Maniototo hope for home boost
With Wakatipu fresh from posting 48 points against Arrowtown, and Maniototo in a gloomy state after conceding 50 points to Alexandra, the outcome of their clash at Ranfurly tomorrow in the Central Otago premier club rugby competition should be obvious.
But well, there's something about the two-hour bus trip from Queenstown to Ranfurly that levels things out quite remarkably.
Over the past five seasons, the two opponents Wakatipu has lost to most often are Upper Clutha (five times) and, yes, Maniototo (three times).
Wakatipu coach Jordan Manihera conceded that the Maniototo Domain is a challenging place to win at, but was heartened that continuing fine weather means the game will be played on a firm surface.
"The Maggots seem to grow an extra leg when home conditions are wintry," said Manihera, who was quietly optimistic after three decisive victories in which his team has scored 18 tries.
Maniototo coach Ken Wills could not account for his team's second-half collapse against Alexandra at Molyneux Park.
"It's a rare experience for us conceding 50 points, but hopefully we'll perform better at home."
Wills was saddened that the injury veteran prop Tom Payton suffered in that loss has likely put him out for the season.
"It's left us light on experience in the front row," he said.
Two teams desperately in need of championship points tomorrow are Arrowtown and Cromwell, who clash at Jack Reid Park.
At stake is the Battle of the Bridge Trophy, although there is some doubt over which club is currently in possession of it.
Cromwell manager Russell Decke said that Cromwell's understanding was that the trophy is at stake each time the clubs meet in qualifying matches.
But Arrowtown claims it is only at stake in the first meeting each season.
In 2024, Arrowtown won 40-22 in April while Cromwell triumphed 47-43 in the rematch, an astonishing game that produced 14 tries.
"We'll have to sort out who holds the trophy before kick-off on Saturday," Decke said.
Cromwell is without giant prop Tyson Clark, who is out for the season with a broken arm, and first five-eighth Rhys Harrold, who is a week or two away from full fitness.
Frontrunners Upper Clutha return to action after two weeks off, taking on Matakanui Combined at Omakau.
Given that Matak have conceded 50 points four times in their past six contests against Upper Clutha, the outcome appears obvious, although Matak have scored consistently well in the second half of all their matches this season.
Perhaps they need to play the second half first.
It will be the first occasion in 45 matches dating back to 2021 that Brady Kingan, who has relocated to Australia, will not be handling Upper Clutha's goalkicking duties.
That role reverts to Brodie Flannery, who was the goalkicker before Kingan arrived on the scene.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
4 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Smith set to blow final whistle on reffing career
Gary Smith will trade in his yellow and red cards for a gold card. It is a cracking line from the long-serving referee. The Cromwell resident does not hit retirement age until next year, so he has to wait until April for said gold card. But he is planning on retiring from refereeing a lot sooner. This weekend, actually. He will officiate in the White Horse Cup match between Upper Clutha and Matakanui Combined, ending a 30-year career. It is his second retirement. The first one did not stick. He kept going for another seven years. And this retirement is more of a graduated retreat in some ways. He plans to stay involved with the sport and coach some up-and-coming referees. "I always think, why did I take up, and it's because I love it," he said. "And if you haven't got referees, you haven't got a rugby game, and I'm passionate about it. "But it's got to the stage where I'm turning 65, and so I gave away the yellow and red cards for a gold card." Smith was motivated to take up refereeing after a chat with former referee Colin Hawke, who played an important role in two infamous moments in Otago sport. Hawke penalised Otago hooker David Latta for getting offside late in the 1994 Ranfurly Shield against Canterbury, and Andrew Mehrtens stepped up and kicked the winner. Hawke awarded Auckland a penalty try during the NPC final against Otago the following year. Smith was not a fan of either decision and met up with Hawke shortly after. They had a good chat about refereeing and he was ultimately won over. "I went along to the South Canterbury referees meeting and met Colin. He said, and he's made it public since, the penalty try would probably be a different decision now. "I respected that and I said, 'you coach me for a month and I'll give it a crack'. "Then I got to appreciate what's actually involved. I think if every supporter or rugby player had a couple of games under their belt as a referee, I think there'd be a lot less sideline abuse." There are a lot of know-alls on the sideline whose knowledge about the laws of rugby can be quite limited. But Smith said he did not always notice the abuse. He also understood most of the time it was just passion bubbling to the surface. "You've got to realise there's a difference between targeted abuse and passionate abuse, and most of it's passionate. "You hear it, but you don't. I've never had too many issues. "I just ignore it and I don't take it personally. Once you get in the clubroom, everything's left on the field most of the time. "Probably the hardest age group is that junior age-group, where the parents think their kids are all that, you know?" Smith said he had officiated in more than 500 games, and more than 200 of those had been at the top club level. He stayed involved so long because "at the end of the day, I'd love to be still playing if I had my choice". "It's the best seat in the house, and the best option to be out in the middle". Smith was selected in a South Island Zone squad in 2003 and had the opportunity to officiate at a higher level. He refereed "several women's NPC games". "Basically, that squad was to try and get us into that Heartland squad, so I never made that next step up, unfortunately." Despite missing out, he continued to referee, and one of the highlights was the game between Dunstan High School and Otago Boys' in 2010. Dunstan recorded a historic 9-8 win and he watched from the middle. Smith will miss the people the most but he is also ready for a change. "It's going to be a happy, sad day. But I've sacrificed a lot of hunting and fishing and a bit of family life. "That's a good commitment we make, you know. So teams can play rugby on a Saturday."
