Latest news with #WestTaieri
Otago Daily Times
17-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Reliable Clutha to face proud West Taieri
After a season of hard knocks, ticker and strong performances, it all comes down to this. Clutha will play West Taieri in the southern region premier club final in Balclutha tomorrow afternoon. It is the final most pundits predicted at the start of the season, but both teams have had to move heaven and earth to get the opportunity for glory. Clutha have been powerhouse performers all year. They have fast, physical forwards and electric backs, and their ability to play well for the full 80 minutes has separated them from most teams. Clutha's forward pack has been extremely reliable and very rarely goes backwards. The two pack leaders, hooker Josh Turnbull and lock Tate Colley, have been in outstanding form and will be crucial to Clutha's chances. Clutha's backline is full of hard workers who do not mind putting themselves into dark spaces. Their key weapons are their outside backs, who can thrive in open space. With home support behind them, Clutha will be fired up to defend their pride and finish what they started. West Taieri were defeated in the 2024 final and vowed that this year would be a story of redemption. The perennial finalists have had another strong season built on a forward pack that thrives on the front foot. West Taieri take pride in their scrummaging and, at times, that has proved to be a huge attacking weapon. Their backline will be marshalled by the mercurial Callum Smeaton, who has the ability to put West Taieri into the right areas of the field. Clutha's only loss of the season came at the hands of West Taieri at Outram. Clutha did win the corresponding fixture at home, both sides carrying momentum into this clash from recent wins. In the curtain-raiser, there is a replay of the 2024 Balclutha Nissan Trophy game between Owaka and Lawrence.
Otago Daily Times
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Strong starts take pair into final
The stage has been set for the Southern Region final after two exhilarating semifinals played at the weekend. Clutha earned the right to host the final with a 41-33 win over Toko at the Balclutha Showgrounds. Clutha flew out of the blocks and played some of their best rugby all season. The home side were sharp and clinical and in the blink of an eye were 31-0 ahead inside 20 minutes. Toko did not get the chance to offer anything on attack, and their defence was lukewarm at best. Midway through the first half, Toko's fortunes began to change when Clutha was reduced to 14 men with No 8 Kael Merrett being sent to the sin bin. Toko began to feel the ball in their hands and make metres, and it was not long before they scored a try to give them hope. The visitors blew a certain try on the stroke of halftime which could have closed the gap more, but Clutha were in command at 31-7. The second half was a complete turnaround as Toko dominated proceedings. They attacked with vigour, made metres against a tiring Clutha defence and scored four consecutive tries. Toko's dominance led to Clutha being reduced to 14 again midway through the second half with another yellow card. Clutha kept their noses in front with a penalty and managed to finish the match with a late try to lock Tate Colley, his second of the game, to claim victory in a fantastic battle. West Taieri will join Clutha in the big dance after surviving an extreme comeback from Crescent. West Taieri won the other semifinal 22-21 but survived a late scare as Crescent missed a chance to win on the stroke of fulltime. The Pigs started in confident fashion and were 17-0 up after some sublime attacking rugby at Outram. The home side found space out wide and busted holes in the midfield on regular occasions. Crescent did have chances to attack, but West Taieri's defence was determined to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible, and they led 17-0 at halftime. It was Crescent's turn to play with the ball in the second half and their attack managed to break down a dogged West Taieri defence. A brace of tries to halfback Josh Cook and a solo effort to centre Jonathan Muagututia brought Crescent right back into the contest. West Taieri held their nerve under plenty of pressure but gave away a cynical penalty after fulltime about 35m out from the posts. Crescent fullback Kairus Booth, who was one of the best players on the field, watched his kick miss its mark, and West Taieri could breathe. Owaka and Lawrence will contest the bottom-four final in the curtain-raiser to the big dance. This is a repeat of last year's final. Owaka beat Clutha Valley 43-25 on Saturday, and Lawrence beat Heriot by default. — Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Top four size each other up
The Southern Region semifinalists have been locked in with two rounds remaining of the regular season. After last weekend's results, Clutha, West Taieri, Toko and Crescent will all finish inside the top four. There is plenty of shuffle room though, as any side can still finish with a home semi spot. This weekend has the top four sides playing among themselves in what should be two fantastic encounters. First-placed Clutha host fourth-placed Crescent in a match-up that does not have to provide any extra motivation. The storied rivals will add another chapter to their history this weekend with the Centennial Cup and some extremely important competition points on the line. Crescent showed last weekend that when they play to their structure, they are nearly unstoppable. Clutha were defeated for the first time this season last weekend, which makes this match even more tasty. Second-placed West Taieri, still buoyed by their win over Clutha last weekend, head down the road to Milton to do battle with third-placed Toko, with just one point separating the two sides. West Taieri are celebrating three milestones this weekend, the most impressive being that of Dave McNeill, who brings up his 300th match in West Taieri colours in what has been a fantastic career. Toko will need to improve from last weekend if they are to have a sniff in this game and stop what is looking like a West Taieri steamroller that is only gaining momentum. The bottom four teams are also doing internecine battle, with Heriot hosting Owaka and Clutha Valley hosting Lawrence. Heriot and Valley have already locked in home semifinals in the bottom four, but their opponents are not yet set in stone. Owaka and Lawrence have played better rugby than their results suggest this season and will be keen to finish the round robin with a couple of scalps.
