Norths win Andy Leslie Trophy as semi-finals confirmed

Northern United held off a spirited Old Boys University to win their last round encounter 13-10 at Nairnville Park and claim the Andy Leslie Trophy as top qualifier at the conclusion of the Jubilee Cup round-robin series on Saturday.

Played in gusty conditions, Norths scored first half tries to wing Liki Siliga and and blindside flanker Parekura Lalaga on the stroke of halftime to turn with the wind holding a 10-3 lead.

The first 20 minutes of the second half remained scoreless until Norths second-five Perry Hayman kicked a penalty to extend the lead to 13-3. OBU finally crossed the line through midfielder Izzy Foai but Norths held on to fulltime.

The other two seventh round Jubilee Cup results saw Poneke finish their season with a flourish by beating Hutt Old Boys Marist 50-26 and Oriental-Rongotai and Tawa draw 17-17.

The Jubilee Cup semi-finals next weekend will see Northern United (1) host Hutt Old Boys Marist (4) and Old Boys University (2) host Oriental-Rongotai (3).

The final Jubilee Cup points table is: Norths 26, OBU 21, Ories 20, HOBM 18, Poneke 16, MSP 9, Tawa 6.

Ories supporters were left lamenting a death-knock Tawa try that cost their team a home semi-final. Ories had come back from a 0-12 deficit to score two converted tries – both to No. 8 Luca Rees – to lead 14-12. Fullback Trent Renata kicked a penalty to lead 17-12 and a home semi-final berth beckoned. However, Tawa’s wing ThomasTemu crossed at the end to prevent a Polo Ground playoff.

Over at Kilbirnie Park, Poneke scored opening tries to No. 8 Greg Foe and wing Brian Coclough to see them go up 14-0. HOBM responded with a tries to midfielders Jayden Treviranus and Chase Tiatia to draw level at 14-14 at halftime.

HOBM flanker Jordan Gillies scored from the kick-off but Poneke striking back through centre Alex Morrissey and Foe for his second which took Poneke into a 28-19 lead. Tiatia bagged his brace to close the gap to 26-28, but Poneke sailed home with the wind to win comfortably.

For HOBM, loosehead prop Simon Malaeulu was playing his 200th Premier match and first five-eighth Glen Walters his 100th.

In the Hardham Cup, Wainuiomata edged the Wellington Axemen 23-22 at Hataitai Park to finish top qualifier for the semi-finals.

Wainuiomata scored two late tries to overtake and pull clear of the Axemen, who had crossed for three consecutive tries and taken a 15-13 lead during the second half.

Second five-eighth Eremia Tapsell was involved in two second half tries, slicing through in broken play to score and then cutting through again to set up a try to halfback Callum Harkin from a quick tap free kick.

But Wainuiomata came back to score tries to replacement loose forward Ben Tupuola and second five-eighth Michael Lealava’a to take the lead.

The other two seventh and final round Hardham Cup fixtures resulted in second placed qualifier Petone beating Johnsonville 31-5 – with hooker Eugene Smith scoring in his 200th Premier match – and the Upper Hutt Rams defeating Paremata-Plimmerton 19-12.

The Hardham Cup semi-finals next weekend will see Wainuiomata (1) play Johnsonville (4) and Petone (2) play the Upper Hutt Rams (3).

The final Hardham Cup points table is: Wainuiomata 26, Petone 25, Upper Hutt Rams 18, Johnsonville 15, Wellington 13, Avalon 8, Paremata-Plimmerton 6.

The Wellington Axemen was the unlucky team to miss out – if they had protected their 15-13 lead against Wainuiomata they would have qualified ahead of Johnsonville.

At Helston Park, Petone scored two tries to go 10-0 up at halftime against Johnsonville. The second of these was scored by Eugene Smith in his 200th match.

Johnsonville closed the gap early in the second spell with what would be their only try, to blindside flanker Joel Knight, before a Caelym Box try that extended Petone’s lead to 17-5 sealed victory. The Villagers added further tries to fullback Adam Simpson and lock James Blackwell.

At Maidstone Park, the Rams opened their account with a try to loose forward Daniel Schrijvers and kept their noses in front throughout the remainder of the contest. For Paremata-Plimmerton, loose forwards Peni Tapau and Tane McMillan-Parata found the chalk.

It was double heartbreak for the Wellington Axemen, with their Premier Reserve Division 2 HD Morgan Memorial side also suffering a similar fate. They were leading Wainuiomata 12-10 until a 75th minute try to Wainuiomata gave the visitors a 15-12 win and relegated the Axemen to fifth.

Wainuiomata (4) will play top qualifier Petone (1) in the HD Morgan Memorial semi-finals, despite Petone losing their first game of the second round to Johnsonville, 12-34. Johnsonville (2) will host the Upper Hutt Rams (3) who beat Paremata-Plimmerton 43-5.

In last round Premier Reserve Division1 Ed Chaney Cu matches, Ories beat Tawa 32-23, Norths beat OBU 22-21 and Poneke beat HOBM 32-16. The semi-finals see Ories (1) play Poneke (4) and MSP (2) play Norths (3).

The Division 1 Les Mills Colts John E Kelly Cup results from the last round saw Norths take top spot with a 26-24 over Tawa. Norths (1) will host OBU (4), who accounted for last year’s champions Petone 54-5. First round winners MSP (2) beat HOBM 36-7 (3) and these two teams will meet again at MSP in the semi-final in town.

In Colts Division 2, Ories (1) will host OBU Black (4) and Poneke (2) will meet Wainuiomata (3), after Poneke’s 44-8 win over Wainuiomata in the last round. Ories and OBU Black both had 50 plus point wins over Wellington and Avalon respectively.

In Women’s Division 1 rugby, top qualifier Ories will host Paremata-Plimmerton (4) in one Tia Paasi Memorial Cup semi-final and Norths (2) and Petone (3) will contest the other.

Saturday’s matches saw Ories beat MSP 75-5 and Petone beat Paremata-Plimmerton 29-5 Norths had the bye.

In Division 2, the penultimate round-robin games resulted in the OBU Impalas beating HOBM 59-10 after leading 26-5 at halftime and Avalon defeating Poneke 55-10. There is another week of regular season games next week before OBU and HOBM meet in the final the following week.

In U85kg Paul Potiki Shield matches, leaders Avalon beat the Tawa Titans 21-9 and Eastbourne defeated the OBU Bunnies 36-12.

The HOBM Barbarians kept their winning season going with a 52-7 win over Petone and the Stokes Valley Rhinos pipped OBU in two First Grade Johnsonville Centennium Cup matches to hand.

In a notable Reserve Grade Division 1 Paul Donoghue Memorial Cup result, the Johnsonville Cripples beat the Upper Hutt Rams Pirates 48-33 to see both teams level at the top of the standings on 16 points after four rounds. The MSP side beat the OBU Pink Ginners 39-38 in a close Division 2 John Davies Cup battle.