The Star: August 11, 2022

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The Star Thursday August 11 2022 24 SPORT Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz Keas face Panthers in league final • By Chris Barclay A MONTH AGO the prospect of Linwood and Hornby meeting in their sixth Canterbury Rugby League premiership grand final in seven years looked remote as the Panthers seemed destined to miss the play-offs. But a stirring late season resurgence ensures normal service resumes at Nga Puna Wai on Sunday when the arch rivals again determine ownership of the Pat Smith Trophy. The unbeaten Keas are the favourites having already beaten reigning champions Hornby twice in 2022. They won the first regular season by 20 points in April but needed 10 points inside the final 10 minutes to pip Hornby 28-24 in June. So there will be no room for complacency after Hornby’s blend of youth and experience combined to keep their bid for back-to-back championships alive. “If you’d asked me a few weeks ago if I thought Hornby would make it I’d have said: ‘Probably not’,” admitted Keas head coach Iuma Mulitalo. “I think we were all thinking that, but Hornby are a finals team. They sneaked into the four and they’re every chance of winning it.” Hornby’s post-season aspirations were in jeopardy until they posted a century against Papanui in the final round to eclipse the Northern Bulldogs, who lost to Linwood, on points differential. They then ended the Eastern Eagles impressive campaign before avenging two regular season losses to the Hornets by claiming a gritty 16-6 preliminary final win at Halswell Domain. Hornby led 12-6 after 15min through tries to centres Zinzaan RESURGENCE: Champions Hornby clawed their way into the Canterbury Rugby League premiership grand final, where they meet arch rivals Linwood. Martin and Christian Fetu, either side of fullback Jacob Nyman crossing for the hosts. Panthers wing Iseleli Pulu provided the only points of a second half arm wrestle in difficult conditions when he scored early in the spell to give Hornby an impregnable buffer. Mulitalo was among the more interested spectators, scoping the opposition as Linwood eye a sixth premiership in seven years. “The weather was a factor in the second half, the game got sloppy and Hornby defended well to keep them out,” he said. Hornby rely on veterans Corey Lawrie and James Baxendale to steer the side around the park while, like Linwood, the next generation have also melded with the old heads. “They’ve got plenty of experience to get them round the field and they’re a bit of a youthful team too,” said Mulitalo. COLLISION ZONE: Hornby try-scorer Christian Fetu was also on point defensively as he stops Halswell’s Finley Esera. Linwood fit the same bill with playmaker Daniel Hartley complemented by South Island under-20s hooker Makaia Tafua. HARD YARDS: Maui Siulepa carts the ball up for Hornby during the Panthers preliminary final victory over Halswell. PHOTOS: KAREN CASEY “We’ve also got a good breed of young ones coming through that have grown into our culture,” said Mulitalo, who also singled out the promising development of back rower Uriah Tuli and prop George Faaiva. Mulitalo’s counterpart Jed Lawrie always had belief a squad with only seven players from last year’s triumph could still make the decider. “I always had faith, they showed glimpses of how talented they are. The young boys have matured through the year and given the opportunity they’ve been able to find that next level of finals footy,” he said. Lawrie identified the turning point as the second half against winless Papanui, where Hornby piled out 80 unanswered points. “I know they were struggling but going into halftime we realised what we were putting out wasn’t good enough. It was a pretty big lightbulb moment for a lot of those boys.” The Keas premier reserve team also had the luxury of having last weekend off as Hornby advanced to the Canterbury Cup decider by ending newcomer Greymouth’s season with a 30-14 triumph. Linwood also feature in the women’s final where they take on reigning champion Sydenham after they beat Burnham and Woolston respectively. The ladder-leading Keas produced a convincing 34-4 victory over Burnham while Sydenham prevailed in a tighter tussle with Woolston, 26-18. The men’s premier grade second-tier Gore Cup final will be contested by the Northern Bulldogs and Riccarton Knights, who progressed at the Celebration Lions expense thanks to a 34-10 win at Crosbie Park. TOP OF THE TABLES Brought to you by Curtains | Blinds | Shutters Unit 2 / 99 Sawyers Arms Rd 03 365 4666 or 0800 836 587 www.venluree.co.nz Top of the tables Southern League Football P W D L GD Pts Christchurch Utd 15 14 1 0 45 43 Cashmere Technical 15 13 1 1 49 40 Nelson Suburbs 14 8 2 4 3 26 Ferrymead Bays 15 7 3 5 6 24 Dunedin City Royals 14 7 1 6 9 22 Green Island 15 4 1 10 -24 13 Coastal Spirit 15 2 6 7 -12 12 *Nomads Utd 14 3 3 8 -26 12 Mosgiel AFC 15 2 3 10 -28 9 Selwyn United 15 1 5 9 -21 8 Canterbury