Sport in brief

Tom turns it on: Marlborough rower Tom Murray’s lengthy recovery from a bout of illness appears to be well on track. The Blenheim oarsman was part of the New Zealand coxless four which picked up a bronze medal in a stacked field at the World Rowing Championships in Serbia at the weekend. The new combination of Matt Macdonald, Murray, Logan Ullrich and Ollie Maclean only raced for the first time eight weeks ago at the World Cup regatta in Switzerland. Great Britain won the final in 6min 04.35sec, the USA in 6:06.37 and New Zealand in 6:08.44. New Zealand had already qualified the boat for the Paris Olympics in their semifinal. Also qualifying a boat for Paris was Marlborough man Robbie Manson, who finished fifth in the B final of the double sculls, alongside Ben Mason.

Hockey hopefuls: Fourteen Marlborough players will be in action at the Ford National Hockey Championships in Hamilton this week. Eight women from Marlborough have been included in an 18-strong women’s Tasman Tigers squad, coached by Denise Lloyd and Matt Hair. They are: Pip Lunn, Taylor Duffy, Grace Davies, Stacey Curry, Veronica Hardman, Emma Burrell, Millie Volckman and Celia Watson. The Tasman men’s side will include six players from this side of the hill. They comprise: Grant McMillan, Jared Buckley, Eli Kepes, Hugo McDougall, Bradley Jacobs and Ollie King. They will be coached by Paul Jones and Jarad Jones.

Shooters prevail: The Marlborough Boys’ College Shooting Team won the Boys Team Grade at the TSNZ Challenge 2023 secondary Schools Postal Shooting Competition. The MBC team comprised Reuben Henry, Willem Rowe and Riley Morriss. Willem Rowe also placed in the Top 3 Boys Individual Grade.

Ryan runner-up: Multisport athlete Ryan Marfell continues to impress, finishing second in the New Zealand Secondary School Duathlon Champs in Auckland. It was a qualifying event for the World Age Group Duathlon Championship and Ryan was named in the New Zealand team for the World Age Group Duathlon Championship in Townsville, Australia.

In like Fynn: Marlborough footballer Fynn Hawes has been included in the Nelson/Marlborough regional team which competes in the U17 Southern National Youth league that kicked off at the weekend.

Rugby recognition: Recent Marlborough Boys' College First XV stand-outs Cooper Roberts and Hugh Robinson have been named in the 2023 NZ Barbarians under-18 side. They will play against NZ Schools and NZ under 18 Maori sides.  

Bowlers beaten: The Marlborough Indoor Bowls Rep team was soundly beaten by a strong Canterbury team in Christchurch on Saturday. Canterbury won the Joan Shearman Memorial trophy by 80 points to 28. This was a disappointing result for Marlborough after having won three out of the last four fixtures in recent years. The best results for Marlborough were from Glen and Jill Hurcomb, Jude Tootell and Ngaire Garraway with three wins each.