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Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Finals footy delivers the goods
Well Rugby Chat is done for the year (thank God, you'll be saying!) but we have a few things to cover off so we can enjoy the summer. Firstly, the final was a pulsating affair with a lot of points scored and defence seemed to be optional at times. The score ebbed and flowed in the first spell and the Harbour scrum looked ominous. But in the second spell Kaik stepped up at lineout time and shut the Hawks out and walked away with the game. They built up a commanding lead and although Harbour were gutsy, coming back with two late tries, it was never going to be enough. Congratulations to Kaik. Everybody wrote them off early, they battled to make the six then got past Taieri, Southern and Harbour to win it all. In the South, Clutha were up against West Taieri in an absorbing encounter. Clutha were the best team all year and only lost one game and that was to their fellow finalist. It was a very tight, tense affair, with the home side being down by four at the break to the West Taieri Pigs. They were still down by seven with 15 minutes to go, but they managed to breach the West Taieri defence and led by three with the clock winding down. They then had to defend staunchly for the last few minutes to get the job done. If rumours are to be believed there were a few surprising selections on the bench for West Taieri. Big congratulations to Clutha on their fine season and getting the banner over the line. In unbelievably sunny Wanaka, Upper Clutha made no race of the final with old foes Wakatip, and raced away to a commanding 35-7 victory, much to the delight of the bumper crowd. They were down early but squeezed a late try to go to a three-point lead at the break. The second half was one-way traffic as they piled on 25 unanswered points. Congratulations Upper Clutha on a stunning season, winning the banner and locking away the "Horse" for the summer. For their collective efforts, Clutha and Upper Clutha go head to head in Wanaka tomorrow to find out who is the best team on the "farm". I'll tip Upper Clutha by one, but really it's a toss of the coin. The Ainge Shield I said last week that three teams still had some chance of winning the Ainge Shield for being the best-performed club in town. Well now, Kaikorai has a firm hand on the prize, with their premiers winning at the weekend. Taieri, even if they win the prem 2 competition tomorrow, have no chance. The problem is the two colts grades don't hit the playoffs for another eight days. Dunedin still have an outside chance of tying with Kaikorai on seven points if they win both the colts grades. I see the finalists in both grades — barring massive upsets — as being Dunedin and Kaikorai. It should be a Dunedin Makos v Kaik final in the prem colts and a Kaik Undertakers v Dunedin Hammerheads in junior colts. Those finals are too close to call. So I have Kaik at 2-1 to win the Ainge Shield. Dunedin are at 20-1 to grab a share of the Ainge with Kaik. Club player of the year The club player of the year awards are on at the Kaikorai club up on the high veldt on Friday, August 8. The ODT /Speight's club player of the year trophy has been hotly contested this year and we didn't find a winner until we hit the semifinals, which is not surprising considering how close this year's comp has been. On awards night we also pick the Ben Smith medallist for most promising new player, women's player of the year, top try scorer and points scorer in prem rugby and ref of the year. It promises to be a great night. If you can't make it, ODT Rugby Chat will be there to grab all the highlights ( Club report card Now without further ado, we'll make a move on to the much awaited club report card. Remember, take a breath, don't take yourselves too seriously and there will be no correspondence entered into! Alhambra Union (Stallions or Ponies) Numerically very strong with seven teams in the club. They won prem women's and were runner up in the women's development grade (doesn't count for Ainge points), but that was about as