Hockey men’s Premier League P W L Bye Pts Marist 14 10 3 1 31 Carlton Redcliffs 14 9 3 2 29 HSOB/Burnside 14 8 2 4 28 Harewood 14 8 5 1 25 Avon 14 7 7 0 21 Southern 14 4 9 1 13 Hornby 14 2 9 3 9 University 14 1 11 2 5 Women’s premier hockey league P W L Bye Pts Carlton Redcliffs 12 11 1 0 2 33 Marist 12 10 2 0 2 30 Harewood 12 8 4 0 2 24 HSOB/Burnside 12 6 6 0 2 18 Avon 12 5 7 0 2 15 Hornby 12 2 10 0 2 6 Southern 12 0 12 0 2 0 SUCCESS: Carlton Redcliffs claimed Canterbury Hockey’s Rosebowl for the top regular season team in the women’s premier league with a 2-1 win over Harewood. PHOTO: GEOFF SOPER Weekend match-ups Canterbury Rugby League finals series (all Sunday): Gore Cup final: Northern Bulldogs v Riccarton Knights, Nga Puna Wai 2, 11am. Canterbury Cup grand final: Linwood Keas v Hornby Panthers, Nga Puna Wai 2, 1pm. Premier women’s grand ginal: Sydenham v Linwood Keas, Nga Puna Wai 1, 12.30pm. Premier men’s grand final: Linwood v Hornby, Nga Puna Wai 1, 3pm. Southern League round 16 fixtures (all Saturday): Coastal Spirit v Nelson Suburbs, Linfield Park 11.30am; Mosgiel AFC v Cashmere Technical, Memorial 1 12.30pm; Dunedin City Royals v Selwyn United, Football Turf 12.30pm; Christchurch United v Green Island, Christchurch Football Centre 2pm; Ferrymead Bays v Nomads United, Ferrymead Park 2.45pm. Canterbury Hockey Premier League finals series round 1 (all Saturday): Men: 7 v 8 play-off: University of Canterbury v Hornby Vipers, Foster Park midday; 5 v 6 playoff: Avon v Southern, Marist Park @ St Bede’s College 3pm; Preliminary final (1 v 2): Marist v Carlton Redcliffs, Nga Puna Wai 3pm; Minor semi-final (3 v 4): HSOB/Burnside v Harewood, Nga Puna Wai 4.30pm. Women: Lower play-off: Hornby v Southern, Foster Park 4.30pm; Minor semi-final (3 v 4) HSOB/Burnside v Harewood, Nga Puna Wai midday; Preliminary final (1 v 2): Carlton Redcliffs v Marist, Nga Puna Wai 1.30pm.
St Thomas makes ST THOMAS of Canterbury’s 1st XV have created history by qualifying for the top four of the Miles Toyota Championship for the first time. Denied a place in last year’s Cup semi-finals by an agonising final round loss to St Bede’s College, St Thomas led the standings this season with a 47- 33 win over Shirley Boys’ High School enabling them to finish one point clear of defending champion Nelson College. They can now avenge that defeat to St Bede’s last year when they host the fourth-ranked qualifier in Saturday’s Trophy semi-final. The other semi-final has Nelson College hosting thirdseeded Christchurch Boys’ High School. St Thomas, who have former All Black hooker, and old boy, Mark Hammett as head coach, while Hammett’s former Canterbury and Crusaders teammate Johnny Leo’o is the college’s director of rugby. Significant improvers in a competition usually dominated locally by CBHS, Christ’s College and St Andrew’s College, St Thomas are arguably bestplaced to win the title in 2022, with at least a dozen players in the first-choice match day 22 departing at the end of the year. The second-tier Plate Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz history to get to top four CHRISTCHURCH United and Cashmere Technical predictably sealed qualification for the National League with any lateround dramas. The Southern League front runners have been on course to claim the two available berths for the domestic competition from the outset and achieved that goal with three rounds of the regular season remaining. Christchurch United passed their first assignment by beating relegation-threatened Selwyn United 4-0 on Saturday while Cashmere Technical were up by three goals before Coastal Spirit MARIST ENTER Canterbury Hockey men’s premier league buoyed by regular season success after a helpful schedule enabled them to head off their closest challengers to claim the Presidents Shield. Buoyed by a Covid-19 catch-up win earlier last week, Marist nailed top spot for the play-offs with a 6-1 victory over cellar-dwelling University of Canterbury. Carlton Redcliffs rounded out their programme with a 3-0 win CHARGE: St Thomas of Canterbury No. 8 Richie Tuipelehake Tupua’ilei makes ground against Shirley Boys’ High School with prop Ezekiel Faga Iete in support. managed a consolation goal in the 90th minute. Cashmere Technical and United are now vying for the Southern League title with the latter returning to the top of the standings after a 1-0 win over Nomads United in a Covid-19 catch-up game on Tuesday night. United also host Green Island while Selwyn United will be hoping Cashmere Technical maintain their intensity away at Mosgiel, with only a point separating the Dunedin and Rolleston-based outfits. over fellow finalists Harewood while HSOB/Burnside qualified third after edging Avon 3-2. Marist and Carlton Redcliffs meet to decide which of the top two teams heads straight to the final, with the loser able to activate their second life and play the minor semi-final winner, HSOB/Burnside or Harewood. Carlton Redcliffs needed to lose by 17 goals to surrender top