUNTIES 38 OTAGO 43 Half-time: 25-18
at Pukekohe
Counties tries: J Lomu(2), J Vidiri, P Fatialofa, P Alatini,
M Scott
kicks: D Love(1 conv, 2 pen)
Otago tries: P Cooke(3), J Wilson, A Oliver
kicks: T Brown(3 conv, 2 pen)
Otago booked a place in the NPC semi-finals with a good win over
unfortunate Counties, after making a horror start to the game, trailing
15-3 with only 15 minutes gone.
However, a fine performance from winger Paul Cooke whose three-try haul
took him past John Timu's record of 69 tries for Otago, fullback Jeff
Wilson, and No.8 Arran Pene saw them make a great recovery.
By the halfway stage they led 25-18, and continued to build on this
in the second half with Jeff Wilson in particular showing up the
deficiencies of the Counties midfield defence.
Looking surprisingly out of condition in the warm weather, Counties
out-scored Otago by 6 tries to 5, but fell short due to first 5/8
Danny Love having a bad day at the office with his kicking.
However a last-minute try to Jonah Lomu gained them an important
bonus point, which earned them a certain semi-final spot along with
Otago, no matter what the outcome of their match at Wellington next
week. The only matter to be resolved is the finishing order, and
hence who has home advantage.
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 2 ####################################################
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
BAY OF PLENTY 63 NELSON BAYS 16 Half-time: 24-16
at Tauranga
Bay of Plenty tries: D Kaui(3), R McDonald, D Menzies, W Clarke,
A Miller, P Tupai
kicks: A Miller(7 conv, 3 pen)
Nelson Bays tries: C Benge
kicks: C Lott(1 conv, 3 pen)
Bay of Plenty romped home by 8 tries to 1 over hapless Nelson Bays
yesterday.
Playing with the wind, Nelson Bays were still in touch at half-time
when BOP led by only 24-16. The Bays scrum, led by loosehead prop
Kerry Shaw held their own throughout, but had difficulty winning
possession at lineout time, and lost out in ruck and maul.
Until the stampede began, they also held their own in midfield
with Paul Phillips and NZ Colts trialist Colin Benge doing well.
BOP first 5/8 Andy Miller was the source of several of their tries
with clever breaks, also scoring himself late on. Including his
goalkicking, which was back in gear, he netted 28 points.
BOP lock Mark Camp dominated the lineouts, and flankers Scott
Robertson and Brett Sinkinson were prominent in the first half.
Fullback Damon Kaui, who bagged 3 tries and made several others
stood out, and deservedly earned the Man of the Match prize.
_____________________________________________________________________
SOUTH CANTERBURY 0 NORTHLAND 51 Half-time: 0-20
at Timaru
South Canterbury tries:
kicks:
Northland tries: S Cooper, J Hammond, S Moore, G Taylor(2),
J Campbell(2), D Te Puni
kicks: W Johnston(4 conv, 1 pen)
Northland maintained its impressive unbeaten record with an emphatic
win over South Canterbury, running in 8 tries to none including
3 runaways against play.
Northland turned around with a 20-0 advantage at the halfway stage
and never let up, maintaining the pressure to the end, although the
second half saw some niggle creeping in, with a brawl erupting
after a head-high tackle on a South Canterbury player.
After 24 minutes John Mawhinney was sin-binned for over-vigorous
rucking and just before full time Northland prop Jason Hammond was
ordered off for stomping.
The South Canterbury pack was not tall enough to combat Northland
lock Norm Maxwell and flanker Glen Taylor, but held their own
in the scrums.
_____________________________________________________________________
WAIRARAPA BUSH 25 TARANAKI 55 Half-time: 18-20
at Masterton
Wairarapa Bush tries: C Sullivan(2), M Childs
kicks: M Berry(2 conv, 2 pen)
Taranaki tries: R Wheeler, M Carr, N Crowley, S McDonald,
A Slater, N Whiting, E Manu
kicks: J Cameron(4 conv, 3 pen, 1 drop)
The Taranaki forward pack paved the way for their decisive victory
over Wairarapa Bush yesterday.
The home side went out to 15-3 in the first 15 minutes, spearheaded
by first 5/8 Mark Childs, 2nd 5/8 Marty Berry and winger Colin
Sullivan.
The face of the game changed dramatically however when Taranaki
started to play the game tight. With Kevin Barrett outstanding and
Scott Lines and Andrew Slater behind him, the visitors dominated
the lineout and scrum.
By halftime, Taranaki were on their way, leading 20-18. Although they
lacked penetration in the backs, Taranaki continued to dominate
through the forwards.
