Defeat leaves Blues in fourth place for play-offs
Harlequins centre Kay L Ratu makes a break during his side’s match with Moutere at Lansdowne Park today. Photo Peter Jones.
The Central premier rugby team’s topsy-turvy season continued on Saturday.
After claiming the John Goodman Trophy off Waimea Old Boys last week, the Blues were beaten 41-36 by Nelson at Trafalgar Park in their final round robin match.
Central scored six tries, through Jack Kelly, Ben Finau, Callum Nimmo, Tom Sloan, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Cody Weir, but converted just three.
The loss leaves Central in fourth position on the table, setting up a meeting with top-seeded Marist in the semifinals next weekend.
In the other semifinal, Nelson will host Waimea Old Boys, the season over for both Kahurangi and Stoke.
Having already qualified, Marist rested several of its key players against Kahurangi in Motueka. The home side looked like upsetting the defending champions, but Marist got up 39-36.
In the other match Waimea Old Boys won 61-24 against Stoke at Greenmeadows. Despite recording the biggest win of the day, Waimea missed out on a home semi-final by just one competition point.
Final points: Marist 47, Nelson 35, Waimea 34, Central 28, Stoke 14 and Kahurangi 14.
Semi-finals: Marist v Central and Nelson v Waimea.
In the women’s Tasman Trophy match played at Awarua Park, Waimea beat home side Marist 64-17.
In the local senior A competition, Moutere scored an emphatic 53-7 win over Harlequins at Lansdowne Park to consolidate second place on the standings.
Awatere continued their good form to down Central 39-12 at the same venue, while Renwick accounted for Pelorus 13-5 at Havelock.
Standings: Waitohi 34, Moutere 31, Renwick 29, Awatere 22, Central 19, Pelorus 4, Harlequins 1.
The Marlborough Boys’ College First XV went down fighting to high-flying Christchurch Boys’ High School in Christchurch today, losing 29-21 in the Miles Toyota Premiership and South Island Boys Schools clash.
MBC scored first through Thomas Blackmore, who converted his own effort.
Although a 10-minute burst of scoring saw CBHS put on 17 unanswered points, MBC bounced back after 24 minutes, Makalio Ligaliga scoring and Blackmore converting to make the score 17-14 at the halftime break.
The home side upped the ante after the break, racing out to a 29-14 lead with two more tries, before Blackmore added another try and conversion to ensure the visitors had the final say.