Athletics
Katikati's Sally Gibbs ran an outstanding race but had to settle for second in the Christchurch Airport Half Marathon on Sunday.
Christchurch runner Alex Williams claimed an upset win in the women's race over 21.1km. It was expected to have been an all-the- way win for Auckland policewoman-come-jockey-come runner Lisa Robertson but the defending champion did not feature as first Tauranga's Sally Gibbs and then Williams pushed the pace from start to finish.
Gibbs, who at 49 is one of the fastest veterans in the world, led through halfway but Williams had been saving something for the head winds over the final 8km.
"Sally really pushed the first half. I closed in on her after about 10km, and then at 14km I was feeling pretty good so I pushed it hard," Williams said.
"I was really hurting in the last 3km. I was afraid to look back, just in case Sally was still right behind me," she said after stopping the clock in a personal best time of 1h 16m 25s.
Gibbs was the only person not surprised about the upset winner. The day before she had predicted Williams would upset Robertson and was also pleased to beat her own personal best time with 1h 17 03s. Robertson claimed third 27s later, ahead of Auckland's Alice Mason.
Super rugby
Chiefs halfback Brendon Leonard will head off shore at the end of the Investec Super Rugby season to continue his rugby career in Italy. The 28-year-old from Matamata has signed with the Italian club Zebre for two seasons.
The highly respected halfback has played 73 games for the Chiefs and is looking forward to experiencing a new culture.
"I have been in Waikato my whole life and the time in my career has come to explore some new challenges and travel," he said. Chiefs' coach Dave Rennie was full of praise for Leonard's contribution to the team.
"Brendon is an outstanding man. He has been a big part of our success and a fantastic servant of the Chiefs. He has been a massive contributor to our team and will be greatly missed. We also appreciate that it is a great opportunity for him and wish him all the best for his new move."
Leonard is in his seventh season with the Chiefs. He has worn the All Black jersey 14 times and played in 13 tests. He has appeared 63 times for his provincial side Waikato and will leave for Italy at the conclusion of the Chiefs campaign making him unavailable for Waikato for this year's ITM Cup.
The Chiefs' next match will be against the Hurricanes at Waikato Stadium on Friday June 28.
Croquet
Steve Piercy blitzed his opponents at the Tauranga Croquet Club on Sunday.
Just home after representing New Zealand in Cairo at the golf croquet world championships, Piercy played very professionally. He won all five games in the premier division round robin, and ended the final against David Low at the 10th hoop, 7-3.
Jenny Gower won the intermediate section, and Lee Perry was runner-up. Dave Roberts and Alan Dodwell took out the handicap pairs premier division played on Saturday. Runners-up were Chris Brown and Ross Sutton.
The limited division was won by Zyelette Shepherd and Hilary Hay, runners-up Astrid Whitwell and Jenny Gower.
Badminton
Finals results from the New Zealand Under-23 National Badminton Championships held at Mt Maunganui.
Men's Singles - Luke Charlesworth (WTK) def Samuel Ho (AK) - 26-24, 21-17.
Women's Singles - Rowena Devathasan (AK) def Felicity Leydon-Davis (WKO) - 21-19, 20-22, 23-21.
Men's Doubles - Samuel Ho/Riga Oud (AK) def Asher/ Richardson (WKO) - 21-19, 16-21, 21-19.
Women's Doubles - Aviva and Anona Pak (NH) def Amanda Brown/Madeliene Stapleton (WKO) 12-21, 21-16, 21-19.
Mixed Doubles - Asher Richardson/Madeliene Stapleton (WKO) def Samuel Ho (AK)/Felicity Leydon-Davis (WKO) 21-13, 14-21, 21-15.
Athletics
Results from the Mount Joggers and Walkers Half Marathon held on Sunday.
Men: Ben Ruthe 01:11:22, age division 15-34, Kyle Macdonald 01:12:03, 15-34, Iain Macdonald 01:12:58, 15-34, Angus Bell 01:16:00, 15-34, Dean Bobby 01:17:43, 15-34, Roger Creighton 01:22:03, 45-49, Justin Ralph 01:23:20, 15-34, Andrew Straker 01:23:31, 45-49, Chris Myland 01:23:50, 45-49, Martin Van Der Velden 01:24:28, 15-34
Women: Jessica Ruthe 01:16:09, 15-34, Brenda Poutawera 01:32:33, 40-44, Dianne Bulled 01:32:48, 50-54, Jo Carrel 01:33:24, 15-34, Fran Mortell 01:33:28, 15-34, Chantal Percival 01:33:44, 15-34, Sharon Hilton 01:35:44, 45-49, Nicole Mccheyne 01:37:23, 15-34, Rebecca Peat 01:37:24, 15-34, Michelle Triggs 01:38:46, 45-49.
Schools rugby
Opotiki College hosted Otumoetai College 1st XV in a tough and physical encounter.
Opotiki were first to get points by easily slotting a penalty just outside the 22 in the first 10 minutes. The forward packs battled each other and the breakdown became a high- intensity zone.
Matt Ensor scored the first try after a lineout drive proved to be the difference between the two teams in the first half.
Otumoetai College were unlucky not to have a second try only minutes later after a good backline move was called back for obstruction by referee Tony Howe.
The first half was a very stop-start affair as the referee whistle took centre stage and both teams struggled to get any continuity.
Otumoetai College had a 5-3 lead at the break.
The second half saw both teams searching for a match-winning try. Opotiki had their best opportunity to take the lead when they forced an error after a kick in behind the line.
The Opotiki winger pounced on a loose ball and ran 50m before a match-winning cover tackle by Dylan Townsend took the player into touch.
Otumoetai College regrouped and realised that they had to take control of the match or it might slip away.
The kicking game of Keegan Long helped Otumoetai to regain the territory lost and then some ill discipline from an Opotiki player had them reduced to 14 players.
A few minutes later Matt Ensor seized the moment and took a quick tap 22 metres from the line. He found Troy Webber in support who crashed through the defence to score a well-deserved try for the hard working blindside flanker.
The final score of 10-3 showed that Otumoetai College were able to win even when things didn't go their way and maintained their unbeaten record in division one this season.
Baywide rugby
Te Puke Sports goalkicker Carlos Basham's name was left off the scorers in Monday's rugby report.
Te Puke Sports 29 (Junior Tofa Va'a 2, Gideon Uelese, Nathan Harris tries; Carlos Basham 2 cons, pen, G Uelese con) Te Puna 12 (Kerrin Black, Tapene Mika tries; Te Aihi Toma con) HT 12-0.