good as it got. They were last in prems, bottom of the pile in P2s and didn't really raise a sweat in the colts grades. Numerically and socially the club is in great heart. They just need some "male results"C Dunedin (Sharks or Guppyfish) Numerically the strongest club with eight teams. Their prems were a major disappointment, finishing fifth. Their prems 2s, who struggled for numbers all year, finished fourth. Their senior side promised a lot but delivered a fifth placing. They lead prem colts and are second and third in junior colts. Their prem women finished second and their women's development team finished last. Their numbers are strong and club is vibrant off the field. But by their lofty standards a very average year. C Green Island (Grizzlies or Spannerheads) Numerically very strong with seven teams. Their prems had an awful year, finishing seventh. Their P2s are in the final this weekend. Their seniors finished seventh. Their prem colts finished fifth and their junior colts teams finished eighth and 15th. Their development women's team finished fourth. Compared with the highs of last year a disappointing year. Their numbers are good and off the field, on the face of it, it has been vibrant, but they have had some issues lately they need to resolve. C- Harbour (The Hawks or Cockabillies) Numerically not that strong with only four teams. Their prems finished second. Their prem 2s finished a commendable third. Their prem colts finished sixth and their junior colts 10th. Compared with recent seasons it was very good for a smaller club. Off the field they seem to be travelling well and you can't go past making a club final. B Kaikorai Numerically pretty good with six teams. Their prems won the banner. Their P2s had a big dip to second-last. Their seniors made the final. Their prem colts lie second. Their top junior colts side is c sitting No1 and their second side is sixth. Off the field the club, as per usual, is in great heart. They must at least share the Ainge Shield if not win it outright. An outstanding season. A Southern Numerically they are struggling with only four teams. Their prems finished third. Their P2s finished last. Their junior colts finished 10th. Off the field they are still struggling to attract numbers. On the field a marked improvement, with their colts making the four and their prems are always competitive. C- Taieri (The Eels) Numerically ended up with five teams, so not too bad. Their prems finished third. Their P2s are in the final and go in as favourites. Their seniors won the comp in a romp. The prem colts side finished eighth and junior colts side finished 14th. Off the field the clubrooms are not quite as vibrant, but that is coming off a high base. Their men's teams had a good year but their colts teams were a bit of a worry. B- Varsity (The bookworms or bookends) Numerically reasonably strong with six teams. Their prems finished sixth. Their P2s finished fifth. Their prem colts are third and make the semis next weekend. Their junior colts are fifth and ninth currently. Their prem women finished third. Off the field they are still struggling to find the "recipe", but there has been improvement. No real highlights on the field, but their prem colts side has improved out of sight. C Zingari (The Colours) Numerically they were OK with six teams. They have certainly gone backwards though in terms of performance. Their prems finished eighth of nine. Their P2s finished sixth and their seniors ninth. Their prem colts finished seventh and their women's teams both finished fifth. Off the field they are normally pretty good, but I suspect that has gone backward this year. The much publicised "cash splash" from last year hasn't helped them this year and they have work to do. D So that wraps up the season, so thanks to our sponsors for making these pages happen. Liquorland, Speight's, the Speight's Alehouse, the Mornington and Cableways. Just a bit of late mail to finish. The spokesman/medic/waterboy/sponsorship manager of the Eels senior side apparently was sent off in the final at the weekend when he ran on to award a try — tell me it's not so?