_____________________________________________________________________
HAWKES BAY 24 MANAWATU 22 Half-time: 14-5
at Napier
Hawkes Bay tries: W Petera(2), R Randle
kicks: J Cunningham(3 conv, 1 pen)
Manawatu tries: K Williams, A Harris, P Schmidt-Uili
kicks: J Holland(2 conv, 1 pen)
Poor Manawatu first 5/8 Jason Holland will be having nightmares after
his side lost 22-24 to Hawkes Bay yesterday. Twice in the last minute
of the match, from a 30m penalty, and a drop-goal attempt he had the
chance to keep his side in with a chance of making the top four, but
on both occasions the ball just shaved the wrong side of the uprights.
However, such a result would have been an injustice, if the dominance
which the Bay showed in the second half means anything at all. Only
3 minutes from time Hawkes Bay led 24-15 and may have been even further
in front. Aaron Hamilton had been denied only 5m short by Bruce Hansen,
George Konia, who had an outstanding game, passed forward with the
line at the Bay's mercy, and Craig Brownlie was ruled to have stepped
out in the corner as he went over after Hawkes Bay ran the ball
instead of opting for the penalty kick.
Having missed these opportunities, Hawkes Bay would have been forgiven
for being worried when Manawatu replacement blind-sider Andrew Harris
went in under the posts in the 77th minute to make it 22-24, setting
up a heart-stopping last 2 minutes.
Manawatu coach Frank Oliver asked his players for everything they
had, and they responded by coming out and setting a cracking pace, but
conceding a try against the run of play by Bay second 5/8 Waka Petera.
However they came back to build a 12-7 lead with tries from captain
Karl Williams and wing Paul Schmidt-Uili.
A Holland penalty made it 15-7 before the Bay forwards asserted control.
Despite controlling most of the possession, it wasn't until just before
half-time that Petera scored his second and Cunningham converted to
get them within a point.
Four minutes into the second half Bay broke out from their 22m with
a long pass to Konia who linked with Dallas Seymour to send Roger
Randle in.
Hawkes Bay dominated from then on, but then very nearly succumbed to
that late Manawatu rally.
_____________________________________________________________________
### DIVISION 3 ####################################################
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________________________________
BULLER 9 POVERTY BAY 20 Half-time: 6-13
at Westport
Buller tries:
kicks: T Pratt(3 pen)
Poverty Bay tries: A Rangihuna, E Robinson
kicks: A Rangihuna(2 conv, 2 pen)
Poverty Bay managed to bumble its way to an unconvincing win over
Buller by 20-9, in a match where fumbling in the backs was the
order of the day.
Buller on the other hand was unable to take advantage of these
mistakes and mount any really convincing attacks in reply.
Buller scored first after 8 minutes through a penalty kick from
Tony Pratt. Bay equalised likewise via Api Rangihuna, who added
a converted try just before halftime.
Buller replied to get within a point with further penalties from
Pratt, but Bay weathered the early Buller pressure easily, and
made the game safe with a try to Eddie Robinson after 73 minutes,
converted by Rangihuna.
The last five minutes saw Buller hammering at the Bay line without
result. For Bay fullback Mark Jeffereson, winger Jason Whitewood
andflanker Mutu Ngarimu stood out. For Buller Thomas Stuart and
Michael Coghlan had strong games.
_____________________________________________________________________
THAMES VALLEY 26 HOROWHENUA 22 Half-time: 14-8
at Paeroa
Thames Valley tries: P Clark(2), W Hodges, R Taylor
kicks: D McCallum(3 conv)
Horowhenua tries: T Aiono(2), P Hirini
kicks: C Williams(2 conv, 1 drop)
Thames Valley scored a narrow victory over Horowhenua in a bad-
tempered match in which several players were sin-binned, and two
players - Horowhenua captain Sam Tovo and Valley prop Carl Hoeft -
were sent of for fighting.
Much of the niggle came from the Horowhenua forwards who seemed
determined to upset their Valley opposites and disrupt their
gameplan by both fair and unfair methods. The referee compounded
the situation by failing to assert control early on as the
niggle developed.
The game was crucial for both teams. For Valley, the win gives them
a leg up towards the top, and for Horowhenua, the bonus point means
they will almost certainly make the semi-finals.
_____________________________________________________________________
MARLBOROUGH 34 WEST COAST 24 Half-time: 34-7
at Blenheim
Marlborough tries: T Sloan(2), P Flynn, C Forsyth
kicks: C Forsyth(4 conv, 2 pen)
West Coast tries: P Taylor(2), K Perkins
kicks: M Foster(3 conv, 1 pen)
After notching 34 points in the first half, Marlborough had to
weather a second half onslaught from plucky West Coast without
adding to their own score.
The Red Devils played some excellent football in the first half,
with first 5/8 Craig Forsyth in fine kicking form, and also scoring
a try. Winger Terry Sloan used his considerable speed to score
two tries and replacement flanker Peter Flynn capped an impressive
debut game with an excellent try as well.
Coast came back very strongly in the second spell by turning to a
tighter game with its pack dominant. Locks Arthur Gillman and Karl
Perkins won a lot of ball at the lineout, and props Mark Dineen
and Dean Alexander excelled in the tight exchanges.
