The wrap

The wrap

They couldn't find a winner at Bastion Point between Zingers and Kaik.

The Magpies peeled and diced the Onion to go top alone.

Varsity struggled to contain Pirates to fall another point off the pace.

In yet another niggly, spiteful encounter, Harbour was too good for the understrength Eels at the Crayfish Pot.

The Sharks put 50 round the Spannerheads to edge four points clear of Varsity in the race for the four.

Rangers v Celtic

I know I have described Harbour as the new Chelsea with deep-pocketed chairman Lance Spence throwing envelopes full of cash around, but the Hawks-Eels relationship is turning into the ''old firm'' - Rangers v Celtic - rivalry.

There is no love lost between these sides and their supporters.

Will we need electric fences and cattle prods to keep their supporters apart in years to come?

After last year's spiteful encounter at the Crayfish Pot where yellow cards rained down like the Dunedin weather, Hawks captain Pete Mirrielees made an aftermatch speech that caused a walkout by the Eels.

Nothing changed this year after yet another vitriolic encounter.

Eels captain Charlie O'Connell made a similar speech which has raised the ire of Harbour supporters.

Raw emotion, anger and bristling rivalry is fantastic - as long as it doesn't get out of control.

Fast forward to finals time when these two teams meet in the semis or the finals.

From a commentator's point of view, bring it on!

The aftermath

In the aforesaid game, there were three yellows and a red card handed out. Ratu Dawai, the Otago and Hawks blindside, got the red when he galloped some distance to join a fight that was winding down.

They can't have deemed it too serious as he only got a week stand-down from the judiciary on Wednesday night.

The other two protagonists in the fight got yellows, one from each side.

The funny thing is Aleki Morris from the Hawks got one of the yellows and apparently wasn't even involved!

The pot of gold

Early in the premier 2 game at the Toolbox between Dunedin and GI, one of the ungainly Shark front rowers crawled out of the bottom of a ruck and started waving and yelling vociferously to his stand-in coach - the small man-eating fish.

The coach thought he was proclaiming to have stolen the ball but, no, he had found $45 at the bottom of the ruck.

The coach, as quick as flash, pocketed it and told him he'd deduct it from subs owed.

African safari

Imagine if you are Diadie Samassekau and arrived in Dunedin last week.

Who is Diadie, you may ask?

He's in the Mali team at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup.

I've done some research and Mali is in West Africa and half of the country is the Sahara desert.

Consequently, it's reasonably hot - in fact, it has nearly the highest mean temperature of any country.

So Diadie gets off the plane and it's snowing last Tuesday.

He gets thrown out of bed by an earthquake a few days later, and on Wednesday it rains for 24 hours and the city floods.

It hasn't rained in Mali for 23 years! Diadie must think he's in the Mogadishu of climatic events.

Yet he is still smiling because Mali is playing in a covered stadium and can still qualify if it beats Uruguay on Saturday.

Speaking of Fifa

Two games at the stadium on Wednesday.

All the streets are blocked off, there are snipers at Palmers Quarry, the walking typewriter Terry Davies and his mob have been booted out and the ORFU is barred - all in the name of security.

There are 1000 Fifa staff on every spare patch of linoleum and the 500 spectators who turn up are all strip-searched in the name of security.

Imagine my surprise when I turn up between games and the main security gates to the bowels of the stadium are wide open and nobody in sight.

It wouldn't have happened on Sepp's watch!

Form XV

I thought I'd help Cory Brown out by picking a form XV for the first half of the season.

Bryce Hosie, Sean Conner, Aleki Morris, Tei Walden, Gavin Stark, (struggling to find a first five!), Kaide Whiting, Mika mafi, James Lentjes, Hame Toma, Mark Grieve-Dunn, Hale T-Pole, Donald Brighouse, (struggling to find a hooker!), Craig Millar.

This weekend

Annihilated Grubby last weekend.

On to the Al Pacino (albeit a slightly larger version) of club rugby - Reggie - this weekend, so the unparallelled streak continues.

The Eels (13+) visit Bastion Point and Zingers are crippled with injury so they don't get close.

Varsity should have too much for the under-performing Sharks (12-) in the battle of the Keogh in the game that could decide the four, but in the Shark forwards we trust.

The Magpies (13+) will be too strong for the Spannerheads but it won't be at Bathgate unless they play in submersibles!

The Hawks (13+) will be too good for Kaik as the Hawks soar on the high veldt.

Pirates v the Onion (12-) is too close to call and a draw is likely but maybe the Onion stutter home.

The late mail

Apparently, the legendary Harold Driver is back helping out Fifa with ground allocation (how hard can it be?) and he could be in a new Ferrari courtesy of Sepp.

If he's on deck sorting grounds for rugby this weekend, we could play by late June!

paul.dwyer@alliedpress.co.nz

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