RIWAKA 24 HARLEQUINS 15,
WAKATU MARIST 57 RENWICK 12,
HUIA 40 MOUTERE 36
NELSON 41 CENTRAL 20,
WAITOHI 21 STOKE 10,
WANDERERS 45 AWATERE 15.
Tomorrow's opening round of the Bayleys Tasman Trophy rugby championship is the first step towards establishing a regular and meaningful interprovincial club rivalry between Nelson Bays and Marlborough.
Having played for Wellington and the Hurricanes development team, Cripps has his heart set on playing Super rugby, a goal endorsed by Tasman's chief executive Andrew Flexman. "We are thrilled to have a player of Hayden's calibre locked in for two years," said Flexman. "He has made a massive impact in [Marlborough] club rugby to date. We see him as a potential Super Rugby player in the next few years."
Nelson orthodontist Andrew Marriott is putting his money where his mouth is, donating 3800 mouthguards to young rugby players in Nelson and Marlborough. Andrew, who is a partner in Nelson Orthodontics, approached the Tasman Rugby Union about the initiative earlier this year and the union happily agreed. The mouthguards were delivered to the clubs for their JAB players aged five to 14 and they were put to the test at games around the region last Saturday.
Tevita Cavubati is still young in international locking terms and although he just missed selection in last year's Fiji Rugby World Cup squad, is now hoping to establish himself in Fiji's 2012 squad under new coach and former test No8 Inoke Male. That means playing regular high-quality rugby, which Cavubati reckons New Zealand's provincial ITM Cup competition will help him achieve. Tasman just happened to fall nicely into the mix.
Vernon Fredericks, the classy 2011 Marlborough Express club rugby player of the year, is out of action for several more weeks after sustaining a serious shoulder injury while playing the off-season in England for the Newport Salop club. Fredericks is just looking forward to playing club rugby again and having a strong ITM Cup campaign but said he might well head overseas again in the next New Zealand off-season depending on how his body copes during the next few months.
Tasman Makos and Crusaders rugby hooker Quentin MacDonald is cursing his luck after injury forced him off the field during Saturday's clash against the Hurricanes in Wellington. After being starved of game time this season, playing off the bench behind in-form All Blacks rake Cory Flynn, coach Todd Blackadder injected MacDonald into the game early in the second half. However, with his first hit-up he injured the AC joint in his shoulder and, despite trying to soldier on, was forced off the field after just four minutes of action.
New Marlborough Rugby Sub-Union operations manager Gareth Waldron is settling into his new job this week and he has immediately been impressed by the province's passion for rugby.
"New-look" is very much a term that applies to most Marlborough premier club rugby squads heading into tomorrow's opening round matches with a host of new players coming into the province in search of Tasman Makos selection. To the clubs' credit they have been much more pro-active off-season, most having boosted their squads, although in some cases just as many players have gone from last year as have come on board for 2012.
The Tasman Makos' new halfback signing, Jeremy Su'a, is beside himself with frustration, itching to join his new Marist clubmates in the Nelson Bays division-one club competition while conscious of taking the sensible option of nursing his damaged hamstring back to full health.