Otago Daily Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Almost no-one predicted this
Well, the season is done and dusted apart from the final, of course. It's a final a few weeks ago nobody saw coming but here we are as Kaik and Harbour are on a collision course at the Greenhouse tomorrow to decide the Speight's Championship Shield. Well that's not totally true. In my first column of the year I picked Harbour to win it all (slightly tongue in cheek). Southern and Kaik went at it for a bruising and enthralling 80 minutes at Bog Bathgate last Saturday. The defences on both sides were stupendous and unbelievably it was the Kaikorai scrum in the 75th minute that won the game. They decimated Southern (the strongest pack all year) at a 5m scrum to force the penalty and win the game. In the other semi, Taieri made a lot of the play, had the territory and possession and the astute boot of Cam Millar but couldn't get it done. Harbour hung tough and invaluable halfback Nathan Hastie scored the matchwinner to propel them into the final. The Ainge Shield So who wins the Ainge Shield, which signifies the strongest overall club in town? We need to bear in mind we won't have a final result till August 9 as that is when the two colts finals will be played. The Ainge Shield points are calculated on the four best results of teams in your club. Dunedin and Kaikorai have had a mortgage on the shield over the past few seasons and they are right there again as the whips are cracking. Taieri is the only club that could upset them but you'd have to say they are a 50-1 shot. They could win P2s and seniors next weekend and their prems finished fourth but their fourth team will dramatically bring them down. Kaikorai are the favourites as they are still in the hunt in premiers, seniors and both colts grades. They are at 3-1 to win it all. Dunedin finished second in the women's competition and are still in the running in prem 2 and both colts grades and could finish as high as third with their second junior colts sides but they are rated 6-1. We won't have it all tabulated until l colts finals day. Down on the farm Congratulations to Excelsior and Woodlands on their respective championship wins at the weekend. That leaves the Central and South Otago finals to be played this weekend. In Central the all-conquering Upper Clutha host Wakatip on the shore of Lake Wanaka. The inversion cloud has lifted and the sun is out for the first time in months so it should be some spectacle. The "Polter" stand is up and they're expecting 2500-plus at the game at 2.30pm tomorrow — if you're within 50km of the game get along and see it. Down in Balclutha, Clutha are hosting West Taieri in the shadows of the bridge. They have been the best two teams in the comp this year so it will be a spectacle. If you're passing through Balclutha tomorrow afternoon you've finally got a reason to stop! The Form XV It was hard to pick certain positions — namely halfback, front row and the wingers — but the rest picked themselves. My thanks to the group of selectors who covered games all season and this is the representation of that work. The team: 15 MacKenzie Palmer (S), 14 Oscar Schmidt-Uli (D), 13 Josh Whaanga (T), 12 Matt Whaanga (T), 11 Aaron McMurray (V), 10 Rique Miln (H), 9 Oliver Thode (AU), 8 Konrad Toleafoa (S), 7 Slade McDowall (K), 6 Lucas Casey (K), 5 Reuben Palmer (D), 4 Aron Einarsson (S), 3 Cam Allan-McNeill (T), 2 Fatai Koloi (D), 1 Ben Fakataha (H). Otago team aftermath I said last week that Otago were bringing in three players to bolster their squad. They have named two, a lock and a winger. My spies tell me a midfielder had been signed as well, I think from out of Canterbury. I see there is a new name playing in the game against Southland tonight, Jae Broomfield. I presume that is him so why wasn't he named on Tuesday? I can't see why Dunedin winger Oscar Scmidt-Uli wasn't given a chance rather than bringing in a Sydney winger who played for Southland last year. Kyan Rangitutia played for Otago last year but is not required this year as a winger either? Why do we keep letting this happen. Reuben Palmer has been the best "big" lock in the competition this year but we've bought in a Fijian loose forward from the Drua instead. Again I ask why? But I doubt I'll get any answers. The final So it is all on tomorrow at 3pm in the Greenhouse between Kaikorai and Taieri. If you can't make it along, don't panic — the ODT will come to your rescue. We will be livestreaming the game on the ODT website ( and it will be on the homepage or just scan the QR code next to this this column. Yours truly will be commentating so I won't take offence if you turn the sound down. Greg O'Brien from the Highlanders will be providing comments and Lee Piper (self-proclaimed legendary commentator for the Stags) will be the sideline eye. This weekend and tipster results I drew with Arvi from Cableways and the Mornington last weekend and as you know I win all draws. We wrapped up our Dunedin