Selwyn Times: June 12, 2019

SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Wednesday June 12 2019 19
Try-scoring Sheat marks
200th game for Southbridge
• By Jacob Page
SOUTHBRIDGE maintained
their momentum and celebrated
hooker Michael Sheat’s 200th
game in style as round one of
Ellesmere’s Coleman Shield got
under way on Saturday.
Sheat scored two tries to
help his team beat Burnham
Dunsandel Irwell 34-10 at
Southbridge Domain.
“The first one I had to do a bit
of work for, but the second one
was passed to me over the line.”
The 31-year-old said it was a
proud moment for him in his
13th season with the team.
“I started when I was 19, so
it’s been a big part of my life,”
he said.
Sheat played his first 140
games at halfback before
shifting to hooker in recent
years.
“The way I was growing – out
– made the move a no-brainer
but it was fun to learn a new
position.”
Sheat also played three games
with former All Blacks first-five
Dan Carter.
“In 2009, he was coming back
from an Achilles injury and the
boys joked, I better not pass it
too low so he didn’t re-injure it
bending down.”
He said winning three
combined country titles and
two Coleman Shields has been a
highlight.
The 2016 Coleman Shield win
over Waihora, which ended a
32-year drought for the club
Jim Doyle reports on
Lincoln University’s
performance against
Burnside
THE HAWKINS Cup stays at
Lincoln University after the
Rams beat Burnside 50-12
away on Saturday in the last
of the round-robin matches in
the Christchurch club rugby
competition.
Lincoln Uni beat Sydenham
74-3 with a stunning performance
in the wet the previous week to
HONOURED: Michael Sheat
leads Southbridge onto the
field for his 200th game.
(Below) – Sheat scores the
first of his two tries in their
34-10 win over Burnham
Dunsandel Irwell. PHOTOS:
SOUTHBRIDGE RFC
stood out, he said.
With points carrying
over from fixtures involving
Ellesmere teams during
the combined competition,
Springston remain unbeaten
at the top of the table after a
comfortable 36-7 win over
Prebbleton.
Springston scored 24
unanswered second-half points
slip a point ahead of Christchurch
in the standings. The margin
stayed that way as Christchurch
also had a bonus-point win
against Marist Albion in the last
round.
Rams captain Nic Souchon said
the side’s success had nothing to
do with individual brilliance.
“We aren’t a team of superstars,’’
he said after the match on
Saturday.
“It’s all about the mindset. No
matter who’s on the paddock,
everyone gives it their best, no
matter what position they’re
for another bonus point win,
thanks in part to two tries from
Thomas Cockburn.
Darfield produced a stirring
second half to take down
Lincoln 29-27.
Lincoln led 20-12 early in
the second half before Darfield
stormed back.
A last-gasp try allowed
Lincoln to salvage two bonus
points from the game, but
Darfield’s win lifts them to
fourth on the table.
After a tough end to the
combined country competition,
defending champions Waihora
got a much needed 46-5 win
over Rolleston which ensured
they remained in second.
West Melton also easily
accounted for Hornby 29-5.
Waihora v Lincoln and
Darfield v Springston look set to
be the matches with the most at
stake on Saturday. Rolleston will
host West Melton; Southbridge
will welcome Hornby; and BDI
will travel to Prebbleton.
Results: Southbridge
34, BDI 10; Springston 36,
Prebbleton 7; Waihora 46,
Rolleston 5; Darfield 29,
Lincoln 27; West Melton 29,
Hornby 5.
Points: Springston 20,
Waihora 16, Southbridge 15,
Darfield 14, Lincoln 14, BDI 10,
West Melton 10, Prebbleton
8, Hornby 0, Rolleston 0.
Draw: Waihora v Lincoln,
Rolleston v West Melton,
Southbridge v Hornby,
Prebbleton v BDI, Darfield v
Springston.
asked to play in. We’re a tight-knit
group.”
The players have pulled
together superbly since a couple
of glitches earlier in the season,
and it’s nice to see newer men like
Josh Bokser, Glen Beardsley, Kale
Thatcher, Luke Donaldson, Oscar
Koller, Fletcher Morgan and Coel
Kerr going so well.
