Latest news with #CitizensShield
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Top four set to face off
Things are starting to heat up in the Citizens Shield. There are likely to be some red-hot clashes tomorrow as teams return to the park after having last week off for King's Birthday. With three round-robin games remaining in North Otago, it is almost safe to say the top four are locked in. Athletic Marist, Valley, Excelsior and Old Boys have held those spots for much of the season — but the final standings from the quartet is anyone's guess. They have all held the top spot at some stage and there has been a lot of shuffling up and down the ladder in recent weeks. Kurow are still an outside chance to make the top four, but they would need three bonus-point wins and other results to go their way to sneak into the playoffs. Athies are at the top of the table with 28 points from their five wins and two losses, and eight bonus points. Valley are close behind on 27 points from their six wins and just one loss, and three bonus points. Blues, the defending champions, are now third on 25 points with a record of five wins, two losses, and five bonus points. Old Boys hold on to fourth spot with 22 points with four wins, three losses and six bonus points. The top four all face each other tomorrow, which is sure to add another raft of changes to the standings. Blues are home to Athies in round two of the battle of the carpark. Athies ran away with a 36-20 win last time against the defending champions. Old Boys host Valley in another intriguing clash. Valley secured a 26-24 victory in round one and the team from Weston continue to improve. They have won their past five games and only recorded one loss back in week two. Kurow are fifth on the table with eight points from their one win and six losses and four bonus points. Maheno, who have been hampered by injuries all season, are winless after seven games, but have five bonus points. They could be in for a humdinger of a game in Maheno tomorrow. Kurow got home with a 42-40 win in round one and the Red Devils nearly beat Old Boys in their last
Otago Daily Times
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Yet another intriguing race in the Citizens Shield
You probably know this story by now. It has been another tight race in the Citizens Shield this year and yet again there has been movement up and down the ladder — including a new leader. And while they might be taking a break for King's Birthday this weekend, there are still plenty of talking points from the first seven weeks in North Otago. Athletic Marist has returned to the top of the standings after they beat Maheno 46-33 last weekend. Athies captain Savenaca Rabaka scored twice in that game for his side, who is continuing to build nicely through the season. They held a 17-12 lead at halftime against a nuggety Maheno side in Oamaru and came home strong to score eight tries. Athies are clear at the top of the table with 28 points from their five wins and two losses, and eight bonus points. But Valley are hot on their heels though after a bright weekend for the Weston club. They scored a 20-13 victory against Excelsior in a repeat of last year's final and reversed their fortunes from a loss during round one. First five Isaac Clunie was sublime driving his team around the park and his boot helped put the pressure on early. Valley held a 10-3 at halftime and put in a huge defensive effort to keep Blues out from the line until late in the piece. The Weston side has also welcomed a couple of players from Japanese club Toyota Verblitz again this season after their recent arrival. They welcomed two players last season after coach Barry Matthews struck up a pathway with his friend, and former All Blacks coach, Steve Hansen, who is at the Japanese club. Valley are now on 27 points from their six wins, and just the one loss to Blues earlier, and three bonus points. Blues, who are the defending champions, are now third with their five wins, and two losses, and five bonus points. Old Boys hold on to fourth spot with 22 points, with their four wins, and three losses, and six bonus points. But they had a tight game up the Waitaki Valley against Kurow last week. Old Boys scored in the dying minutes to snatch a 33-32 victory against the Red Devils, who put in a big shift after trailing 19-14 at halftime. Kurow are fifth on the table with right points from their one win and six losses and four bonus points. Maheno, who have been hampered by injuries all season, are winless after seven games, but have five bonus points. Kurow and Maheno are out of the playoff contention with just the three round-robin games remaining, but they both have played some brilliant rugby and put in some big shifts against the rest of the competition.
Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Strong defence deals blow to champs
Photo: ODT files Valley fronted up in a big way defensively to beat the defending Citizens Shield champions on Saturday. The 20-13 win over Excelsior avenged their loss earlier this season. It was a clinical performance on defence as it took Blues more than 80 minutes to score a try. Valley controlled most of the possession and territory of the match, but small errors at important moments prevented them building a commanding lead. Following an early penalty from Isaac Clunie they finally ran in their first try and it was a beauty. A well-worked backline manoeuvre off a solid scrum put winger Jakob Cunningham in some space out wide. He dashed away and drew in the final Blues defender before passing it inside to Jake Matthews who scored under the sticks. Two Josh Phipps penalties either side of halftime kept Blues close. Just as it looked like Blues might have some momentum, Valley wrestled it back with another try. Their forwards rolled up their sleeves and toiled away, carry after carry until eventually they broke the Blues defence as Jake Greenslade crashed over. A second penalty from the boot of Clunie pushed the lead to two converted tries. With time running out, Blues finally strung some phases together. They were attacking in Valley's half for most of the final quarter but could not crack it. Eventually, with time up on the clock, Oli Knopp was able to break through and score to help ease the loss. It was a far from perfect performance from Valley but good teams find a way to win and they did just that. Up the valley in Kurow, Old Boys snatched a late win over the Red Devils. It was tight all the way through, but the visitors scored in the final minute to claim a narrow 33-32 win. Athletic Marist ran in eight tries to beat Maheno 46-33 in the final match of the round. After a tumultuous fortnight for the country club coming off defaulting last weekend, they showed plenty of fight in the first half to only be trailing by five at the half. Unfortunately for them, Athies kicked into gear in the second 40 to take the win.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Excelsior snatch lead, but table tight
Excelsior flanker Oli Knopp makes a break up the park in their victory against Kurow last weekend. PHOTO: YAMMIE MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY There has been yet another reshuffle of the Citizens Shield standings after a big weekend. Defending champions Excelsior have jumped back to the top of the competition after a commanding 59-19 win against Kurow last week. That victory put Blues on 24 points — having won five of their six games — to hold an outright lead, at least for now. Athletic Marist and Valley are hot on their heels though, with both sitting on 23 points. Athies snatched second spot with four wins, and two losses — both have been to Valley, and had fewer than three points in them — but the Oamaru club has seven bonus points to hold the edge. Valley, who clinched a nail-biting 32-31 win against Athies last week, are third with their five wins from six games and three bonus points. Old Boys had the week off last week after Maheno were forced to default after a horror run of injuries. The green machine had been forced to play with 14 players for the two weeks prior. That gave Old Boys their third win of the season to sit in fourth spot on 17 points. With just the five round-robin games left, it is safe to assume that will be the top four for the season. Kurow and Maheno have put up some big fights this year and played some good rugby as well. The Red Devils notched one win against Maheno, but have pushed other teams and made it tough to get past them. Maheno, too, have stuck with teams well until their opposition have unloaded their bench. They have collected four bonus points. Valley against Blues shapes as the game of the round tomorrow in a repeat of last year's final. The two have had some great battles in recent seasons, and Blues have already had a 28-16 win in the opening round. Both teams have developed since then, and it could be a close encounter out in Weston. Athies are home to Maheno, while Kurow host Old Boys up the Waitaki Valley.
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Inspired Athies second half not enough to quell Valley
Photo: ODT files The more things change the more they stay the same. After six rounds of the Citizens Shield, Excelsior and Valley find themselves on top of the table following wins on Saturday. Valley survived an inspired second half from Athletic Marist in a thrilling 32-31 win. It was almost a comeback for the ages as Athies were down 29-7 at halftime before kicking in to gear. They opened the second half with a try through a Alifereti Matirewa pick-and-go. Momentum swung in their favour as a line break from Savenca Rabaka had him sprinting down the field. He linked up with Osea Qamasea, who gassed the rest of the defence to score his second try. Another forward sprang their next try as Mateo Qoliesse found himself in the outside channel and beat one defender before turning on the after-burners. The big man dashed away and drew in the final defender as he passed to Saia Fifita to score. They ran in one more in the final five minutes to set up a grandstand finish, but Valley held on for the win. In stark contrast, the first half was all Valley. They piled on 26 straight points in the opening 25 minutes in a clinical display. Their forward pack was once again the well-oiled machine as their set piece laid the platform for all four of their tries. Loose forwards Cameron Rowland and Jacob Pledger were as busy as ever and were rewarded by getting their names on the score sheet. Twin towers lock-pairing Anthony Docherty and George Mavor provided some grunt to the engine room, while Isaac Clunie was impressive in the 10 jersey both in play and off the tee. Fullback Ben Paton injected himself into the backline well throughout. In the other game of the round, Excelsior thumped Kurow 59-19. The Red Devils kept it close in the first half, but Blues ended up running away with it in the second 40. Just the two games were played on the weekend as Maheno unfortunately had to default to Old Boys due to injuries diminishing their number.
