Club Rugby 2016

FarNthHayden

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="567244" data-time="1458947568">
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Reuben Wright has been in the Dev/B side before hasnt he? 
 
ONe of those players that always gives 100% but unsure if he has what it takes to make that step up, plus he is probably a bit short for a genuine lock, more a loosie/lock option.
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He'd have to be one of the most well rested premier rugby players in northland, he spends more time suspended that playing

Gunner

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="FarNthHayden" data-cid="567537" data-time="1459032716">
the ref sees him with his mouth guard in hand. blows the whistle reverses the penalty and yellow cards him not wearing a mouth guard. what the fuck</blockquote>Unfortunately this sort of random call right out of left field happens far too often in reserve grade. I could write a whole new rule book, full entirely of rules that refs have dreamed up mid game. 
I think some of the refs struggle to keep up with the constant law changes & interpretations more than the players. 
Not trying to bag the refs, I know they struggle for numbers and we wouldn't have a game without them, but you've gotta wonder what they're on sometimes. 
Can't report on the MW v Sharks game as I didn't make it. MW won't be happy though, losing their second close game on the trot. Should be a good battle with HH this week Hayden.

FarNthHayden

Round 3 fixtures 
Hikurangi v Mid Northern 
Mid Western v HoraHora 
OBM v Wellsford 
Otamatea v Waipu 
Western Sharks v Kamo

Gunner

Seems like NRU have gone backwards again with their social media stuff. Still no results up on their FB page. I'm sure last year the results were usually posted Saturday afternoon/evening.... 
Anywho, MW had a couple of wins over HH. Couldn't make it again for the 3rd week running, but my sources tell me the scores were: 
24-5 Reserves 
32-22 Premiers

FarNthHayden

been a bit absent (queenstown stag do) this week sorry guys
 
round 3 results
 
Hikurangi 17 v 38 Mid Northern 
Mid Western 32 v 22 HoraHora 
OBM 43 v 7 Wellsford 
Otamatea 40 v 26 Waipu 
Western Sharks 23 v 14 Kamo

FarNthHayden

Round 4 fixtures
 
HoraHora v OBM
Kamo v Mid Western
Mid Northern v Otamatea
Waipu v Western Sharks
Wellsford v Hikurangi

Steven Harris

Results 9 April 
Whangarei Premier: 
HoraHora. 24. Old Boys Marist 22 
Kamo. 22 Mid Western. 22 
Mid Northern 65 Otamatea. 20 
Waipu. 43 Western Sharks 17 
Hikurangi default to Wellsford 
due to bereavement 
Reserve: 
Old Boys Marist 57. HoraHora. 7 
Kamo. 41 Mid Western. 5 
Mid Northern 29 Otamatea. 12 
Waipu. 15. Western Sharks 12 
Hikurangi default to Wellsford 
due to bereavement 
Division One: 
Mangakahia. 32 Pipiwai. 26 
Southern 38 Kaihu. 32 
Whangaruru. 31 Ruawai. 10

Steven Harris

Some interesting results,especially the Old Boys Marist v Hora Hora result,I suspect,neither Peter Breen,who started at first five for the Blues development squad on Friday night or Kara Pryor did not start,in fact 10'x players in total were not available,still you would not want to take anything away from Hora Hora,the hung tough and scored a try with the final play of the game,hopefully we can get some sort of report from someone who was there. 
Apparently Otamatea,only had 11 players rock for the start of their game against Mid Northern,17 only for the reserves,and of course,the final score shows the disparity when your preparation is poor,there was a serious injury on the main ground,and the main game was moved to the number 2 ground,which apparently wasn't even marked,go figure..! 
I would like to think,because this is the first round,and it's early in the season,there is an initially a struggle at times for clubs to get commitment,but once again it also highlights,why need a strong local club comp,or Northland coaches will continue to look outside the region,especially if the locals can't commit..!

kev

Not good when your elite club sides are struggling for players on game day. It would be interesting to hear from others who know more about how Northland clubs are organising themselves now to deal with challenges of keeping up player numbers, players working hours, finding coaches, running the club and financial stability. 
I have always been keen on Rugby Clubs merging with other local sporting clubs, if they haven't already. Build membership across all sports / genders / all year round so the club can offer facilities ( beyond the bar ) and a social environment for the entire family. That will bring players in and help them stay. 
Good results for HH and Waipu this week.

Nath Jac

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Not good when your elite club sides are struggling for players on game day. It would be interesting to hear from others who know more about how Northland clubs are organising themselves now to deal with challenges of keeping up player numbers, players working hours, finding coaches, running the club and financial stability. 
I have always been keen on Rugby Clubs merging with other local sporting clubs, if they haven't already. Build membership across all sports / genders / all year round so the club can offer facilities ( beyond the bar ) and a social environment for the entire family. That will bring players in and help them stay. 
Good results for HH and Waipu this week.
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FarNthHayden

Round 5 fixtures 
Hikurangi v OBM 
Kamo v HoraHora 
Mid Western v Waipu 
Otamatea v Wellsford 
Sharks v Mid Northern

FarNthHayden

Round 5 results 
Hikurangi 0 v 60 OBM 
Kamo 36 v 17 HoraHora 
Mid Western 30 v 36 Waipu 
Otamatea 21 v 31 Wellsford 
Sharks 12 v 47 Mid Northern

