July 2, 2021
Kia ora NPOB whanau
For the 6th game of Round 2 on 26th June, the New Plymouth Old Boys Rugby Club Senior Teams travelled to Stratford to play Stratford-Eltham in wet and cold conditions.
A brief outline of the matches played is as follows.
BCD Group NPOB Premier Team
The Premiers played with the advantage of a strong wind in the 1st half getting away to a good start. Old Boys scored 17 un-answered points to lead 17-0 at the break with tries to Mason Milham and Josh Dowsing with 2 well taken conversions and a penalty to Codey Rei. For the last 10 minutes of the 1st half Old Boys defended its try-line keeping Stratford-Eltham scoreless.
In the 2nd half Old Boys couldn’t extend its lead whereas Stratford-Eltham managed to score a penalty and converted try to trail 17-10. Old Boys again defended well, and Stratford-Eltham could not break through. Old Boys played well in the conditions keeping the ball in behind the attack line.
The result sees the Premiers in 4th equal position in the ladder and must secure a bonus point win against top of the table Inglewood this week to qualify for the semi-finals rounds.
Old Boys best players were Deken Rooks, (3 points), Josh Dowsing (2 points) and Rowan Slater and Brodie Lilley (1 point).
Alsco NPOB Division 1
The Division 1 side headed down to Stratford needing a win to secure a home semi-final. The game was played at Page Street Park due to the conditions of the Victoria Park field, and although it was wet underfoot the pitch was certainly a lot better than what the Colts and Premier teams encountered. Old Boys played into a slight breeze in the first half and controlled possession well turning over multiple phases and threatening to break the Stratford-Eltham defence. Old Boys scored first after Jacko Carrington showed some great football skills after following through on a grubber and managed to beat the cover defence to the ball. Stratford-Eltham hit back next exposing Old Boys out wide but a late first half penalty from Cruz Grace saw the Division 1 team go into the break 10-7 up.
Old Boys controlled much of the 2nd half and kicked two further penalties to go up 16-5 with 15 minutes to play. A couple of silly penalties gave Stratford-Eltham field position, and they were able to score under the sticks to pull the gap back to just 16-12. However, the barnstorming Jamayn Kepa who was back after a long injury lay off , ran through 4 defenders to score in the corner and put the result beyond doubt. Jacko Carrington clung on to an intercept and showed a surprising turn of pace to score on the final play to round out a good 28-12 win.
Jamayn Kepa deservedly was named man of the match, he continually broke the advantage line often carrying multiple defenders with him. Jacko Carrington worked hard all game (2) and Tom Larsen (1) who was a late call up to the wing showed some great fight.
The win meant that the team has now secured top spot and a home semi-final which is a great result, they will be looking to carry on their momentum this week.
Pepper Construction NPOB Colts
Like the previous week weather was always going to again be a factor in Stratford. In the week leading into the game there was even doubt that the games would be played at Victoria Park.
On arrival and viewing the No. 2 field it was very heavy and a decent wind running straight up and down the field along with constant rain. Old Boys practices during the week had been focused on a short kicking game designed to keep the ball away from a very good Stratford-Eltham fullback but would obviously suit playing into the wind as well. The fullback they had been working around didn’t actually play.
Old Boys was lucky enough to win the toss and played into the wind in the1st half, Stratford-Eltham had most of the possession but however did not convert that into field position because they played too much in their own half and did not utilise the wind. That and some solid defence Old Boys had Stratford-Eltham leading only 5-0 at half time.
In the 2nd half Old Boys used the left foot of Zac Betteridge to continually carve of large chunks of territory. Old Boys was able to dominate field position and apart from an intercept try worked really hard to control the game. In the last 10 minutes Old Boys were able to score 16 points with 2 tries to obtain the bonus point they were after and then player of the match Zac Betteridge kicked 2 penalties to give him 121 points for the season.
In the end Old Boys took a well-constructed win against a team that had recorded 12 wins this season. The win sets Old Boys up well coming into the semi-finals but have some challenges with Tom Morris receiving a nasty head knock and Zac Betteridge heading to Australia after next week’s game.
Junior Club
Once again, the weather conditions were not ideal of rugby but reports from the Coaches has been that the players have thrived in the wet conditions and the ball movement has been outstanding in very heavy conditions. Our U11 team was lucky enough to call on the services of Hugo French-Wright who was over from Melbourne, and by all accounts he had a great time.
With the 2021 season coming to an end, our U13 teams (open and restricted), are both a chance of making their respective finals.
General
This weekend, 03 July, the Senior Teams travel to Jubilee Park in Inglewood to take on Inglewood. Game times are:
· Colts 1.00pm
· Division 1 1.00pm
· Premiers 2.45pm
Netball Club
Premiers
For Thursday night’s match the Premiers played unbeaten team Tysons East, the team hotly tipped to win the Premier Netball competition.
The biggest positive that came out of that game was that the Coach was able to play everyone and as a team Old Boys continued to build on constructing a full 60-minute game. With lots of defensive turn overs followed by quick transitions Old Boys was able to work the ball to the goal circle. There was also some big improvements in the attacking end with the speed of the ball and finishing the goal.
The team still has heaps to work on before the finals round, but they are on the right track for a top four finish.
The final score resulted in a victory to Tysons 75-35.
The Premiers most valuable player was Kate Baxter.
Titans
Titans took on Tukapa Snr A in the last round of grading in an outstanding game by everyone on the court with the Titans coming away with the win 38-24.
Titans most valuable player was Laura Seed.
Rebelz
The Rebelz had a double header round with mixed results.
In game 1 the Rebelz were up against a well drilled NPGHS team with Rebelz taking a 22-17 victory.
The Rebelz most valuable player was Ari Karelia with some brilliant mid-court defence.
For game 2 the Rebelz had a 4-goal loss to Inglewood. Some tough calls against Old Boys made it difficult to get the flow going through the court. The final score was IURFC 24 – Rebelz 20.
The Rebelz most valuable player was Rianne van Dillen for her outstanding circle defence.
Rebelz will remain in Section 3 for the competition round.
Stars
The Stars played the Dynamics and in a really tightly fought battle in the conditions and considering they were down without shooters they fought hard. In the end however the Dynamics came away with 36-30 victory
The Stars most valuable player was Ava Hill.
The Netball Club held a successful fund raiser Bingo Night on Tuesday 29th June at The Good Home. The fund raiser was well attended and resulted in an enjoyable night helping to raise funds for the Club.
Lighting Fund
The Club has applied to the Toi Foundation for funding to upgrade the lighting at Vogeltown Park and will also be seeking support from other funding sources. We will monitor progress with the application and update in due course.
Prizegiving Night
Prizegiving night will be held on Saturday 31st July 2021 with more details to follow .
Nga Mihi
Keith and Owen