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Peina bags all of team's points in hard-earned win
Rube Peina. PHOTO: ODT FILES It was an afternoon of individual achievement as the three leading teams in the Central Otago premier club competition all progressed safely on Saturday. A week after starring for Central Region in the Topp Cup, midfielder Rube Peina scored all 23 points for Wakatipu in their hard-earned 23-7 win over bottom team Matakanui Combined in frigid conditions in Queenstown. However, it was a good news-bad news outcome for Wakatipu because by scoring only two tries they missed the bonus point, which now leaves them six points adrift of second-placed Alexandra. Alexandra had no difficulty registering a bonus point, scoring six tries in a comfortable 41-14 victory over a struggling Arrowtown at Molyneux Park. Three of those tries went to flanker Sam Chapman, a former Fiji under-21 representative, giving him 10 for the season, the most by any individual. Meanwhile, Frenchman Ulysse Martineau bagged another couple of tries for front-runners Upper Clutha, giving him eight for the season, helping his team come from 10-0 down approaching halftime to win 29-13 at Anderson Park. Upper Clutha are fortunate to have recruited Martineau after losing fellow winger Welshman Thomas Jarman, who scored a remarkable 16 tries last season. Until Martineau sprang into action, Upper Clutha could not have performed less like a champion team. From missing a penalty attempt straight in front of the posts to blowing several potential try-scoring opportunities, the men from Wanaka thoroughly deserved to be on zero after 35 minutes. Then, amazingly, in the space of eight minutes, leading up to and immediately after halftime, Upper Clutha scored three tries and added a penalty goal and suddenly Cromwell found themselves 22-10 down, and that really was that. Cromwell desperately needed to win this contest if they were to contend for the top four, but there is now a significant gap between the top four teams and the bottom three. Matakanui Combined still sit at the bottom of the table but, fresh from a handsome victory over Arrowtown, they proved a worthy opponent for Wakatipu, challenging them at scrum time. Wakatipu had the slicker backs but handling lapses cost them more tries. — Bob Howitt
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Topp win spices up predictions
Central Otago lock Dean Sinnamon beats South Otago defender Sam Stratford to score a try during the Topp Cup game in Alexandra on Saturday. PHOTO: RICHARD JONES With the top three teams playing the bottom three, the outcome of tomorrow's encounters in the Central Otago premier club competition appear easy to forecast. Front-runners Upper Clutha will tackle Cromwell at Anderson Park, having beaten them 59-28 in the first round; Wakatipu will tangle with Matakanui Combined at Queenstown, after winning their first clash 45-21; and Alexandra will host Arrowtown at Molyneux Park, having beaten them 32-21 two months ago. While all that makes for predictable forecasting, spice has been added to the competition following the thrilling Topp Cup victory by Central Region at Alexandra last weekend. Intriguingly, the Central starting 15 included only two players from Upper Clutha, who won the Central Otago title in 2024 and who have lost only five of their last 45 contests. The Upper Clutha representatives in the starting 15 were No 8 Jake Burtenshaw, who contributed mightily to Central's 41-38 victory, and hooker Scott Cunningham. Their colleagues were five players from Wakatipu, four from Alexandra, two from Matakanui Combined and one each from Maniototo and Cromwell. Even on the reserves bench Upper Clutha were outnumbered, having just one representative there, centre Oliver Stirling, alongside three players from Cromwell, two from Wakatipu and one each from Arrowtown and Alexandra. Adding additional punch to tomorrow's game at the Queenstown Recreation Ground is the presence of Dean Sinnamon, who romped off with the Topp Cup man of the match award after scoring three tries and dominating in the lineout. He is, by the way, Central's leading try-scorer this season, with seven touchdowns from as many matches, an amazing statistic given his team is bottom of the competition. Matakanui Combined are coming off a handsome victory, 42-24 against Arrowtown, their first win since 2023. It is unlikely they will seriously trouble high-flying Wakatipu, given the magical touches and extreme pace demonstrated by players such as Rube Peina, Jamie Natapu and Conor Hamlin in the Topp Cup, but expect Matakanui Combined to be competitive in the scrums and lineouts .. . and see if Wakatipu can stop Sinnamon scoring a try (as they did in the first round).
