April 23, 2021
For the 3rd round of the season on Saturday 17th April, New Plymouth Old Boys Rugby Club hosted cross-town rivals Tukapa before a good crowd at Vogeltown Park in generally fine overhead conditions. With the match doubling as Old Timers Day and it was great to welcome past players and officials for lunch and refreshments at the White House.
A brief outline of the matches played is as follows.
BCD Group NPOB Premier Team
Unfortunately, the Premier team was not able to maintain its previous form falling to its old rivals 18 – 17 as Tukapa scored a converted try after the 80th minute to record an unlikely win. Throughout the match Old Boys was able to work themselves into scoring positions but was unable to capitalise on a number of scoring opportunities. Old Boys scored first with a try to Bradley Slater (who had been released to play club football by the Chiefs) which was converted by Daniel Waite and with another penalty to Daniel Waite led 10 – 3 at the break.
In the 2nd half Old Boys enjoyed some good phases but coughed the ball up at crucial times when they were building pressure. With 15 minutes left on the clock Michael Loft scored a try near the posts which was converted to give Old Boys the lead 17 – 6. Unfortunately, their efforts did not provide a victory as Tukapa stormed home in the last 10 minutes with two tries and a conversion on the fulltime whistle to take the win.
Old Boys best players were Jordan Roylance (1 point), Daniel Waite (2 points) and Jack Green (3 points).
Alsco NPOB Division 1
The Division 1 match was going to prove a challenge for the team who were looking to continue their 11-match winning streak with nine players out from the previous week through wedding commitments or injury. As a result, Old Boys had many players playing out of position and consequently the team took some time to gel with some soft turnovers which relieved pressure that they had been building on the opposition. Old Boys were ably led up front by club stalwarts Jamayn Kepa, James McKerrow and Troway Hayes who put in a standout performance unselfishly filling in at lock.
Tukapa went into the lead with an early try until Old Boys finally held onto the ball for a decent period of time and marched down the field which led to the first of his two tries to Jarrod Ritson. Jamz(Tiny) Tito scored just before halftime to give the home team a 14 -5 halftime lead. Sean White having a great day with the boot converted both tries.
In the 2nd half Richard Darney came on at fullback for his first game of the season and created havoc with his deceptive running. Old Boys forwards started to gain some dominance, helped with the inclusion of Gary Hoffman’s, and the backline started to shine with the midfield pairing of Sean White and Cole Paulin almost piercing the Tukapa defence at will. A superb try to Jarrod Ritson cutting back on the angle off a Kepa pass secured the game for Old Boys which was topped off with a 4th try to Jemayn Kepa after a movement that swept 50m up the field.
The halves pairing of Cruz Grace and Charl Labuschagne started to combine well and it was great to see a return of Duane Bourne with his experience on the left-wing. The team were assisted by new players Raidyn Raimona, Tynan Tito and Bailey Cardie all playing in the first games.
The best players were Richard Darney and Cole Paulin (1 point), Jarod Rison (2 points) and Sean White (3 points) with his numerous tackle breaking runs and accurate goalkicking.
Final score NPOB 26 – Tukapa 10. Now 12 wins in a row.
Pepper Construction NPOB Colts
The across-town battle with our town rival was eagerly anticipated. Old Boys was able to come away with a very good win scoring a total of 6 tries, a couple of long range from set plays to record a 43 – 7 victory.
With the high numbers in the squad it’s proving difficult to get everyone on the field with meaningful time however with rolling subs at 20, 40 and 60 minutes Old Boys was able to achieve that objective and that looks to be the plan going forward.
A worry heading into the game for Old Boys was they had 2 new hookers with minimal experience with throwing into the lineout. However Old Boys will continue to keep them learning new skills and was able to dominate possession. Regular hooker Mat Tuck could be back this week after resting up for a week.
Two Colts players debuted for the Premier team with Kalani Ryan-Wahanui starting on the wing and then Mason Milham replacing Adam Smith at fullback. To date a total of 4 Colts so far this year have played 3 games for the Premiers.
Junior Club
The U13 Restricted Weight and Open Weight teams combined for a pre-season game against Tukapa. The skill level shown by both teams was of a high standard for the first hit-outs. The Restricted Weight players, with most playing their first game on a full paddock, showed a lot of courage against the considerably larger opponents. The coming season looks promising for both sides.
The Junior Club gets underway in earnest on 8th May.
This week, 24th April, the Senior Teams travel to Rahotu to take on Coastal. Game times are:
· Colts 1.00pm
· Division 1 1.00pm
· Premiers 2.45pm
Other Home games for the round-robin season are:
| Date | Opponent |
| 08 May | Stratford-Eltham (Sponsors Day) |
| 15 May | Inglewood |
| 29 May | Southern (Ladies Day) |
| 12 June | Coastal |
| 19 June | Clifton |
Netball Club
This year will feature a brief report from the NPOB Netball Club. Old Boys has 4 teams in the various competitions.
The Old Boys Rebelz team took on the Waitara based Raukura side. In a hard-fought match Raukura took the victory 34 – 24. The Rebelz best player was Michelle Zhender with calm dominance in the shooting circle.
The Old Boys Titans ground out a victory beating Tysons 36 – 26. The game was very close game until the last quarter before Titans found second gear and took the lead winning comfortably.
The Old Boys Stars recorded a 36 – 20 victory over Western Suburbs Tu Meke. Despite this team being new to the Club, and not having played together before but they are coming together as a confident unit playing some very good netball.
The Premier team plays the Tyson Easts at the TSB Stadium at 8.15pm on Thursday 22nd April. Old Boys are expecting a tough encounter with the top team in the Premier division.
General
Details of other social events at the White House will be provided in the coming weeks.
