Bay Harbour: July 24, 2019

PAGE 14 Wednesday July 24 2019
BAY HARBOUR
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
SPORT
EFFORT: Millie Junge battles
through the mud on way to a
14th place finish in the under-12
girls event.
PHOTO: PAUL KOSTER ​
Trying conditions
for runners
• By Gordon Findlater
PERSISTENT RAIN late last
week meant that Sumner Running
Club members battled what
looked more like a mud bath than
a racer course at the Canterbury
Cross Country Championships.
A 28-strong team from Sumner
travelled to Halswell Quarry on
Saturday and weren’t put off by
the trying conditions. Across the
junior and senior categories the
club collected eight podium finishes,
including three golds.
In the juniors Abigail Scott-
Douglas finished third in the girls
under-12 race. There was also a
third place finish for Hero Barrettelli
in the boys under-10.
Meanwhile, in the senior events
golds were won by Robyn Perkins
in the women’s 55-plus, David
Fitch in the men’s 40-plus and
Graham Batchelor in the men’s 70
plus. There was also third place
finishes for Alistair Cory-Wright
in the men’s 50-plus, Jan Harrison
in the women’s 50-plus and
Katherine Fitch in the women’s
45-plus.
The next major event of the
Canterbury athletics winter programme
in the Canterbury Road
Championships on August 31.
Uncertain future for Lyttelton
• By Gordon Findlater
LYTTELTON WILL go
into Saturday’s premier
reserve quarter finals as the
competition’s top qualifier.
However, that may not be good
enough to see them eligible to
play in the competition next
year.
A decision made by the
Canterbury Rugby Union three
years ago means teams wanting
to compete in the premier
reserve grade must also have a
team competing in the premier
competition.
The decision would mean
Lyttelton Rugby Club’s top side
will be forced to drop down to
the senior grade – also known as
division three – next year. However,
Lyttelton are challenging
the decision and club president
Clinton Norris is confident it
will be overturned as a meeting
between the CRFU, metro rugby
committee and the clubs on
August 7.
The change would also effect
Suburbs and Otautahi who also
compete in the premier reserve
grade, but not in the premier
competition. It’s understood
• By Gordon Findlater
LINWOOD CAN well and truly
be considered Sumner’s bogey
team after their season finished
with a third drubbing at Linfield
Park.
Sumner’s 0-47 loss to
Linwood on Saturday
followed their previous
heavy defeats to the same
opposition, losing 22-76
in April and 15-48 earlier
this month. The latest
result also eliminated
Sumner from the bowl
playoffs and ended their
season.
Coach Martin Dodgson said
the game was emblematic of their
season.
“When we were good, we were
really good, and when we were
bad, we were really bad,” said
Dodgson.
“Unfortunately we were only
really good for the last 20min and
Martin
Dodgson
the change was set to come into
place originally in 2017, but was
delayed until 2019 to allow the
clubs to try and establish a side
in both the premier and premier
reserve competitions.
Norris feels that if Lyttelton
are not able to field a side in the
premier reserve grade next year
it may result in players leaving
the sport.
“That would kill our club.
There’s just no way we could
hold onto players or even recruit
because players want to play in
the grade they feel they’re competitive
in,” said Norris.
the game was already gone.”
One thing Sumner can take
from their season is that they were
one of only two teams this year
to defeat both of this weekend’s
premier grand-finalists – Lincoln
University and High School
Old Boys.
However, due to their bowl
semi-final exit, they will
finish the competition below
University, which didn’t
win a round-robin match all
year, but defeated Belfast in
Saturday’s other bowl semifinal.
The attention now turns to
Sumner’s premier reserve team,
which hopes have better fortune
at Linfield Park on Saturday
when they play Linwood in their
quarter-final.
BREAK: First-five Josh Toy
makes a run during Sumner’s
0-47 loss to Linwood.
PHOTO: ROZELLE MAY
CONCERNS: A
decision from the
CRFU could see
Lyttelton relegated
from the premier
reserve grade which
they currently lead.
Some of our players would
drop out of the sport and be
lost to rugby . . . they just love
the culture we have, we’re like a
country club in the town competition,”
said Norris.
He also feels if the club’s top
side was forced to play in the
metro senior grade it would
eliminate the pathway for clubs
like Lyttelton to get to the top
and establish a premier side in
the future. Lyttelton currently
has two senior teams and eight
junior teams.
Lyttelton’s premier reserve
side won 12 of their 14 roundrobin
games this season and
host Sydenham in a quarter-final
at 1pm on Saturday. They have
previously won the competition
in 2011 and 2013.
In recent years former
Crusaders and All Blacks player
Corey Flynn has represented the
side.
Metro committee chairman
Brent Goldsmid said a decision
will be made at the meeting
on August 7, but declined to
comment further on the matter.
The CRFU was not able to
respond to questions before the
Bay Harbour News deadline.
Bogey team ends Sumner’s season
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