WELCOME TO NORTH OTAGO RUGBY
NEW ZEALAND HEARTLAND PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS 2010
North Otago grabbed the first win at the first major game at the Forsyth Barr Stadium but it did it the hard way. The side scored five tries to two in defeating a fresh West Coast team 29-19 in a Heartland Championship battle, but it blew plenty of opportunities.
Time after time, North Otago broke the West Coast defence only to lose the ball with the line wide open or choose the wrong option.
It had some exciting players in winger Whiria Meltzer, who helped himself to three tries, and centre Faaitu Tuamoheloa, but if it had taken all the chances on offer, it would have easily scored a half-century.
North Otago captain Ralph Darling said it was a typical early-season match. “We wasted a good few opportunities after creating a lot. Some of our option-taking let us down and it was that early season stuff where we lacked a bit of combination,” he said. He was very impressed by the stadium, wanting to take the ground back to Oamaru. The turf stood up well, he said.
North Otago coach Barry Matthews said his side was a bit skittery, and though he was happy to win, the side had gone away from its game plan.
THE SCORES:
North Otago 29
Whiria Meltzer 3, Hamish McKenzie, Luke Herden tries; Ben Patston, Billy Guyton con
West Coast 19
Rowan O’Gorman, Luke Hughes tries; Shannon Donald 3 pen
• Halftime: North Otago 12-6
• Crowd: About 7500
Courtesy ODT
Josh Colier and Ralph Darling (c) assisting their team mate.
North Otago will meet West Coast in a Heartland competition match at the Forsyth Barr stadium, in Dunedin for the second time in the history of the two unions on Sunday, 7 August. The first occasion was in 1995 when in a curtain raiser at Carisbrook, North Otago took the game, 38-13 with Ross Skinner, Elton Nicholson, John Taeiloa, Allan Kennedy and Matt Blair scoring tries while Paddy Bleach converted two of the tries and added three penalties and that was really the beginning of the North Otago rugby resurgence which has continued to the present day. A look back at the previous 15 seasons had seen North Otago play a total of 143 first class games and win a mere 14 of those.
A total of 35 matches have been played between the two unions the first occurring in 1949. Two games were played that season with West Coast winning the first and North Otago the second. The first winning North Otago team was Jack Halverson, “Snow” Ross, “Pop” Kilgour, Ross Aubrey, Garth Johnson, Laurie Tempero, Tubby Johnson, Stan Mosely, Ewen Sutherland, Massie Sutherland, Sel McCone, John Gallagher, Harry Meehan, Ian McGregor and Graeme Ovens.
West Coast won 12 of the first 19 matches prior to 1990 including 20-0(1975), 35-13(1977), 20-0(1979), 29-6(1983). The nineties saw North Otago win eight of the ten games played and since the turn of the century North Otago has dominated taking six of the seven encounters played to date.
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Some work at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium may be continuing as the venue holds its first “test” game on August 7, and will be under way on adjoining buildings
right up to, and after, the Rugby World Cup.
And while the stadium building itself would be finished on time, other building at the site would be going “to the wire”, Dunedin Venues Management Ltd (DVML)
chief executive David Davies said yesterday.
The timelines were tight and the big screen, for instance, was arriving about the same time as the first game, between North Otago and West Coast on August 7.
While it was expected to be in place for the game, Mr Davies said he wanted punters to be aware the first game, in particular, was a test for the venue.
“I can’t guarantee by August 7 everything will be finished,” Mr Davies said. “I have to remind people we were always going to use those events as tests.”
Mr Davies said the stadium building would be completed on time.
The process for opening the venue would begin in August, with a handover on August 1, an official opening by Prime Minister John Key on Friday, August 5,
and a mana whenua dawn blessing by local iwi.
Mr Davies said around that time, keys would be handed over and people would start moving into their new offices.
But he said those approaching from Anzac Ave would see work under way at the University of Otago building. The outside of that was expected to be finished
by the World Cup, but the whole building would not be finished until December 1.
Work would also be under way on the Academy of Sport building – planned to be completed by the World Cup, despite piling work having only begun at the end of May.
“That will really go to the wire prior to the World Cup,” Mr Davies said.
It was now known catering equipment for the stadium would be a week or so late.
By August 17, when Manawatu plays Otago in the ITM Cup, “everything should be ship-shape”.
Mr Davies said 2000 tickets had been sold for the North Otago game, and he was still confident of between 7000 and 10,000 turning up for the event.
Ralph Darling did everything he could to write himself into Ranfurly Shield immortality on Saturday.
The North Otago captain valiantly held up his side of the scrum despite giving away about 40cm and 20kg to his behemoth of an opposite number, Paea Fa’anunu.
Coach pleased players competed well.
He was denied a popular try when he appeared to have stretched out in the corner but was ruled to have been taken out, and there was no television match official
to prove otherwise.
And after the game, which might have had a lopsided scoreline but featured a mighty effort from the challenger, Darling had a slight twinkle in his eye
as he told an interviewer the shield was “the one that got away”.
But one moment in the game will live on. One extraordinary moment that is the perfect rebuttal to those who blindly argue smaller unions should not be
challenging for the Log o’ Wood. One moment that will provide a hero of the heartland endless opportunities to brag in the future.
The score was still 0-0 a full 20 minutes into the game at Rugby Park when Telusa Veianu, the young Canterbury and Highlanders winger,found himself in open space.
He turned on the gas and found himself with only Darling to beat. And when a professional rugby winger meets a freezing works beef process room supervisor prop,
the result is never in doubt. Right?
Darling, staying cool, showed surprising athleticism for his size and scragged Veainu down in a tackle that would have done Richie McCaw proud.
In such moments can the magic of the shield be found. Even in a game that unfairly matches professionals against amateurs.
North Otago, overall, could be more than satisfied with its effort, a week after being thumped by 70 points by a rebuilding Otago side.
The Old Golds had the extraordinary figure of 84% possession through the first 10 minutes, and held Canterbury – missing a dozen players but still featuring an
All Black (Colin Slade), one of the Super 15′s best No 8s (Nasi Manu) and a swag of nationally ranked youngsters – scoreless for the first 24.
At lineout time, the challengers were generally neat. They battled away in the scrum, despite being monstrously out-weighed, and they looked good when they
recycled the ball and kept it in tight.
Darling received good support in the tight from locks Eric Duff and Dylan Winter, Josh Collier played above his size at No 8, and reserve front-rower Rob Mafileo
had his moment of glory when he scored North Otago’s only try in the 73rd minute.
First five Ben Patston utilised his kicking game adroitly, and fullback Billy Guyton showed the touches of class that have lit up the Heartland Championship.
Canterbury, playing at its temporary Rugby Park home, mixed periods of shakiness with glimpses of plenty of fresh talent.
Slade, coming back from two broken jaws with the Highlanders, played the first half and looked smooth and accurate without exactly setting the game alight.
Cantabrians to impress in the forwards included rangy lock Luke Katene and promising openside flanker Brendon O’Connor.
There was much to like when fullback Johnny McNicholl got the ball with time and space, while Robbie Flynn was a livewire in midfield.
