News archive Feb-Nov 2010

Solomona honoured at Tui Awards

Award winner Solomona Sakalia17 November 2010

Congratulations to Solomona Sakalia (pictured), the young premier prop who won the Ken Comber Memorial Cup at the WRFU Tui Awards on 10 November.

Solomona, in his first year out of college, was the premiers' MVP this year. His WRFU award recognises his outstanding performances as part of the WRFU academy and for the Wellington under-20 reps.

The club put forward a number of players and administrators for the awards, and those selected among the finalists included:

Club Coach of the Year 

  • Andrew Robinson (Under-85kg Blues)

Club Team of the Year

  • MSP under-85kg Blues

The Dominion Post WRFU Volunteer of the Year

  • Barrie Smith

Tui Player of the Year

  • Apoua Stewart.

 

MSP reps feature in NZ Marist win over Heartland XV

18 November 2010

The three Marist St Pats players in the NZ Marist team performed well in the side's 31-22 win over the Heartland XV on 6 November in Wanganui. NZPA reported the match as follows:

"'Wellington lock and captain Nick Passi, Manawatu tighthead prop Wilie Ioane and North Otago's man mountain No 8 Tevita Fifita stood out in the Marist forwards while Wellington second five-eighth Joe Wright joined Chris Crichton and Fa'atonu Fili as the best of that team's backs. Flying winger Crichton scored all the tries for the winners, benefiting from the brilliance of Wellington first five eight Fili, who revealed a genius at putting the pass into the right spot outside the hapless Heartland defenders."

The Heartland XV is selected from 2nd and 3rd division unions that compete for the Meads and Lochore Cups, and were having the first game of a three-match tour.

Wellington Samoans secure Cup with MSP help

25 September 2010

Five MSP players played a prominent role in the Wellington Samoans 24-5 win over the Pacifica Samoa United side in Auckland on 24 September. Pa'ala Lefao, who manages the MSP senior 3s and is also chairman of the Wellington Samoan RFU, says the Wellington team put on a display of great power and flair to secure the Helen Clark Cup for the first time in the Cup's four-year history.

Sio Tuia led from the front, and Isaia Petelo, Tui Tuia, Ian Leota and Poasa Poasa also had fine games. Pa'ala says the WSRFU is in a re-building stage and winning the Cup ranks as one of its best achievements since Wellington Samoan rugby was established in 1972.

Apoua Stewart named Sportsman of the Year

18 September 2010

 Apoua Stewart  Joe Wright  Andrew Robinson  Solomona Sakalia
 Apoua Stewart
 Joe Wright
 Andrew Robinson
 Solomona Sakalia

Premier fullback Apoua Stewart was named MSP's Sportsman of the Year at the club's annual prizegiving on 17 September. It caps off an excellent year for Apoua, who has been a regular starter for the Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup.

Other major trophy winners included premier second-five Joe Wright, who won the Mick Horan Memorial Trophy; under-85 Blues coach Andrew Robinson, who won the W.M.O'Connor Memorial Cup for Outstanding Club Member; and prop Solomona Sakalia who won the premier MVP award in his first year out of college. See History for the full list of prizewinners...

Congratulations on rep selections

10 September 2010

Well done the following MSP players who have been selected for various rep teams:
Wellington Lions: Fa'atonu Fili, Nick Passi, Apoua Stewart, Tajhon Mailata, Victor Vito and Ged Robinson.
Wellington Development: Fa'atonu Fili, Nick Passi and Tajhon Mailata. MSP's John Duignan is the co-coach along with Petone's Dion Ross, and Bryce Tietjens is the manager.
Wellington Samoans: Sio Tuia, Ryan Setefano, Joe Wright, Mau Simeona and Julian Tupai.
Wellington under-20: Ben Nansett, Solomona Sakalia and Liu Taituave.
Wellington under-20 Development: Paul Tuia, Hemi Mullen and Ano Kapeli.
NZ Marist: Nick Passi (c), Fa'atonu Fili, Joe Wright.
NZ Marist Colts: Valentine Meachen.