tipsters comp last weekend and unbelievably three of them beat me over two rounds and that was Benji Culhane, Llew Johnson and Nigel Bilbo Smith. Llew from the Volts had the best margin against me so I declare him as the winner and his prize will be in the mail! Well done mate. Mark Scully, the mein host of the Speight's Alehouse, is the guest selector for the final this week and sponsor of this segment but alas still has no chance! So what happens in the final? Harbour are starting the same team as last week so Sa'ula Mau and Abraham Pole, their two super players, are not getting a run. Otago have pulled them because of injury concerns. They are certainly a heavyweight pack so Kaik will be conceding plenty of kilograms. But Kaik showed last week they are up for the fight up front. Will Tucker, the Hurricanes and an Otago starting lock, is suiting up for Kaik for the first time this season and will be a real bonus when he comes on (replacement) at lineout time. Kaik will certainly have the edge in the loose forwards with Casey and McDowall at the absolute peak of their powers now. Under the roof, Kaik will be wanting to play at a fast tempo and move Harbour around with their phase play. So who wins? Unbelievably I'll tip Harbour (12-) but with no real confidence. As predicted, destroyed poor old Tom Hollows last week so the winner for the season in the Country was Otago legend Dick Knight with the best differential — well done mate. To be fair, across the season not many beat me at all — I go well in the country? So what happens between Upper Clutha and Wakatip? Upper Clutha are nearly back at full strength and have already beaten Wakatip twice this season. They've locked away the White Horse for the summer and I get the feeling they win the banner for the second year in a row. Upper Clutha (12-). In Balclutha, Clutha (13+) have been the best team all year and they should get it done over West Taieri with the Clutha backs storming home late with some stunning tries! Good luck to all the finalists.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Narrow margins at pointy end of trophy
Man, it's tight at the top heading into the last round of the Gallaway Trophy. There are seven points over the top six teams, with GI leading the way on 27 (as far as they go, bye this week), with Kaikorai in sixth on 20 points. GI, with a hatful of Super players back in, prevailed in the "Battle of the Saddle" with Taieri. But as you'd expect there wasn't much in it. I said last week that Southern would need to monster Kaik up front to win and the Magpies' eight took that to heart and squeezed the Kaik "aorta" into near life-support levels at scrum time. Thus they definitively halted the Kaik run of wins. Harbour finally put some more points on the board for the "Rooster" against AU. AU showed some signs of life by putting up 27 points of their own — so is the tide turning? It's certainly ebbing for Zingers, who coughed up 70 against Dunedin at the Sandpit; their season looks done. They were competitive for 20 minutes, but the last 60 was a painful watch for their handful of supporters present. You could count them on one hand in the clubrooms post game. This is just mean spirited I discussed the "Maroon Peril" last week as Southland continue to loot and pillage club players out of Dunedin. But in the last week, they have gone too far! Zingers' best player over the last month — Aukustino Salanoa, their hooker — wasn't in their side on Saturday and was sorely missed. Apparently he signed with Southland and played for Star at the weekend. Now, I have no problem with them signing players out of club rugby in Dunedin if they aren't going to be picked up by Otago. But to drag them out of a struggling club mid-season is mean-spirited and, another nail for "grass roots" rugby. All unions spout "it's all about grass roots", but frankly this typifies why that is a load of nonsense. Why couldn't he have finished most of his season at Zingari, then moved down? That's already happening with a lot of other contracted players they have got their hands on. Now, I don't know if Zingers "assisted" Aukustino to come down to Dunners, but if so why not compensate them? Is it time for clubs to say enough is enough and take on unions head on? The honest battlers Hame (the Bruise) Toma laces up on Saturday for his 150th game for the Sharks, against the Eels. He played his first game for the Sharks in 2014. I'd shudder to think how many times he has run the ball up since then. Club players all round town will attest to how hard a runner with ball in hand he is. They tape and staple his body together week after week and he plays himself to a standstill. In his early days he was an outstanding openside and one of the great "jackals" over the ball before drifting to No8 in his latter years. Mate, to reach 150 games is a testament to your stamina, resilience, loyalty and ability. Good on ya, stunning performance. Congrats to prop Tafa Tafa for hitting 50 games against