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It’s the autumn equinox tomorrow, when there will be exactly 12 hours each of night and day – so the community rugby season in almost upon us!
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Some more pre-season rugby coming up this Saturday, and a number of clubs holding internal camps on their final free afternoons before kick off on Saturday 1 April.
The Hurricanes are away to the Moana Pasifika in Auckland on Saturday night.
We will cover this all at the end of the week. Plus (hopefully) the first couple of our competition-specific articles, and a couple more next week as well.
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A couple of bits of news out of the WRFU.
The first, as announced publicly last week will see this year’s Women’s competition split into two grades. The Premier grade will require clubs to front with 15 players minimum and play the same competition scrum laws as their male counterparts and what will be played at Farah Palmer Cup, while the Senior competition relaxes those requirements by allowing the Game On variations to be played. Just who will enter which grade – and you figure that Norths, MSP, Ories, and Petone will be in the Premier competition – remains to be seen.
The second hasn’t been, yet. As sources have confirmed to Club Rugby, last week by a vote of 14-2, with four abstentions, the union’s club delegates (one from each of the 17 clubs, plus the Referees, Secondary Schools, and Centurions) voted to remove the Eligibility Criteria for Premier status. The criteria, that for eligibility to play in the Premier competition a club must have two senior mens sides and a Colts, has been in effect since the competition was revised in 2015. It was suspended in 2020 owing to Covid, but last year was voted to return in full for 2023. However, it appears in the cold light of day that several clubs are struggling to fulfill this, and rather than face a last-minute cull leniency has been applied once again for this season.
Club Rugby further understands that work will now be undertaken to determine what an appropriate criterion is going forward, and we await this with interest.
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Two tries on debut on Friday night to Kini Naholo.
Fitting that Devan Flanders provided the final pass to Naholo for the first try. The two have been playing together for several years, including for the all-conquering Hastings BHS team in 2017 (below, photo by Andy McArthur).
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Players to have scored two tries on Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes?
Conrad Smith versus the Western Force in 2005 is one example.
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Jordie Barrett has missed gimme conversions on consecutive weeks – so perhaps they need someone to take the easy kicks and he just takes the difficult and long-range ones!
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After lamenting a flat performance by Dane Coles in this space last week, Coles had a typical busy, sprightly match off the bench on Friday.
He also scored his 28th Super Rugby try. The joint third most by a New Zealand forward in the competition. Just Liam Messam and Codie Taylor (also a hooker from Horowhenua-Kapiti) have scored more.
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A stop-start match though, windy conditions didn’t help but it appeared as though many of the Waratahs players had never played in such conditions before. Lots of droppsies and poorly time passes and lineout throws.
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How is Cam Roigard tracking for higher honours? He has already represented New Zealand A late last year of course. He is still young , but he is an example of a player that didn’t make any New Zealand age-grade teams growing up beside Lake Karapiro, home of the Maadi Cup every other year. The New Zealand Schools halfbacks in his final year in 2018 were Taufa Funaki and Louie Chapman and the NZ Schools Barbarians halfbacks were James Arscott and Kristian Standen.
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Great to see PJ Sheck make his debut for the Highlanders in Super Rugby this weekend.
The former Porirua College and current Tawa prop joined the playing squad as an injury replacement for Saula Ma’u against the Force in Invercargill.
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Sheck’s Wellington teammate Xavier Numia had another strong match on Friday night – a regular selection for the Hurricanes now.
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We couldn’t have said this better – this tweet here below by Poneke’s Jamie Wall.
If you bought a ticket to the Chiefs game this weekend before the team was named, you should probably be entitled to a refund. Understand the need to sit test players out, but to do it in a home game is bullshit for the fans.
— Jamie Wall (@JamieWall2) March 16, 2023
The full thread is HERE
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As well as the Hurricanes U20s, four Wellington players playing in the Moana Pasifika U20s this week, these being:
- Calvin Fepulea’i (former OBU hooker)
- Maea Tema-Schmidt (Poneke lock)
- Junior Paulo (HOBM midfielder)
- Salesa Seumanufagai (Ories prop)
Two Wellington players in the Blues U20s:
- Rory Wood (former St Pat’s Town, Wellington Axemen)
- Christian Stenhouse (former St Pat’s Town)
One in the Barbarians:
- Logan Love (Marist St Pat’s)
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The Super Rugby U20s competition kicked off in Taupo on Sunday, with the Hurricanes beating the Moana Pasifika 64-19 in their opening match. The Hurricanes led 19-7 at halftime.
Players to standout for the Hurricanes included lock Hunter Morrison, loose forwards Dominic Ropeti, Tino Savea and Toby Crosby, first five Harry Godfrey, and backs Bethel Malasia, Epeli Waqaicece and Sam Coles on the left wing, who was fullback for Palmerston North Boys’ High School last year.
The Hurricanes scrum was strong all match, with Manawatu prop Malakai Hala-Ngatai a standout. He was a Manukura school leaver in 2021. Bradley Crichton came on and got hit hard twice but still played well, prop Senio Sanele was good off the bench too, Siale Lauaki busy but departed after 30 minutes for no apparent reason. Also in the reserves, both halfback Sam Howling was good when he came on.
In other games, the Highlanders beat the Chiefs 28-18, the Blues over-ran the Fijian Drua by plenty and the Barbarians U20s beat the Crusaders U20s 35-27 – an upset.
The Hurricanes team plays the Highlanders U20s on Wednesday in their tournament ‘semi-final’, ahead of finals day on Saturday.
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Wellington Rugby Referees Premier centurion and erstwhile Jubilee Cup final referee Richard Gordon continues to impress in England. Gordon is currently refereeing at National League 1 and National League 2 South level – the tiers below the Premiership and Championship – but over the weekend had a high-profile appointment as he took charge of the England vs France U18s clash which saw the young Les Bleus lead all the way at a muddy Esher Rugby club in London’s southwest in a 29-24 win
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The Highlanders got their first win of the 2023 season with a rollicking 43-35 win over the Western Force in Invercargill on Sunday. The win was actually more comfortable that that, with the Force scoring two consolation tries after the 80th minute. Former OBU flanker Hugh Renton scored the winning try which put them up 43-25 at that stage.
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It was only pre-season, but Callum Harkin was in hot form for the OBU Goats on Saturday in their rollicking 39-31 win over Massey. Harkin, last year’s Wellington club rugby season MVP winner, picked up from where he left off last year. The Wellington club competition is lucky to have him as he could easily be playing professional rugby. With him at their helm, and several other talented players joining and returning, the Goats backs will be a handful this season for all comers.
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The Hurricanes Poua lost 43-21 to the Chiefs Manawa in their Super Rugby Aupiki semi-final on Sunday. Like their recent game in Levin, the Chiefs forwards dominated up front. The Chiefs will play Matatū in the final this coming weekend, after that side defeated the Blues Women in the other semi-final. Both matches at North Harbour Stadium were played in front of no one, but almost all matches at that venue are, so another typically strange decision to deliberately sabotage any chance of atmosphere at these games.
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