MSP claims senior 2 championship

29 August 2010

The senior 2s claimed the HD Morgan Memorial Trophy with an exciting 22-10 win over Old Boys Uni in the final at Evans Bay Park on 28 August. The Gus Slade-coached side secured the victory on fulltime with a converted try under the posts to winger George Moananu.

Minutes earlier, OBU had set up a nervous finish with a try at the other end to close it up to 15-10. The MSP try scorers included first-five Marcus Sos, fullback Julian Tupai and flanker and captain Simon Gini.

U85 Blues take out division 1 title

U85 Blues, division 1 champs22 August 2010

MSP's under-85 Blues are the champions of Wellington weight-grade rugby after their 17-13 win over fierce rivals the Poneke Dogs of War on 21 August.

In a great game of rugby on the artificial surface at Te Whaea, the Blues added the Paul Potiki Shield to their first-round JC Bowl Trophy to become the first MSP team to hold both trophies in the same season.

Premiers fail to make semis despite win over Ories

1 August 2010

The premiers won the battle but lost the war when they defeated Ories 32-21 on 31 July but failed to make the top four for the Jubilee Cup semi-finals.

Despite winning four out of seven games in the round, the team finished one point behind fourth-placed Petone, a side they had earlier defeated. The team will rue the earlier loss to Poneke, when they led 21-6 with five minutes to go, and also last week's match against HOB Marist when conceding a penalty on the final whistle cost them a bonus point.

Against Ories at the Polo Grounds on a windy afternoon, the side started slowly, conceding a soft try after just four minutes. However, they hit back almost immediately with a lineout drive leading to a try to hooker Liu Taituave. Five minutes later, the dominant MSP forward pack scored a classic pushover try from a five-metre scrum, No 8 Wim Baars dropping on the ball over the line

Another good scrum 20 minutes into the game led to the next try, with halfback Peter Sciascia swooping on disrupted Ories possession to dive over under the posts. Ahead 19-7, some soft defence saw the Ories backs cut through for a try, and they scored again from broken play close to halftime. Liu Taituave had added another for MSP, again off some powerful driving play by the forwards, so that MSP were ahead 24-21 at the break.

Winger Paul Tuia had a try disallowed early in the second half, but first-five Anthony Bradshaw, who had a vigorous game, slotted a penalty to stretch the lead. Ories had a player red-carded after a dust-up in the forwards, and big prop Jamie Parkinson crashed over after some sustained pressure. With blindside flanker Sio Tuia prominent, the forwards dominated the second half. Big defence from captain Nick Passi, flanker Valentine Meachen and prop Solomona Sakalia stopped Ories in their tracks when the home team tried to get something going.

Despite the win, not making the semis was a disappointing end to the season but, given the loss of a dozen players at the start of the year, the team can take some heart from being competitive in every match.

Last-gasp loss to Poneke in Apoua's 100th

4 July 2010

The premiers committed one of rugby's cardinal sins by failing to put away their opponents and went down to a last-gasp 21-23 loss to neighbours Poneke on 3 July.

With a 21-6 lead 35 minutes into the second half, MSP looked to have the game in the bag on a sunny but heavy Kilbirnie Park. Obviously some in the team thought that too, because suddenly Poneke rattled on two converted tries and then a penalty, in the last act of the game, to steal a miraculous win.

In a superb game of club rugby before a big crowd, MSP had a fine first half with a light breeze at their backs. It was a big match for two players, fullback Apoua Stewart in his 100th game, and centre Chris Slade in his last appearance before a shift to Melbourne. The pair were in top form, with Chris making a sharp midfield break to put Apoua in at the corner for the first try, and minutes later he went in next to the posts after slicing through off a short ball from Fa'atonu Fili.

A Fa'atonu penalty had MSP up 21-6 at the break and it stayed that way for most of the second half. Both sides put on some outstanding defence as play switched from end to end. The decisive moment came 10 minutes from time with the sinbinning of captain Nick Passi for offside play. Poneke then pounced, leaving the MSP supporters dumbfounded and the Poneke supporters jubilant.