GI a couple of weeks ago. Workhorse lock Aron Einarsson also hit 50 last weekend and Taylor Dale from Harbour plays his 50th game, against Varsity this weekend. Well done, lads. Other grades Just thought I'd check in with the competition leaders in other grades. In Prem Women there are only three teams in it, with AU leading from Varsity and Dunedin. Big River make up the four with one win. Any of the top three could win it. In P2s, Taieri lead with a massive points differential of +337 — ridiculous. GI are only a point behind — these two teams will play the final. Dunedin are third, four points adrift, with Harbour a further six points back. In the open grade Taieri and Dunedin are unbeaten and destined to meet in the final. Pirates and Eastern should be in the semis. In Prem Colts Kaik and Dunedin are at the top of the table, with Varsity and Southern a few points back. This should be the top four, but no standout winner yet. In Junior Colts the Dunedin Hammerheads are the only unbeaten team, but the Kaik Undertakers are sniffing at their heels. West Taieri and Dunedin are tied for third, so this should be the top four. The Hammerheads should go all the way. Down on the farm The big result in the country was Matakanui destroying Arrowtown to record their first victory in two years, and on Dean Sinnamon's 100th game presentation. I hope there were no licensing bloodhounds in Omakau on Saturday night; the place would have been humming. Great work lads — perseverance is the key. In the deep south the Pirates Old Boys v Marist game was postponed after the Green & Blacks coach tragically died earlier in the week. Deepest condolences to the family and clubmates of Regan. In the South it's all about Clutha now that West Taieri was tipped over by the Crescent Coalminers at the weekend. In the North Excelsior and Valley rule the roost — well this week anyway! In Central, Upper Clutha lead Alex by a single point in Central, so too close to call. Comings and goings The Explore scoring system is working as well as ever — i.e, it's not. Don't panic — the ODT has come to the rescue. The draws for all grades are back in the paper on a Thursday and the ODT website ( is live-scoring all prem games every Saturday. If you thought you were a chance of getting the 27th and last contract for the Otago NPC team, think again. Word on the street is Liam Coltman has inked his signature on that! This weekend Unbelievably I lost to "Bilbo" from Speight's at the weekend for only my second loss of the round. Llew Johnson from the Otago Volts is still leading with a points differential of +20. So it's back to Mayor Jules this weekend, so thank God I just win! Both Varsity and Harbour are down on numbers this weekend, so this game could easily be a draw! Varsity have players away with NZU and Harbour are battling injuries. I'll take Varsity (12-) to win, as they are due, but with no real conviction. The Eels are at home to Dunedin and the winner of this game will win the Gallaway Trophy, so there is a lot riding on it. Rohan Wingham is playing for Dunedin and Josh Whaanga and Michael Loft for Taieri from the Landers. Dunedin (12-) have the best young lock in NZ in Josh Tengblad coming off the bench, so with that depth they win. Kaik (13+) take on Zingers at the Cemetery and bounce back with a convincing win over the Colours. Southern (13+) will make no race of the game with AU at Bog Bathgate — it only goes one way. Drew with Marty Hurring last week down south but am up against Clark (Yam Fingers) Frew, the mein host of the Speight's Ale in Wakatip, so victory is assured. In the closest game Alex (12-) do enough at home to upset Wakatip. Upper Clutha (13+) travel to Arrowtown and put the Arrow Bulls out in the back paddock. The Maggots (12-) are at home to Cromwell — and they won't get rolled there!
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
ODT Rugby Chat: Form players from form clubs
On ODT Rugby Chat this week brought to you by Garador we have a look at two of the form clubs and two of their form players Charlie Breen from Kaik who has made the Form XV this week and Louis Lepionka from the Sharks who is the player of the round from last weekend. We find out about their rugby journeys so far and what they are aspire to. We discover Louis has signed with Southland and endeavour to find out why??
Otago Daily Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
ODT Rugby Chat: Form players of Club Rugby
Today on ODT Rugby Chat brought to you by Garador we talk to two of the form players in club rugby this year Lucas Casey from Kaik and Cam Burgess from Dunedin. PD has to apologise to Cam for not making the Form xv even though he was the player of the round. We ask Lucas how he has bulked up so much over the summer and Otago still haven't given him a full contract!! The boys talk about the depth or lack of at their respective clubs and how they will go this weekend. Stay with us as the give us some great insights into the local club rugby scene.
