Dunedin teams performed admirably at the New Zealand champion of champions triples in Hastings at the weekend.
Both Taieri women and the Kaikorai men reached their respective finals
Taieri’s Judy Robertson, Jean Young and Beth Brown opened with an 18-5 thumping of the Gisborne triple from the Te Karaka club.
They followed with a 19-10 win over Marlborough, and a 25-1 crushing of Mairangi Bay (North Harbour) to sail into post-section play.
In the quarterfinal, they had to dig deep to hold out Waikato for an 11-10 win. There was another good battle in the semifinal as Taieri beat Manawatu 15-12.
Sarah Taukamo, Helen King and Robyn Rintoul, from Wellington’s Victoria club, were too tough in the final, winning 18-9.
Kaikorai, represented by Nigel Birkbeck, Jonty Horwell and Kelvin Buchanan, started with a 15-13 win over the Alexandra triple of Trevor Drake, Bill Clements and Trevor Ludlow.
They then beat Springlands (Marlborough) 21-8, followed by a 20-9 win over Woodville (Manawatu).
Kaikorai swept into the post-section with a 14-7 win over Masterton (Wairarapa).
In the quarterfinal, Birkbeck, Horwell and Buchanan beat Counties-Manukau 19-7. They then charged into the final with a 13-10 win over Wellington before losing in the final 14-10 to Royal Oak (Auckland).
The New Zealand champion of champions fours is in Pukekohe this weekend. The Dunedin centre is represented in the men’s competition by a fours team from Caversham, and in the women’s by a four from North East Valley.