Koller looked his most-assured
at first-five, giving impetus to the
backline with crisp running and
passing. He scored the first try, on
the blindside of a 5m scrum, no
defender getting near him as he
• By Jacob Page
LINCOLN COMBINED were
left to rue a red card after their
22-19 loss to St Thomas’ in their
UC Championship encounter on
Friday.
Lock Blake Evans was sent off
for retaliating after an incident in
a ruck midway through the first
half, which meant Lincoln had to
play 50min with 14 players.
Coach Tom Hooper said it
is likely Evans will receive a
two-match ban, “which was
standard”. But he said they will
wait to see if a judicial hearing is
needed this week.
Lincoln Combined led 14-7
at halftime, but the one-man
disadvantage eventually took a
toll.
Hooper said the game felt
like a missed opportunity, even
though he could not fault the
team’s effort.
“The boys were incredibly
brave, we didn’t have a lot of ball
and had to defend for a lot of the
game and they were fantastic, but
we just ran out of energy.”
Hooper said the red card
was justified but he would have
liked the referee to have seen the
original incident that sparked the
situation. “It’s often the guy that
retaliates that gets caught and
that’s what happened.
Hooper said the big St Thomas’
forward pack eventually won the
scooted through.
Beardsley is getting stronger
with every game and Kerr is
both robust and clever in tight
situations.
Sam Gilbert gave another near
faultless goal-kicking display in
difficult conditions, missing only
the conversion of his own try
right at the end.
Burnside enjoyed some strong
passages of play, sparked by the
likes of No 8 Christiaan Grandiek
and slippery first-five Yusho
Takeda. Takeda took a couple of
heavy knocks and was eventually
SPORT
QUICK SERVICE: Lincoln Combined halfback Macauley Hamlin
gets ready to feed the ball to the backline in their loss to St
Thomas’ on Friday. PHOTO: ANGELA JONES PHOTOGRAPHY
Red card hurts
Lincoln Combined
day. He said his team was patient
in the first half. “Our forward
pack was getting good ball, we
kicked well in general play and
showed good patience.”
Their opponents will not get
any easier. On Saturday, Lincoln
Combined are at home against St
Bede’s College, which are fresh
off a win over Christ’s College.
Results: Rangiora HS
29, SBHS 22; St Thomas’
22, Lincoln Combined 19;
Nelson College 90, Waimea
Combined 12; Roncalli
Combined 15, Mid-Canterbury
Combined 10; Rangiora HS 40,
Marlborough Boys’ College
26; SBHS 13, CBHS 11; St
Bede’s 20, Christ’s College 15.
Points: Nelson College 26,
St Bede’s 24, St Andrew’s
24, CBHS 21, Rangiora HS 21,
Christ’s College 19, Lincoln
Combined 14, St Thomas’
14, Marlborough Boys 12,
SBHS 10, Waimea Combined
9, Roncalli Combined 8,
TBHS 5, Mid-Canterbury
Combined 2.
Draw: TBHS v St Andrew’s,
Rangiora HS v Waimea
Combined, Christ’s
College v Marlborough Boys,
CBHS v Nelson College, Mid-
Canterbury Combined v St
Thomas’, Lincoln Combined
v St Bede’s, TBHS v Mid-
Canterbury Combined, SBHS
v St Andrew’s.
•More sport, page 22
The Rams take down Burnside to keep Hawkins Cup
replaced by Phil Gibson, who
made his 152nd appearance for
the club’s senior side. Halfback
Conor McManus also looked the
goods, scoring a sharp try early in
the second half.
Scorecard: Lincoln
University 50 (Fletcher
Morgan 2, Oscar Koller, Kale
Thatcher, Luke Donaldson,
Caleb Makene, Sam Gilbert
tries; Gilbert 6 conv, pen)
beat Burnside 12 (Steven
Snoxell, Conor McManus
tries; Phil Gibson conv).
HT: 24-5.