Latest news with #Zingari-Richmond
Otago Daily Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Not too many concerns for Otago against Southland
New Otago coach Mark Brown has given his side a "sneaky B-plus" for their opening effort of his tenure. They beat Southland 40-31 at the University Oval yesterday afternoon. The sneaky B-plus was more than fair. Otago dominated virtually the entire first half and led 26-12 at the break. They would have received a much higher grade except they suffered bouts of narcolepsy. The home team muffed too many restarts and Southland pounced. Hard-working No8 Ethan Macdonald crashed over from close range, and halfback Nic Shearer took off from another quick tap, ran around an Otago pack that had taken the opportunity for a forty winks, and dotted down in the corner. Both opportunities came about because of some rotten work at the restart. Brown had a wry smile when asked about the sluggish effort at that phase. "Yeah, so ironically over the last 10 days, kick-offs are the one thing we hadn't got to, so that showed," he smiled. "But no real concern on our behalf there. But what it does highlight is how important they are, so they'll get our attention in the next week or two." Other than that, the first 40 minutes were impressive from Otago. They controlled possession and territory and scored four tries. Young fullback Sam Nemec-Vial got two of them. He stepped off his left foot and ran in from 20m to score his first. And he finished off another with an acrobatic dive in the corner. The Green Island player looked dangerous when the ball came his way. But stand-in first five Sam Gilbert set the tone. He made sound decisions and gave the ball some width. He got an armchair ride thanks to the pack. Zingari-Richmond hooker A-One Lolofie had a strong game and scored from a lineout drive. New recruit Joseva Tamani was solid in the lineout, and blindside Will Stodart hit rucks hard and did well in the set pieces. Southland scored first after the break. Otago fumbled the ball close to their line and winger Michael Manson finished off a nice move from a 5m scrum. But Otago centre Thomas Umaga-Jensen burst free from a ruck, scampered 30m and offloaded to openside Harry Taylor to score. But the try of the game was scored by Jae Broomfield. He has shifted south from Canterbury to try his luck with Otago and he showed some good gas. He ghosted through a gap in the midfield and ran a 50m angle run to the corner. He outpaced the chasing pack and pushed off the last defender to score a ripper. Southland centre Issac Te Tamaki scored a late consolation for Southland to narrow the margin. But Otago dominated the fixture when they could keep their eyes open. "I don't really want to pick out names. I thought collectively they all subbed in and connected with the team and played in the system and took on board what they've been exposed to the last couple of weeks," Brown said. Otago open their NPC campaign against Southland in Invercargill on August 2. Three players who caught the eye • Otago have named just one specialist first five and he missed Otago's warm-up against Southland at the University Oval yesterday afternoon. But experienced outside back Sam Gilbert filled in more than admirably for Cameron Millar. The utility back is heading to Ireland at the end of the NPC to play for Connacht. But he demonstrated how useful he will be with a polished effort at pivot. • Otago fullback Sam Nemec-Vial is uncontracted, but he played with some real spark at the back. He stepped off his left foot and ghosted 20 metres to score his first. And he dived over in the corner later in the first half to complete an impressive outing. He has good pace and he is gutsy. Could do with a few more meat pies to fill out those skinny legs. • Southland spent most of the game on the back foot but scored some nice opportunist tries. The effort of halfback Nic Shearer was pretty impressive. He took a quick tap, ran around an Otago pack that had taken the opportunity to take a nap, and dotted down in the corner.
Otago Daily Times
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Not too many concerns for Otago in hitout against Southland
New Otago coach Mark Brown has given his side a "sneaky B-plus" for their opening effort of his tenure. They beat Southland 40-31 at the University Oval yesterday afternoon. The sneaky B-plus was more than fair. Otago dominated virtually the entire first half and led 26-12 at the break. They would have received a much higher grade except they suffered bouts of narcolepsy. The home team muffed too many restarts and Southland pounced. Hard-working No8 Ethan Macdonald crashed over from close range, and halfback Nic Shearer took off from another quick tap, ran around an Otago pack that had taken the opportunity for a forty winks, and dotted down in the corner. Both opportunities came about because of some rotten work at the restart. Brown had a wry smile when asked about the sluggish effort at that phase. "Yeah, so ironically over the last 10 days, kick-offs are the one thing we hadn't got to, so that showed," he smiled. "But no real concern on our behalf there. But what it does highlight is how important they are, so they'll get our attention in the next week or two." Other than that, the first 40 minutes were impressive from Otago. They controlled possession and territory and scored four tries. Young fullback Sam Nemec-Vial got two of them. He stepped off his left foot and ran in from 20m to score his first. And he finished off another with an acrobatic dive in the corner. The Green Island player looked dangerous when the ball came his way. But stand-in first five Sam Gilbert set the tone. He made sound decisions and gave the ball some width. He got an armchair ride thanks to the pack. Zingari-Richmond hooker A-One Lolofie had a strong game and scored from a lineout drive. New recruit Joseva Tamani was solid in the lineout, and blindside Will Stodart hit rucks hard and did well in the set pieces. Southland scored first after the break. Otago fumbled the ball close to their line and winger Michael Manson finished off a nice move from a 5m scrum. But Otago centre Thomas Umaga-Jensen burst free from a ruck, scampered 30m and offloaded to openside Harry Taylor to score. But the try of the game was scored by Jae Broomfield. He has shifted south from Canterbury to try his luck with Otago and he showed some good gas. He ghosted through a gap in the midfield and ran a 50m angle run to the corner. He outpaced the chasing pack and pushed off the last defender to score a ripper. Southland centre Issac Te Tamaki scored a late consolation for Southland to narrow the margin. But Otago dominated the fixture when they could keep their eyes open. "I don't really want to pick out names. I thought collectively they all subbed in and connected with the team and played in the system and took on board what they've been exposed to the last couple of weeks," Brown said. Otago open their NPC campaign against Southland in Invercargill on August 2. Three players who caught the eye ■Otago have named just one specialist first five and he missed Otago's warm-up against Southland at the University Oval yesterday afternoon. But experienced outside back Sam Gilbert filled in more than admirably for Cameron Millar. The utility back is heading to Ireland at the end of the NPC to play for Connacht. But he demonstrated how useful he will be with a polished effort at pivot. ■ Otago fullback Sam Nemec-Vial is uncontracted, but he played with some real spark at the back. He stepped off his left foot and ghosted 20 metres to score his first. And he dived over in the corner later in the first half to complete an impressive outing. He has good pace and he is gutsy. Could do with a few more meat pies to fill out those skinny legs. ■ Southland spent most of the game on the back foot but scored some nice opportunist tries. The effort of halfback Nic Shearer was pretty impressive. He took a quick tap, ran around an Otago pack that had taken the opportunity to take a nap, and dotted down in the corner.
