The wrap
A really tough round for the pundits, including yours truly, although in my defence I did say Harbour v Varsity was nearly too close to call! Kaik ran away with the game out at the Toolbox over GI and storms into the four at the expense of Varsity, which tumbles to an inglorious sixth. Harbour got up in the last seconds with a 90m try to share the points with Varsity. Varsity somewhat stopped the rot and didn’t go down four straight and was unlucky to only draw this game. In the battle of the first round for the Speight’s Jug, Southern came away late in the piece over Dunedin to take the spoils. Southern was under strength but stayed in the battle and stayed on the right side of ref Jono Bredin. Dunedin was left wondering where it all went wrong. AU had a big win over Zingers for the "Grace Mills" and storms up to fifth and only one point out of the four. Its backline with the two Fijian flyers in Vilimoni Koroi and Jona Nareki is extremely potent and an excitement machine.
The state of the nation
Over the past couple of weeks, the Kavanagh First VX has had to default in the Otago premier schools comp because of a mounting injury toll and we are only in week three of the season. The school is trying to get a team back on the paddock this weekend so has imported a couple of front rowers from Tonga! Is this where our rugby is at? I’m not blaming Kavanagh but the plight really is that desperate. We all know Kavanagh has been cherry-picked of players over the past few years by the rugby schools (who shall remain nameless). The co-ed schools struggle to put sports teams out, full stop. Word has also drifted through that the Southern prem II side has pulled out of the comp. It is also likely that Pirates’ only male side will drop out of prem IIs and go down to the senior comp as it has struggled to be competitive, although it went close to GI on the weekend. Southern had an influx of Pirates players, as well, and is still running three colts teams — so an interesting option for it to take. The bottom line is we are reaching crisis point on player scarcity. Next season you will see one grade for seniors and prem IIs as numbers are in free fall. What is the answer? More next week!
Mockery of hakas!
So we are now looking at the Super franchises doing hakas before their matches against the Lions. Have you ever heard anything so patently ridiculous? Has Dave Currie (of Olympic and Commonwealth Games haka fame) got a job as their PR consultant? Is the New Zealand Rugby board led by Peter Kean going to strip off their shirts, throw a couple of bean sprouts down and perform the challenge to the Lions as they get off the plane?? However, I digress. Apparently the Chiefs, the Blues and the Crusaders are going to perform their own haka. This is supposed to be a traditional challenge the teams have built up over the years and is a normal rite. Some 10-year-old marketer has come up with this outrage! Thank God the Highlanders and Hurricanes are eminently more sensible outfits.
Lions pre-match
Steve Davie, of the Otago Medical Research Foundation, is running a lunch at the town hall on June 13 (prior to the Lions v Highlanders) and is honouring the surviving players of the winning Otago teams of 1950, 1959, 1966 and 1993. I didn’t realise we’d won that many but Steve would know. I’m sure he covered all those games. He tells me he will only speak briefly at this function and, as many of you know, he swallowed a full hi-fi system at birth so this will be particularly hard to do! So get along to this function and if you know any of these living legends who played in these games, make sure they get in touch with Steve on 0274 370 335 or email stevedavie@xtra.co.nz.
Country rugby
As predicted, Wakatipu took the White Horse off Arrowtown last weekend and the word is two of Arrowtown coach Sparky’s fingers are still attached to it as they struggled to get it out of his grasp! They’ve got to defend it against the Maniototo Maggots in week one, which promises to be a tough old encounter. Coach Andrew Hore has promised to come off the bench if required for the Maggots but, mate, if you want to win, bring back Charlie! It’s not rocket science!
The Big Show Brett Anderson is playing his 50th game for Wakatipu (see illustration) and that will give them extra motivation. The Big Show, for all of his hype, is a rock in that front row. He didn’t get to 50 for the Eels (47, I think) so he justly deserves the blazer for Wakatipu — good on ya, mate!
I’ve done some research on the North Otago rugby to back up my assertion this comp is a yawn. Old Boys has a current points diff of +239 and all other teams are in the negative — boom! In the south, nobody can beat Clutha, although Valley was beating it at halftime at the weekend. Perhaps the game should have been called it off then!
Some other bits
In the ODT-Speight’s picking comp, Mark Currie picked the draw between Harbour and Varsity — he is now our resident Nostradamus! Enigmatic Councillor Damian Newall, who also apparently masquerades as a DJ for some nefarious radio show, took to the rugby fields for the Spartans in February, attempted to make a tackle (idiot!) and promptly dislocated his shoulder and is still having treatment. Stick to your knitting, mate!
The word on the street is that Dunedin’s best publican, club captain and now superstar real estate dynamo was at a conference in Auckland at the weekend, was stumbling around his room looking for the toilet and ended up locked outside his room in his undies! So if you were in Auckland at that hotel and saw a rather large man standing around nearly naked and are now in counselling, he apologises. The first one through to me with a name today may get a prize from Snowy from Speight’s. So Highlanders prop Guy Millar, who has been playing for the Eels, has flown to Perth to replace Greg Pleasants-Tate at hooker. Tell me how that works.
This weekend
Destroyed Tom Rowe from Zingers to get through the first round undefeated — I could go all the way! Up against Hawks captain Ben Whale this weekend so normal service resumes. Kaik (13+) is on a roll and at home on the High Veldt it could win big over Zingers. Varsity (13+) needs to get back on the horse and it will do so as the Eels slither into town. They could suffer the backlash and get jellied! Dunedin (13+) makes the trek to the Toolbox and should win comfortably over Green Island but if memory serves that plan didn’t work last year! In the game of the round, Southern (12-) takes on Harbour and could it be two draws in a row for the Portsiders? Southern just to stay top.