Otago Daily Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
West Taieri win physical game
West Taieri closed the gap on Clutha at the top of the Southern Region table when they beat the competition leaders 18-17 in a physical game at Outram on Saturday. Clutha attacked for large periods of the first half but came up against a resolute West Taieri defence. The home side opened the scoring against the run of play when flanker Conner Jenkins picked up a loose ball and ran 70m to the line. Clutha finally managed to crack the defensive wall to score their first try but West Taieri led 10-7 at halftime. The second half was exactly the same as the first with Clutha having all the possession but unable to break through West Taieri's determined defensive wall. Clutha levelled the scores before taking the lead as prop Mafi Demont broke through the defence to score. Conner Jenkins grabbed his second try for the home side in a stroke of luck as a kick hit the corner flag, stayed in play, and sat nicely for Jenkins to finish off. Poor discipline from the visitors gave a kickable penalty to West Taieri, and Callum Smeaton made no mistake. That was the final scoring play of the match and West Taieri claimed victory on the back of a huge defensive shift. Crescent beat Lawrence 53-0 in one of the more one-sided clashes this season. Crescent scored four tries inside the opening 15 minutes — Lawrence looked like they had forgotten how to tackle — but became their own worst enemies and tried too hard to score more points. Instead of sticking to their structure, Crescent became a side of individuals and kept turning the ball over. The score was 27-0 at halftime and remained that way through a sloppy second half until 15 minutes from the end, when Crescent stepped up the tempo and scored four more tries to blow the score out. Toko kept their feet firmly inside the top four as they beat Owaka 22-17 in a tight game at Milton. The club day crowd was strong, but it was Owaka who took an 11-5 lead into halftime and really dominated proceedings for the first half. Owaka forced Toko into making a plethora of errors as the home side could not find any structure or momentum. Toko began the second half with a try to get their heads up and they began to fight their way back. Owaka kept the scoreboard ticking over with penalties, but Toko were scoring tries to catch up. The game was in the balance when Owaka turned down another three, which was soon punished by Toko, who scored two late tries. Heriot beat Clutha Valley 32-27 in the Trevor Peters Memorial game at Heriot. A late try to the home side sealed victory after Valley put themselves in a position to win with only four minutes left. Heriot's forward pack was strong and made metres all afternoon, while Clutha Valley paid the price for a yellow card after halftime. By Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Miners Cup up for grabs this afternoon
With Matariki making this a long weekend, the southern region features a rare Friday afternoon spectacle in Kaitangata. The Crescent Coal Miners host Lawrence with the Miners Cup on the line. The top four is such a close contest that Crescent can momentarily jump up to second place for 24 hours with a win. Lawrence will not die wondering and are still due a win, which they have sought admirably all season. West Taieri host Clutha in a top-of-the-table battle at Outram with the Speight's Jug and McIntosh Cup on the line in what will be a war of attrition. Clutha have built an almost unassailable lead at the top of the table but will want to win all the same and keep the Pigs well behind them. Since returning from injury, West Taieri first five Callum Smeaton has been driving the team around the park well and will have a big say in the outcome of this clash. Toko celebrate their club day this weekend with what should be a competitive day of footy. The Toko Axemen host Owaka with the Dean Miller and Reg Phillips memorial trophies on the line. Both sides lost last weekend and will be frothing to right the wrongs of previous matches. Toko will want to be pushing back into home semifinal contention; Owaka will be hoping to get 22 players on the field. Injuries and absences are a real issue. Heriot host Clutha Valley for the Trevor Peters Memorial as both sides make one last effort to finish in the top four. The teams are fifth and sixth respectively with the loser of this match certain of a bottom-four spot. The victor still has a mathematical chance of semifinal footy.
