Rugby
Upper Clutha sits at the top of the table after the latest round of Central Otago Premier rugby.
It claimed a hard-fought 21-10 win over Maniototo at Tarras on Saturday. Cromwell and Arrowtown both won, while Alexandra and Matakanui Combined battled out a draw.
Upper Clutha locked away the Neil Purvis Memorial,
overcoming a gallant challenge from Maniototo 21-10, having led 11-7 at halftime. The home side scored two tries to one, with hooker Scott Cunningham and appropriately Ben Purvis, Neil’s son, scoring.
The home side rounded out its scoring through one conversion and three penalties to first five Josh Roberts. Halfback Dean Chalmers scored Maniototo’s try.
Angus Gibb added the conversion and a penalty.
Cromwell centre Rhys Harold produced a stunning piece of individual brilliance when he ran 60m, fending off tackles, to score the only try for Cromwell in its 22-19 win over Wakatipu.
Kane Dodds kicked the conversion and added five penalties to nail home the victory. Cody Mitchell, at lock in his 50th game, stood out in a good team effort. Arrowtown scored 12 tries in its 74-26 win over Clyde Earnscleugh, three each to Ben Carr and player of the day Simon Quickfall, two to Tom Grandiek and one each to Malcolm Sutherland, James Larsen, Luke Holden and Liam Jenkins. Alexandra and Matakanui Combined drew 5-5 at Molyneux Park after Alexandra led 5-0 at the break. Hooker Brad Allen scored for the home side while Joe Duncan crossed for the visitors in a game with plenty of mistakes.
Netball
Vincent was matched up against the up-and-down Diamonds this week and won 30-23. Both teams came out strongly on both defence and attack. Vincent defenders Annalise Casper and Jonelle Fulton were tireless in the Diamonds’ attacking end, creating ample amounts of turnover ball for their team. But the attackers struggled to convert these opportunities due to immense defensive pressure from Diamonds forcing turnovers. Goal defence Kristie Andrews took these turnovers into the midcourt and directed play well. The defensive efforts were rewarded towards the end of the half, with Janelle Lewis and Chelsea Schwass using their speed to convert goals. With 13 goals apiece at halftime, it was anyone’s game.
Vincent came back with a more settled approached, and showing great patience and care with their ball-handling. Its midcourt zone caused problems for Diamonds, who lacked the strong drives to the ball and were often caught behind. Vincent’s shooters began to work as a unit, setting screens to better their shooting position, and finally capitalising on turnover opportunities. Their speed and ball movement with their feeders left the Diamonds defenders behind, and Vincent sealed its win.
Molyneux had a convincing win 38-30 over Roxburgh Area School A, and Dunstan A outsmarted Cromwell College A 29-24. These wins set up an exciting round one final of Dunstan A v Molyneux for next weekend.
