Goosen’s two second-half intercept tries lead OBU to victory
It's been another day of great rugby across the Wellington region, with sunny skies allowing for open, free flowing rugby.
Firstly, congratulations to Ories who have won the Fleurs Trophy following their 48-7 victory against Norths. Ories have been in dominant form all season and thoroughly deserve their victory. Congratulations also to Marist St Pats for winning the Womens Division Two competition.
A decision on promotion/relegation in the Womens grade will be made tomorrow and construction of the second round draws for both divisions will be completed tomorrow.
Swindale Shield
In the Swindale Shield, arguably the biggest result of the day was HOBM dominant 26-10 victory away to Tawa. Marist have not lost since Round Two and they are peaking at the right time of the season.
In another major result, Ories beat Upper Hutt 41-19 to maintain their great run of form. Vitally, they have secured the four-try bonus point in the process.
MSP will be delighted to have secured the full 5 points against Avalon, eventually winning 60-10. Wainui have also returned to winning form, beating Paremata-Plimmerton 41-15.
Significantly, Poneke and Petone have both secured bonus-point wins against Johnsonville and Wellington respectively to stay in the race for Jubilee Cup places.
In today's feature game, The Goats have returned to top form beating an in-form Norths team at home.
Extended feature Game: Old Boys University v Northern United
Two second-half intercept tries to Wes Goosen has given OBU a resounding 30-7 victory against a passionate Norths side.
OBU earnt their victory through staunch defence, particularly in the first-half as they withstood a barrage of Norths attacks. The key moment came early in the second-half, when centre Wes Goosen intercepted a floating pass and sprinted 50m to score his first try. This knocked the stuffing out of a tired Norths defence and allowed OBU to control the remainder of the game.
After an even first 10 minutes, the anticipant crowd was sent into a frenzy when big Norths No.8 Mike Ioapo thumped his opposite Te Wehi Wright in a head-high tackle.
An ensuing yellow-card and penalty lifted the intensity of the game and gave OBU an early lead.
Despite only playing with 14 men, Norths responded well. Several bullocking runs put pressure on the OBU defence. Eventually, OBU lock Joe Beech was yellow-carded for cynical play. Norths were rewarded with a try to impressive halfback Tom Finai as he scooted around the maul to score.
As halftime approached, Norths threated to score again as they bashed their way towards the line. However, in a crucial moment, a brutal tackle from OBU created a turnover and allowed them to clear the line.
Norths did not help themselves, when another high tackle resulted in a second yellow card to centre Te Kahui Bishop. This pressure took its toll later in the game.
OBU had absorbed a huge amount of pressure and they were content to head into the sheds only 7-3 down.
The home side tightened the screws early in the second half. Strong running and clever offloading allowed Gavin Parker to score in the corner to regain the lead for OBU.
Norths began to tire and OBU pounced. OBU's rushed defence created problems for the away side, as they struggled to penetrate forward.
Constant pressure led to Goosen's first intercept, as he plucked a floating ball out of the air to score. OBU continued to convert pressure into points as they kicked over two further penalties.
Finally, Goosen issued the knock-out blow when he reached out, tapped up and regathered the ball to score his second intercept of the day
Womens Rugby
It's all Ories in the Fleurs Trophy, after their 48-7 win against Norths win them the competition. Ories have been head and shoulders above their competition all season and they thoroughly deserve the trophy.
In today's other game, Wainuiomata have beaten OBU 31-24 following an impressive second-half comeback.
In Division 2, MSP have comfortably beaten Paremata-Plimmerton 67-5; while Poneke have won against Tawa 32-0.
Colts Rugby
In the Les Mills Paris Memorial Trophy, competition-leaders Petone have beaten the Upper Hutt Rams 34-7; while Ories have defeated Poneke 39-10. In the other games, MSP narrowly beat Tawa 27-19 while Norths and OBU Green drew 19-all.
In the JRD Cup, Paremata-Plimmerton defeated Wainuiomata 24-0; while HOBM beat Kapiti 26-15. Finally, Avalon defeated MSP B 52-12.