Victor VitoMSP celebrates Victor's All Black selection

31 May 2010

Congratulations to Victor Vito, Marist St Pats' first All Black since John Schuster back in 1987. Loose forward Victor was named in the All Black team on Sunday 30 May, the day after he had turned out for MSP in their 48-0 win over Tawa. It was his 43rd premier appearance for MSP.

Victor first played for the club's premiers in 2005, in his first year out of Scots College. He was the club's Sportsman of the Year in 2008.
Despite a heavy workload for the Hurricanes and Wellington Lions, Victor has always played for the club whenever possible. He is often at premier matches, the gym and clubrooms supporting Marist St Pats and his teammates.

The club congratulates him on his selection, and wishes him all the very best for a long and successful All Black career.

A flock of Tuias

30 May 2010

Some sort of club record might have been set when the MSP senior 1s played against Tawa on 29 May. In the side were four Tuia brothers - flankers Sio and Lucky, No 8 Tui, and wing Paul. Also in the team, on the other wing, was cousin Ben Tuituia.

Several years ago, a trio of Robinson brothers - Ged, Phil and Chris - were in the senior 1s front row, but the quartet of Tuias has set a new benchmark.

Jeff Allen off to World U20 tournament with club supportJeff Allen (left) and Ricki Herbert

16 May 2010

Jeff Allen, MSP's premier prop who has been selected in the NZ Under-20 team to contest the Junior World Cup, has left for the tournament in Argentina with a great show of club support.

At the Past Players and Supporters' Day on 15 May, buckets were passed around to raise funds to help Jeff on his way. Members and players contributed generously and, with the club matching the amount raised, Jeff departed with some handy Kiwi dollars in his backpocket.

The occasion was made all the more memorable by the fact that All Whites coach Ricki Herbert was at the clubrooms. Ricki, who knows a bit about World Cups himself, was invited to make the player-of-the-day presentations. As well as giving a well received impromptu speech, he also dipped into his own pocket to contribute generously to Jeff's fund.

Win over Petone to celebrate Old Timers' Day

16 May 2010

The premiers battled to a 16-10 win over Petone on 15 May in a tough and exciting contest that provided the perfect result for the big crowd of spectators who had gathered for Old Timer's Day. The win completed a trifecta of victories over the old foe, with the senior 1s winning 57-8 and the senior 2s untroubled in their 81-3 result.

On a mild and still afternoon at Evans Bay, the premiers match was a classic in the tradition of past MSP v Petone clashes. The home side dominated the first half, attacking through backs and forwards, but some outstanding Petone defence limited MSP to one penalty in the first 30 minutes.

It took some individual brilliance from first-five Fa'atonu Fili and centre Chris Slade to finally crack the defence, with Fa'atonu stabbing the perfect cross field kick for Chris to leap high, pluck the ball from the air and dash 10 metres to score in the corner. A sideline conversion from Fa'atonu saw MSP ahead 10-3 at halftime.

Fifteen minutes in to the second half, Petone scored after some powerful forward drives. The conversion tied the scores at 10-10 and it began to look as though a disallowed MSP try in the first half might have proved very costly. However, it was MSP applying the pressure, with Fa'atonu landing a penalty after hitting the posts a minute earlier. Captain Nick Passi had to leave the field with a broken nose as two willing forward packs battled for every inch of territory.

Fa'atonu hit the posts in another penalty attempt, but he had the final say when, with five minutes to go, he calmly potted a goal to the delight of the big home crowd.
Blindside flanker Liu Taituave was awarded MSP's player-of-the-day. See the Premier Gallery for match photos, and the Club Gallery for photos of the social gathering.

Ged Robinson celebrates 100th premier gameGed Robinson (left) and Anthony Bradshaw

9 May 2010

Premier and Wellington Lions hooker Ged Robinson celebrated his 100th premier game for Marist St Pats when he led the team out on to the field against Wainui on 8 May.

At a function later at the MSP clubrooms, teammate Anthony Bradshaw, who has played rugby with Ged since their days as schoolboys in Newlands, gave a colourful rundown on Ged's rugby history. While Ants noted that Ged was "the first person to knock me out", he also acknowledged the hard work that Ged has put in to make the Lions and Hurricanes teams.