Halfback Paul Taylor cleared the ball well, and his darting forays
earned him the reward of two tries.
_____________________________________________________________________
WANGANUI 40 NORTH OTAGO 18 Half-time: 13-5
at Wanganui
Wanganui tries: A Nagicu(3), R Nimo, V Pomana, T Barrell
kicks: R Nimo(1 conv, 1 pen), G Lennox(1 pen)
North Otago tries: J Taeiloa, A Fanene, J Wilson
kicks: P Bleach(1 pen)
A hat-trick of tries by impressive Fijian winger Asalusi Nagicu
helped Wanganui beat North Otago in their mid-table clash yesterday.
Nagicu, who is the leading points-scorer in Wanganui this year with
26 tries at club level and 8 for the representative side, was in
superb form.
Wanganui struggled until the final quarter of the match however, after
leading 13-5 at the half-way mark.
During a 9 minute spell in the second half, Wanganui scored no less
then 24 points.
The heavier Wanganui forward pack, although giving away some height
to their opposites, dominated at scrum time, and were more
competetive in general play.
The best of the Wanganui forwards were Manawatu import Craig Trembath,
Mike Collis, and Jamie Hutana, while flanker Jason Caskey featured
prominently throughout, as did hooker Mark Thompson.
RESULTS TABLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Auckland 7 6 0 1 210 101 25
Otago 7 5 0 2 191 160 22
Counties 7 5 0 2 200 220 21
Canterbury 8 4 1 3 259 232 19
Waikato 7 4 0 3 188 180 18
North Harbour 7 3 1 3 187 135 16
Wellington 7 3 0 4 157 197 13
Southland 7 0 0 7 124 209 5
King Country 7 1 0 6 137 219 4
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Northland 7 7 0 0 304 75 28
Taranaki 7 6 0 1 315 150 24
Bay of Plenty 7 5 0 2 273 125 21
Hawkes Bay 7 5 0 2 216 149 20
Manawatu 7 3 0 4 200 154 15
Wairarapa Bush 7 3 0 4 176 231 12
South Canterbury 7 2 0 5 124 245 9
Nelson Bays 8 1 0 7 115 436 5
Mid Canterbury 7 0 0 7 122 270 1
_____________________________________________
NPC DIVISION 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P W D L F A Pts
Poverty Bay 7 6 0 1 216 137 24
Thames Valley 7 6 0 1 246 168 24
Marlborough 8 5 0 3 223 201 20
Wanganui 7 4 0 3 165 111 17
Horowhenua 7 4 0 3 155 149 17
North Otago 7 2 0 5 153 196 9
West Coast 7 2 0 5 115 152 9
Buller 7 2 0 5 102 208 8
East Coast 7 1 0 6 148 201 6
_____________________________________________
NEXT WEEK
~~~~~~~~~
Key: RS Ranfurly Shield at stake
= NPC Division I
+ NPC Division II
# NPC Division III
Sat 30th Wellington = vs Counties Wellington
Southland = vs King Country Invercargill
Otago = vs North Harbour Dunedin
Taranaki + vs Bay of Plenty New Plymouth
Northland + vs Hawkes Bay Whangarei
Manawatu + vs South Canterbury Palmerston North
Mid Canterbury + vs Wairarapa Bush Ashburton
North Otago # vs Buller Oamaru
Horowhenua # vs East Coast Levin
Poverty Bay # vs Wanganui Gisborne
West Coast # vs Thames Valley Greymouth
Sun 1st Auckland = vs Waikato Auckland
Wellington vs. Counties will be an opportunity for Wellington to regain
some pride, whereas Counties will be hoping to win and gain the home
ground advantage in the NPC semi-finals. I pick Wellington to win this
one, since their midfield is stronger than Counties', but they've got
to watch out for Big Jonah.
Southland vs King Country will be an exciting match, since both teams
will be fighting to avoid playing second division rugby next season. A
hard match to predict, but I pick Southland, since they have more
options in attack.
The match of the weekend is Otago vs North Harbour at the 'Brook. With
the Harbour side beginning to regain form, and Otago with their home
support it should be a classic. I go for North Harbour on this occasion
simply because they are desperate to get into the top four, unlike
Otago who have already booked their ticket.
Another potentially exciting match is the Auckland vs Waikato game at
Eden Park. Although on paper it looks to be an absolute brush-aside
job for the Auckland Juggernaut, Waikato have shown they have some
sting on attack this year. If Auckland don't come out motivated, and
after their keyed-up performance this week it will be difficult, then
we may have an upset. Having said that I'm going for Auckland, although
I have a sneaking suspicion it will be closer than many think.
Cheers,
Paul.
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Paul Waite doc@docdevl.actrix.gen.nz
Wellington, New Zealand +64-4-233-1764
----------------------------------------------------------------------------