Hurunui locks in semi-final spot

• Published date: 22 July 2021
• Date: 22 July 2021

Saracens and Kaiapoi had already locked in home semi-finals, but Oxford, Ashley and Hurunui were locked in a three-way battle for the remaining two semi-final places in the Luisetti Seeds North Canterbury rugby competition.

With Oxford and Hurunui both finishing on 19 points, Hurunui takes the third ranking by virtue of having beaten Oxford in their most recent match.

Saracens will host Oxford and Kaiapoi will host Hurunui on Saturday.

Final points after the round-robin: Saracens 31, Kaiapoi 30, Hurunui 19, Oxford 19, Ashley 17, Glenmark-Cheviot 16, Ohoka 10, Woodend 1.

Superb defence

The field at Culverden was tacky after recent rain and outstanding defence by both Hurunui and Oxford ensured the match was a low-scoring one.

Matt Roberts put Oxford in front with an early penalty, but halfway through the first spell Hurunui winger Sam Grigg finished off a good movement with what proved to be the only try of the match.

Most of the game was played between the two 22 metre lines. The only points added in the second half were four penalties – three by Hurunui’s Digby Heard and another by Roberts for Oxford.

Danny Brooker and young prop Jeremy Yorke excelled in the Oxford forward pack, while Cale Dobby, Will Pears and Tom Williams all carried well in a Hurunui forward effort stiffened by the insertion of Crusader Luke Romano at half-time.

Romano’s value to the team was minimised when he was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.

Jamie Stackhouse at No 12 was a king-pin in Hurunui’s effective defensive line.

Scoreboard: Hurunui 14 (Sam Grigg try, Digby Heard 3 penalties) beat Oxford 6 (Matt Roberts 2 penalties).

Ashley denied by Kaiapoi.

Needing to beat the more highly-ranked Kaiapoi side to ensure a place in the semi-finals, Ashley came out firing.

Ashley went at a point-a-minute pace for the first 10 minutes courtesy of a try by Naaria Wilson Bairds with Korbyn Gray adding the sideline conversion to an earlier penalty kick.

But from this point on Kaiapoi clawed back the ascendancy and by half-time wingers, Kimeon Reade and Reuben Tiweka had both scored tries in the corner, one of which was converted by Taine Jacobs-Lawson.

The first 10 minutes of the second-half was all Kaiapoi.

As the Ashley error rate climbed in response to the pressure Kaiapoi was applying.

The home team added three more tries to Jarred Gilmore, Tiweka and Logan Bell. Two of these were converted by Jacobs-Lawson and Kaiapoi had shot out to an unassailable 31-10 lead.

Kaiapoi’s bench was...