Fa'atonu reaches 100-game milestone

18 April 2010
 Fa'atonu Fili and Ged Robinson  Fa'atonu Fili and Mick Robbers
 FA'ATONU FILI (left) celebrated his 100th premier game for MSP in the match against Ories on 17 April. To mark the occasion, he was presented with a trophy by Ged Robinson, a teammate he has played rugby with at St Pats College, MSP, and the Wellington Lions.
 Fa'atonu presents to MSP President Mick Robbers the Manu Samoa jersey he wore when representing Samoa against Wales at the Milennium Stadium in Cardiff last November. Fa'atonu donated the jersey to the club on reaching his 100-game milestone.

MSP relinquishes Spillane Cup

16 March 2010

Marist St Pats failed to retain the New Zealand Marist Spillane Cup when they went down 24-18 to Hutt Old Boys Marist in the tournament final in Hastings on 15 March. A try two minutes from time gave HOBM the win after MSP at one stage had led 18-5.

Premier coach Murray Tocker said the team fell away quite badly in the last 15 minutes. Despite losing the Cup, he said it was a valuable weekend overall.
"It gave us an opportunity to see what depth we have and, with a lot of senior players gone from last year, we were able to have a good look at the next level of players coming through."  MSP had defeated North Harbour Marist 35-18 the day before to make the final.

The club's colts team suffered a similar fate, going down narrowly to HOBM 18-16 in the final of the Moran Cup. The colts had a 31-0 win over Napier OB Marist colts the previous day.

Four MSP players were selected to the 2010 Spillane Tournament XV: Liu Taituave, Jeff Allen, Nick Passi and Fa'atonu Fili.

Two good wins for premiers in Australia

March 2010

MSP's premiers notched up two excellent wins against top Sydney club sides in a short Australian tour early in March. The 25-strong squad of premier and colts players defeated Eastwood 39-12 in a night game on 2 March. Two nights later they had a 32-6 victory over North Sydney, a club where current premier coach Kevin Horan had previously coached.

The Eastwood game was played in a good spirit against a side also made up of premier and colts players. In a fast-moving encounter, MSP was far too strong upfront. Although the Eastwood backs managed to find some holes, good covering from the MSP loosies kept the score to a minimum. Winger Ryan Setefano scored two tries, one a fine individual effort, while also on the scoresheet were blindside flanker David Jackson, first-five Anthony Bradshaw (2), second-five Dan Kauraka, and fullback Brendan Watt. Halfback Peter Sciascia kicked two conversions.

In the North Sydney game, MSP ran out 32-5 winners after holding a narrow 10-5 lead at half-time. The Norths forwards gave the MSP pack a far tougher work-out, but MSP pulled away in the second half with some good tries. Scorers were flanker Valentine Meachen, halfback Peter Sciascia, fullback Brendan Watt, hooker Liu Taituave, blindside Hoani Siueva, and replacement first-five Dan Kauraka. Ryan Setefano kicked two conversions.

Former MSP man stars in Clint Eastwood movie

February 2010

Former MSP No 8 Issac 'Zak' Feaunati has a starring role in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie 'Invictus' which is currently screening in New Zealand cinemas. Zak plays the part of Jonah Lomu in the film inspired by South Africa's run to victory in the 1995 World Cup. Morgan Freeman takes the role of the Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon stars as South African captain Francois Pienaar.

The movie concentrates on Mandela's involvement in the Cup campaign, and how he realised rugby's importance in helping to build the fledgling 'Rainbow Nation'. South Africa's clash with the All Blacks in the final forms the movie's climax, with the South African tactics centred around stopping the tournament's dominant figure, Lomu.

Zak featured in several MSP Jubilee Cup-winning sides in the 1990s before heading overseas to play professionally in Scotland. The late Ivan Vodanovich, an All Black selector and MSP life member, picked him as No 8 in the MSP all-star team selected to celebrate the club's first 25 years.

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