The Star: July 07, 2016

40 Thursday July 7 2016
follow us on facebook.com/riseupchristchurch
The Star
Sport
In Brief
ALL STAR BASKETBALL
The region’s top young basketballers
will take to the court tomorrow in
celebration of their accomplishments
this season. Cowles Stadium will
host the 2016 McDonald’s All Star
game. The east and west squads are
made up of the top performers in the
boys’ Thompson Trophy and girls’
Whelan Trophy secondary school
competitions. Burnside High’s Toby
Gillooly and Isaiah Morris will be
two starters to watch on the boys’
east team. Quinn Clinton and Jack
Ansell, of Christchurch Boys’ High,
will star for the boys’ west team, along
with Cashmere High student Connor
McLaughlin. The girls’ all star game
begins at 4.30pm followed by the boys.
RUGBY LEAGUE CAMP
Four players have been selected from
the southern region to attend the
under-16 New Zealand Rugby League
performance camp in Rotorua. Martin
and Fidow-Kele are both students at
St Thomas’ of Canterbury College
and will both represent the school at
this year’s NZRL National Secondary
Schools Tournament. Martin, 15, plays
club league for the Hornby Panthers
and has represented Canterbury and
the South Island at age group level.
Fidow-Kele, 16, plays for the Linwood
Keas and also plays for the St Thomas
first XV rugby union side. The camp
will run from July 9-1.
Grand final rematch
• By Gordon Findlater
THIS WEEKEND’S round of
the UC Championship will be
headlined by a rematch of last
year’s grand final.
St Bede’s College took the
honours last August, defeating
Shirley Boys 32-13 in the grand
final.
With just four rounds
remaining in the competition
neither side is assured of a spot
in this year’s play-offs.
Shirley looked poised to be
a sure thing for the top four a
fortnight ago, but two successive
losses to Nelson College
and St Thomas in the space
of four days has put a dent in
their armour.
“It’s very difficult when
you’re playing three games
in the space of eight days.
We came back from Nelson
with three frontline forwards
out with injury and illness,”
Shirley Boys’ rugby administrator
John Fox said.
However, Fox is confident
that a shift in mentality from
the team’s last two encounters
can get them back in the win
column.
“We scored in the first five
REMATCH: Shirley Boys and St Bede’s will meet on
Saturday in a rematch of last year’s UC Championship final.
minutes against St Thomas and
then relaxed. It just shows how
close this competition is,” Fox
said.
Fatigue won’t be an issue for
St Bede’s who are coming off
their bye weekend, something
coach Gerry Davidson believes
could work in his team’s
favour.
“I think everybody enjoys
their bye weekend. We’ve been
going since the end of April
now and with a couple of
traditional mid-week fixtures
in June, it was nice to have a
break,” Davidson said.
St Bede’s is currently seventh
in the championship. Although
they only have six wins from
10 games, they find themselves
right in the play-off hunt,
three points from a play-off
spot.
“I think for the first time in
a very long time, anyone in the
top eight, or even 10 teams, has
a chance.
“Nobody can take any results
for granted this year,” Davidson
said.
St Bede’s has one member
from last year’s team that won
the UC Championship in this
year’s squad.
Shirley have plenty of boys
with memories of last year’s
final defeat, with 15 players
retained.
Saturday’s grand final rematch
will screen live on CTV
this Saturday.
Kick-off is at 2.45pm from
Shirley Boys’ High.
UC Championship round 12 fixtures:
Shirley BHS v St Bede’s; St Andrew’s College v Burnside HS;
Nelson College v St Thomas; Timaru BHS v Rangiora HS;
Marlborough BC v Ashburton College; Lincoln HS v Waimea
Combined; Roncalli College v Christchurch BHS; Christ’s
College (bye)
MUMS & DADS
Would you like your children to
exercise more and earn some money?
DELIVERY
PEOPLE
WANTED
The Star requires delivery personnel
in all areas of Christchurch.
The work involves door-to-door
delivery of The Star newspaper.
Please call
Leanne Lucas 364-7451 or
Mark Coulthard 364 7453
email: deliveries@starmedia.kiwi