FarNthHayden

Round 6 fixtures 
Waipu v Kamo 
HoraHora v Hikurangi 
Mid Northern v Mid Western 
OBM v Otamatea 
Wellsford v Western Sharks

Nath Jac

I wish all the Anzac hero's and their families all the best for this special weekend, because of our hero's we are here today being able to talk about the game that we love.
I went to the Waipu v Kamo game last night, Waipu carried on their dominance of Kamo over the last few years with a 49-17 victory. Kamo were unable to keep possession of the ball at the start of the match and Waipu scored some out standing broken play tries from their own half and put Kamo under pressure. Kamo were unable to stick to any structure and were sucked into the niggle and off loading kind of footy that Waipu practice. The Kamo main lock(his name slips my mind but you all know who i am talking about) had a brain explosion in the first half and got frustrated by the Waipu forwards and unloaded a flurry of punches on the Waipu lock after the whistle had gone and gave the referee no choice but to red card him, that cost Kamo the game as Waipu were then able to play their expansive game in the 2nd half and the score says it all.
It was sad how ever that the referee let the game get to that situation as the niggle was evident from the kick off and once the red card had been delivered he seemed to get card happy and dished out 3 yellows in the 2nd half, 2 to Waipu and 1 to Kamo for offenses that just warranted a penalty. I know that referees need to get control over a game but they too need to have great management from the kick off as the start of the 2nd half saw waipu down to 13 men and brought Kamo back into the game. a lack of leadership in the 2nd half saw Kamo trying to score tries out wide and it cost them as their ball handling skills let them down and Waipu's loose forwards and backs made them pay. 
Kamo made inroads in the 2nd half when they used the drive off the line outs and rolling mauls exposing weaknesses in Waipu's defence but again handling errors cost them. In the end it was a great win for Waipu and although I am not a fan of the game plan that they use it sure looks good when it comes off.
Waipu won the reserves game last night in the last minute, it was one of the best games of footy I have watched in a long time with both teams playing good structured footy. Its great to see the young talent coming through both teams, how ever I am not a big fan of these young men being pulled of at half time to warm the bench for the premiers in the hope that they get on the field in the 2nd half. I feel that the top 30 players in the club need to be playing big minutes week in and week out so they have the best chance of development for Northland rugby.

taniwharugby

some big scores out there!!!
 
Southern Districts: 
Waipu. 49. Kamo. 17
Mid Northern 83. Mid Western 15 OBM. 75. Otamatea 35 
Wellsford. 27. Western Sharks. 24 
Horahora. Hikurangi
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Bay of Islands:
Kerikeri. 53. Kaikohe. 7 
United Kawakawa 29. Kaeo 19 
Moerewa 43. Otiria. 0 
Ohaeawai. 83. Okaihau. 8
Mangonui:
Awanui. 52. Kaitaia. 0
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Reserves:
Southern Districts: 
Waipu. 28 Kamo. 25 
Mid Northern 36 Mid Western 10 
OBM. 11 Otamatea 7 
Wellsford. 29 Western Sharks. 21
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FarNthHayden

I got down to HoraHora to watch them play Hikurangi the game was really entertaining with the leading switching a dozen or so times. Defence wasn't really a priority for a either team. 
HoraHora old boy norm maxwell, who is coaching in Spain has 6 guys over for 6 six weeks, they've all had a run for the prems and reserves & have played pretty well, you can follow what they've been up to by liking the dream big aotearoa page on Facebook

taniwharugby

yeah I seen a bit on his FB page, although for some reason I thought he was in Argentina!!

Nath Jac

Whats happening to our club rugby, some big blow-outs on the weekend(7/5/16), was the Duck Hunting season to tempting for some? or are we that short of depth through out the clubs that one or two players can determine weather we win by 10 or loose by 50. For teams like Waipu and Otamatea their is no better chance than right now to capitalize on weakened teams and accumulate easy points to keep them in the top 4.

Gunner

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="JacNath" data-cid="578112" data-time="1462724906">
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Whats happening to our club rugby, some big blow-outs on the weekend(7/5/16), was the Duck Hunting season to tempting for some? or are we that short of depth through out the clubs that one or two players can determine weather we win by 10 or loose by 50. For teams like Waipu and Otamatea their is no better chance than right now to capitalize on weakened teams and accumulate easy points to keep them in the top 4.
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It's a concern alright, with three teams copping hidings of 50 points plus.
 
If you listen to a colleague of mine, there isn't enough emphasis on developing the young kids (u16 - u18) and bringing them through the system. Instead clubs rely on imports.
I can certainly see what he's saying - is filling a club with imports sustainable? Probably not.
 
I think there are only 4 under 18 teams in the competition this year - at least they'll all get a taste of finals footy...

Crucial

The problem is starting to take hold all over the country but sadly probably won't get attention until it hits the big clubs.
I actually think that the issue is more to do with the identification and fast tracking of young players almost straight from school to Provincial (and sometimes Super) squads.
Club Rugby is fast becoming the place for those that don't make the big time. Many academy types play about one season of club at most.
Otago/ Southland are struggling to create worthwhile Prem comps and may look at merging.
The next level down ( a subbies type level) is still strong as club players like the more social aspect but getting guys to commit to training and the higher demands is getting harder each year when there is little chance that if they haven't already been shoulder tapped for higher honours they are at the back of the queue.

The Silver Fern

Club Rugby 2016