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Dunedin premier rugby round seven wrap-up
Kaikorai took on Harbour at Watson Park today in the seventh round of the Dunedin men's premier rugby competition. Photo: Peter McIntosh Dunedin scored late to edge Southern 18-16 in a tense encounter at Bathgate Park for the Ron Reggett Memorial. But the big winner today was Kaikorai, who smashed Harbour 69-15 at Watson Park. The Hawks had previously set the benchmark in the competition, so the result will have surprised most punters. A depleted Green Island team limped past an injury-hit Zingari-Richmond at Miller Park. And University got back into the winner's circle with a 61-19 win against Alhambra Union at the North Ground. The students led 28-0 after 15 minutes. But the Thode twins both crossed for five-pointers to cut the gap. AU hung tough during the early stages of the second half but faded and conceded a bunch of tries in the final quarter of the game. University hooker Oliver Hatch grabbed a brace of tries and winger Jeremiah Asi also crossed twice.
Otago Daily Times
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Kaikorai crushes Harbour as Dunedin snatches late win
Kaikorai took on Harbour at Watson Park today in the seventh round of the Dunedin men's premier rugby competition. Photo: Peter McIntosh Dunedin scored late to edge Southern 18-16 in a tense encounter at Bathgate Park for the Ron Reggett Memorial. But the big winner today was Kaikorai, who smashed Harbour 69-15 at Watson Park. The Hawks had previously set the benchmark in the competition, so the result will have surprised most punters. A depleted Green Island team limped past an injury-hit Zingari-Richmond at Miller Park. And University got back into the winner's circle with a 61-19 win against Alhambra Union at the North Ground. The students led 28-0 after 15 minutes. But the Thode twins both crossed for five-pointers to cut the gap. AU hung tough during the early stages of the second half but faded and conceded a bunch of tries in the final quarter of the game. University hooker Oliver Hatch grabbed a brace of tries and winger Jeremiah Asi also crossed twice.
Otago Daily Times
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
A crunch round for comp
University halfback Brad Campbell clears the ball during a Dunedin division 1 club game against Southern at Logan Park this season. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN Round five could prove quite decisive. The top six teams in the Dunedin division 1 competition all play each other this week. The Harbour and Green Island fixture at Watson Park shapes as the game of the round. The Hawks are the only unbeaten team remaining, and are in third place with 14 points. They had a bye in the opening week before starting with a tense 35-31 win over Southern. They dispatched Zingari-Richmond 41-12 in round three and edged past Taieri 15-13 at Peter Johnstone Park before the Easter break. First five Rique Miln landed five penalties in a clutch effort from the kicking tee. Green Island (first place, 15 points) emerge as their greatest challenge so far. The defending champions lost in their last outing. They stumbled against their bogey team, losing 44-26 to University. The Grizzlies had set the benchmark but were unable to recover from a poor start. They conceded 17 points in eight minutes. Southern (fourth, 12 points) have a home fixture against Taieri (second, 15) in another opportunity to see how the top teams are shaping in comparison to each other. Taieri outscored the Hawks two tries to none, but missed a late penalty that would have secured the win on Thursday night. The Eels are well organised and well coached. They squeaked past University in a thriller in round three. It took a fair degree of character to rally in the topsy-turvy game which looked like it may have slipped away. Southern started their campaign strongly with a comprehensive 50-27 win over University. They were edged out by Harbour in round two and finished over the top of Zingari-Richmond in round four. They have a team built around a hard-working forward pack and an experienced backline. University (fifth, 12 points) will host Dunedin in another game that is hard to pick. Dunedin (sixth, 7) made the final last season and had several opportunities to win it. They have retained the bulk of that squad and should be up there again. But they have made a slow start with back-to-back losses. They posted a 59-5 win over struggling Alhambra-Union in round four, but University will present a sterner challenge. If Dunedin lose tomorrow, they could potentially drop out of the top six. Zingari-Richmond (seventh, 7 points) have a bye but Kaikorai (eighth, 5) have an opportunity to move up with a win over winless Alhambra-Union (ninth, 0).
