Selwyn_Times: September 27, 2023

Selwyn Times Wednesday September 27 2023
30
SPORT
Ellesmere crush
Mid Canterbury
in finals lead up
CLASH: Captain Tom Smith is wrapped up.
SCORE: Blindside flanker Jerome Archibald crashes over the tryline, Lock Jackson Lambie attempts to pull away from Mid Canterbury defence.
PHOTOS: ROO HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY
• By Jaime Cunningham
A SOUTH Island title will be
up for grabs when Ellesmere
under-16s travel to Ashburton
Showgrounds for the regional
finals on Friday.
The team recorded a convincing
40-5 win over Mid Canterbury
on Saturday to secure top
spot in the Central South pool.
It was a consistent game from
Ellesmere, who managed to score
21 points in the first half before
adding a further 19 in the second
period. Mid Canterbury were
able to score once in the first
40 minutes, but failed to add to
their score following the try.
The match was also Mid Canterbury’s
first loss in the tournament
so far.
Ellesmere will look to progress
to the top four of the competition
with a win against Canterbury
Black at noon on the Ashburton
Showgrounds Oval.
Canterbury finished second in
the Central North pool with a
71-0 win over North Canterbury
and a 32-17 loss against Canterbury
Red.
Semi-finals of the tournament
will be played on Saturday,
before finals are contested on
Sunday. As well as the overall
title, a plate (5th), bowl (9th) and
pennant (13th) will be played for.
Meanwhile, Ellesmere under-
18s capped off their representative
season with a comfortable
34-24 win over Buller at Denton
Park. They won four out of their
five games, with the team’s only
loss to North Canterbury.
• For the South Island
under-16 tournament
draws and results, go to:
midcanterburyrugby.co.nz/
draws/siu16-boys-draw
Southbridge in Scotland for last tour match
• By Jaime Cunningham
SOUTHBRIDGE are in Scotland
in search of a win to end their
United Kingdom tour following
a hard-fought loss in Northern
Ireland last week.
The team were due to take on
Melrose RFC, situated 60km
south-east of Edinburgh, in the
final match of a month-long tour
early this morning.
They go into the match on the
back of a 22-12 loss to City of
Armagh last week.
Coach Doug Middlemiss said
Armagh came out strong with
some “fantastic” defence.
“Firstly, hats off to Armagh.
They were a very well disciplined
and well drilled team,” he said.
“From us, we tried some new
combinations but we didn’t
adapt well to the conditions or
their line speed.”
“I don’t remember them
missing too many tackles.”
It was a scoreless first half
for Southbridge, with City of
Armagh wing James Morton
dotting down for the first points
of the game in the 12th minute.
However, a physical battle
followed for the next 20 minutes
before flanker Ryan Morton
scored to take Armagh’s lead to
14-0 at the break.
Following a quick third try by
Armagh in the second period,
Southbridge were finally on
the board when centre John
McKeefry scored in the 55th
minute.
Reserve fullback Cowan
Estall crashed over shortly for
Southbridge’s second try to
take the score to 19-12 with 15
minutes remaining.
It was a little too late for
Southbridge, with Armagh
converting a penalty in the 70th
minute to seal the win.
An impressive £2690 ($5570
NZD) was raised for the My
Name’5 Doddie foundation on
the night of the match. The funds
will go directly to the charity
committed to funding research
to find effective treatments for
motor neuron disease.
Southbridge’s last game of
the group’s four-week tour
will be against Melrose, where
players Jack Dawson and Bruno
Lambert will stay on for the
Scottish season.
Middlemiss said Southbridge
had a special relationship with
Melrose, as many of the club’s
players had worn Southbridge’s
blue-and-white strip over recent
years.
“They are a club we have a very
strong relationship with and are
a club with incredible history,”
he said.
“The boys are really looking
forward to the challenge. It
should be a cracking game.”
The match was due to kick off
at 7am NZT.
• For score updates, go
to www.facebook.com/
SouthbridgeRFC.
SPEED: Fullback Boston Horn charges down field.
PHOTOS: CITY OF ARMAGH RFC ​