spot in the women’s competition and they duly claimed the Rosebowl with a 2-1 triumph over TRY TIME: St Thomas of Canterbury College wing Jackson Stewart is poised to score out wide against Shirley Boys’ High School. PHOTOS: BRENDAN BIGGS competition’s semi-finals pit St Andrew’s College against Shirley Boys’ High School while Timaru BHS host Marlborough Boys’ College. Easy road for Southern League front runners Bottom-placed Selwyn also venture south for a potentially crucial clash with Dunedin City Royals. There was another unsurprising outcome in the women’s four-team South Island Championship with powerhouse Coastal Spirit SAS beating Dunedin City Royals 4-1 in the final, a week after recording a 9-1 margin against the same opponent. In the third/fourth play-off, Cashmere Technical beat Roslyn Wakari 2-1 in the first leg of Sunday’s doubleheader at English Park. Top play-off spot for Marist champions Harewood. Like their male counterparts, the women’s top four was already set before the final round, with Marist safe in second regardless of last weekend’s bye. Carlton Redcliffs and Marist again vie for direct passage to the final, while in another mirror image of the men’s title race, HSOB/Burnside and Harewood face a sudden death clash, with the winner facing an ominous task next in phase two of the finals format. IN MY 40 years of journalism, nothing has felt remotely as difficult as writing this, because the emotions are still so raw. A few weeks ago, I bade ‘happy travels’ to my dear friend and long-time New Zealand Herald sports writing colleague David Leggat, who was getting ready for a family adventure in Europe. David and his wife Jacqui Bensemann were travelling with one son, and meeting up with the other in London. This is what life should be all about, the joy of anticipation, fresh fields, with the people who mean the most. Now, I am writing a tribute to “Leggo”, who has passed away suddenly while swimming in Lake Como, Italy, at the age of 64. It feels heart-breaking and surreal, and the mourners will include – I can safely say – much of the sports writing and media community around New Zealand. For he was a truly unique and special character, of unforgettable charisma, warmth and charm. David Leggat was long a central part of our industry and in recent years the undisputed elder statesman. He started out at the The Press when a major newspaper still had room for club table tennis coverage, he worked for the New Zealand Press Association as sports boss and London-based representative, and he had a number of roles at the New Zealand Herald/NZME including sports editor. Sports readers will know him through his coverage of just about everything, from his first calling – cricket – to Commonwealth and Olympic Games, Rugby World Cups, and so much more. Sports writers will remember him just as much for the bonhomie, the generous nature, the endless stories, the tag of being a champion tourist during the age of long sports tours, the cutting critiques of no discernible malice, the natural ability to take humble command, the selfdeprecating humour, the overall humour, the phrases, the lunches, the afternoon teas, the morning teas. He has left an impact on so many people, but this story really summed him up. Thursday August 11 2022 The Star SPORT 25 David Leggat, a sports reporter at The Press for a number of years before heading north to work for the New Zealand Press Association and NZ Herald, drowned tragically in Italy last week while on a family holiday. Colleague and good mate Chris Rattue shares his memories of the likeable Cantabrian Remembering a charismatic sports writer David Leggat during a Blacks Sticks media briefing in 2014. Sports broadcaster Andrew Alderson recalled – with reverence – being a nervous rookie on a New Zealand cricket tour and hearing a knock on his hotel door. Leggat - the veteran - was going out of his way, making sure the newbie knew about the touring media dinner and felt welcome. Alderson has never forgotten this simple yet easily overlooked gesture. My favourite Leggat travel story concerned the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which we covered in Manchester. Leggo was in charge of the company’s cash and for two days I’d lived on meagre rations until we managed to meet up, so he could hand over a pile of twentypound notes. Within the hour I was eagerly licking my lips at a curry house, only to be told the money was no longer legal tender. Before leaving Auckland, Leggo had apparently grabbed leftover cash from a previous overseas assignment. I can’t recall his response to my despair and rumbling stomach, but it may have been along the lines of “sorry about that champ”. He loved the word “champ”. His own stories went on much longer than those above, and they might be described as a series of detours expertly cobbled together. • Turn to page 26
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The Star: August 11, 2022

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