The Star: June 08, 2017

32 Thursday June 8 2017
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In Brief
MOASCAR CUP BID
Rangiora High School play
against Nelson College for
the Moascar Cup in the UC
Championship on Saturday.
Rangiora have been the
surprise package of this year’s
competition and currently
occupy third with just one loss
to their name. They now travel to
Nelson to challenge for the cup
(secondary school’s equivalent
of the Ranfurly Shield). Nelson
have held the cup since claiming
it from Timaru Boys’ High
School last year. Only four
Canterbury schools have ever
held it.
KUDOS FOR HAGLEY OVAL
THe Hagley Oval turf
management team has taken
the major gong at New Zealand
Cricket’s pitch of the year
awards. The team was judged
responsible for preparing the
‘international pitch of the year’
on the basis of players’ reports,
match official reports and other
feedback collated through the
2016-17 season. Hagley Oval
consistently delivered high
quality surfaces for tests against
Pakistan and Bangladesh, and
for the ODIs against Bangladesh
and South Africa.
on the
PLACEMAKERS
PRIZE WHEEL *
21 CHANCES TO WIN
OVER 3 DAYS!
Irish look to sign Crusaders prop
CRUSADERS PROP Oliver Jager may be lured back
to Ireland to play for powerhouse club Leinster.
The 21-year-old arrived from Ireland in 2013 to
develop his game and earned himself a spot in the
Crusaders squad this year.
But reports out of Ireland say Leinster who were
semi-finalists in both this year’s Pro 12 and European
Rugby Champions Cup, could be interested in
signing him.
“Look, we’ll see,” Jager told the Herald in Ireland.
“I’m out of contract at the
end of this season, but we’re working on a new one at
the moment. Nothing’s been confirmed yet.
“It’s literally gone day-by-day. Now, it’s going yearby-year
and, hopefully, the next few years will go
every two, three years.
“That’s just the way rugby is. You never really
know where you’re going to end up.”
Jager grew up in Dublin and played for Ireland at
school level, representing his country in the under-18
European championship.
He joined the New Brighton club after making the
move from Ireland, initially playing for the colts and
then the division one team.
Last year he made the Canterbury ITM Cup team
and produced a number of impressive performances
which earned him a spot in the Crusaders.
Jager started for the NZ Barbarians in their 7-13
loss to the Lions in Whangarei on Saturday night,
where he matched up with England’s Mako Vunipola
and Ireland captain Rory Best in the front row.
IRISHMAN: Oliver Jager has impressed in New
Zealand and is now attracting interest back home.
Stolen trailer mars home
rally win for Summerfield
• By Gordon Findlater
MATT Summerfield’s
push to win this year’s
New Zealand Rally
Championship has been
grounded following the
theft of his car transporter.
Summerfield, 25, was on
cloud nine after winning
his home event, the Canterbury
Rally on Sunday.
However, he now needs
to hope the transporter
is found before the next
round of the national
championship in Coromandel
in August.
“I’m pretty gutted. We
use it to get to all of our
events,” said Summerfield.
The transporter was
stolen from Colenso St,
Sumner, on Sunday night,
just hours after one of the
biggest wins in his career.
The registration is 1129L.
It has a single axle with
new BNT wheels, it has tilt
ramps and LED lights and
has a black draw-bar.
“We’ve had it for nearly
20 years. Dad (Les) built it
himself in 1999 to transport
his car at the time,”
said Summerfield.
Since it’s disappearance,
a Facebook post seeking
information on the trans-
MUDDY: Summerfield
streaked ahead of
the field in slippery
conditions in Ashley
Forest. PHOTO: ALLAN
PRITCHARD
porter has gained traction
on social media. As of
yesterday, the post had been
shared by over 1500 people.
“We’ve had a few offers
to borrow a transporter
which is really nice and
people are really spreading
the word to help track it
down,” said Summerfield.
On Sunday Summerfield
and his sister Nicole (codriver)
showed all of their
class to lead home Ben
STOLEN: The missing transporter. ​
Hunt in second place by
more than 2min in wet
conditions in Ashley Forest.
Summerfield currently
leads the NZRC mid-way
through the season. After
retiring from the opening
round in Otago with a
broken gearbox just 2km
into the opening stage he
has gone onto win the next
two rounds in Whangarei
and Canterbury.
He is already battling
against the odds, competing
in a 10-year-old
Subaru. The majority of the
front-runners in the championship
are operating new
AP4 vehicles.
The championship has
three rounds remaining
in Coromandel, Waitomo
and Rally New Zealand.
“Things are on track.
We finished second in
Coromandel last year so
will go in with plenty of
confidence,” said Summerfield.