Ten Minute Sport: Bran Iles hits form

Rotorua victory
Rotorua won back the the Te Hurinui Apanui Shield, downing Western Bay of Plenty in a tight rugby final at yesterday's Bay of Plenty subunion tournament at Te Puke's Murray Salt Stadium.
There was some consolation for Western Bay as their colts side held on to the Shalfoon Shield with wins over Eastern and Central Bay.
With both Central and Western Bay defeating Eastern Bay in the Te Hurunui Apanui Shield competition, the final game between the sides became the decider.
Central took the advantage in the first half, with a try to Maaka Royal giving them a 5-0 lead at the break. New Western Bay recruit Jamie Powdrall crossed for try that was converted by Matt Golding to edge the home side ahead before Central kicker Doug Fluker slotted a penalty for a tight 8-7 win.
Subunion series scores:
Colts: Central 26 Eastern Bay 7, Western Bay 44 Eastern Bay 0, Western Bay 12 Central 0. Senior: Central 29 Eastern Bay 0, Western Bay 39 Eastern Bay 0, Central 8 Western Bay 7.
Iles hits form
Papamoa golfer Brad Iles has saved his best until last on the Nationwide Tour in the United States.
He signed off yesterday with a five-under-par 66 in the fourth round of the US$600,000 ($735,000) Prince George's County Open in Maryland.
That saw Iles promote himself 20 places as he tied for 27th place, 23 strokes behind the runaway winner, American Steve Wheatcroft, who finished on 29-under 255.
Iles produced a mixed bag in the tournament but his card yesterday featured no bogeys, although the same cannot be said of compatriot, Mt Maunganui's Josh Geary.
Challenging strongly when tied for eighth after two rounds, Geary was all over the shop in the final round as his 72 left him in a share of 45th on three-under 281. Like Iles, he managed five birdies but undid all his good work with one double bogey and four bogeys.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Danny Lee shot a one under par 70 in the final round of the Celtic Manor Wales Open to finish in a share of 20th place. The former World No1 amateur had rounds of 70, 71, 74 and 70 at last year's Ryder Cup host to take home $40,000.
Also in Europe on the Senior tour, popular Aussie Peter Fowler, a regular at the Carrus Tauranga Open, ended a two-year wait for a maiden senior title. Fowler, who turns 52 on Thursday, gave himself an early birthday present with a three-stroke victory in the ISPS Handa Senior Masters.
Tauranga romp
Midfielder Isaac Bright produced a second bustling display in a row as Tauranga City United avoided a potential hiccup by blazing to a 4-1 win over relegation-bound Cambridge United in football's Northern League second division at the weekend.
Skipper Jordan Culpepper netted twice and Joel Wakelin and Graham Craven bagged the others - Wakelin's a 30m screamer - as Tauranga avoided the trap of becoming the Waikato side's first scalp this season. "We went over expecting the points but we warned the boys to be careful - (over-confidence) was how we slipped by against Warkworth on the road and we couldn't afford for it to happen again."
Bright, who was influential in the 4-0 round eight win over North Shore, again had a strong game.
The win kept Tauranga fourth on the table approaching the halfway stage of the season, with four teams - Mt Albert Ponsonby, Fencibles, Hibiscus Coast and Tauranga - splitting from the bunch in the race to gain promotion.
Mt Albert-Ponsonby are five points clear of the pack, having also played a game more than most of their rivals, after a Jarrod Colligan hat-trick gave them a 3-1 win over Warkworth.
Northern League scores:
North Shore United 0 Western Springs 3 (own goal, Cory Pearce, Peter Lane). HT: 0-1.
Cambridge 1 (Trent Frampton) Tauranga City 4 (Jordan Culpepper 2, Graham Craven, Joel Wakelin). HT: 1-2.
Waiuku 1 (Shane Godden) Hibiscus Coast 4 (Rafi Mohammadi 2, Daniel Cyra 2). HT: 0-4.
Papakura City 1 (Raj Sharma) Ngaruawahia 4 (own goal, Sean Sullivan, Rory Kerr-Bell, Tim Kautai). HT: 0-3.
Fencibles 1 (Stephen Lawry) Mangere United 1 (Marko Stilinovic). HT: 0-0.
Warkworth 1 (Rob Carty) Mt Albert Ponsonby 3 (Jared Colligan 3). HT: 1-3.
Standings
Mt Albert 10 8 1 1 38 14 25
Fencibles 9 6 2 1 23 8 20
Hibiscus C 9 6 1 2 21 12 19
Tauranga C 9 5 3 1 21 10 18
Mangere Utd 9 4 2 3 20 12 14
Ngaruawahia 8 4 1 3 23 14 13
North Shore 9 3 2 4 19 17 11
West Springs 9 3 2 4 11 18 11
Warkworth 10 2 3 5 15 25 9
Waiuku 10 2 3 5 17 30 9
Papakura C 9 1 2 6 11 22 5
Cambridge 9 0 0 9 9 46 0
OBs' nine in row
Old Blues extended their winning football run to nine games and took the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Challenge Shield with a comfortable 2-0 away win over Otumoetai on Saturday.
Defending champions Claudelands Rovers now trail the runaway Federation league division one leaders by eight points after a 3-2 loss to Whakatane Town. Rotorua United retained fourth place with a narrow 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Te Puke with Taupo, who beat Tauranga Boys' College 3-2, and AFC Fury, who beat Melville United 5-2, making the top half of the table.
Otorohanga won their second game of the season and moved away from the relegation zone when they beat Ngaruawahia 5-1.
Both coaches were disappointed that rain and the strong wind that blew down Fergusson Park spoiled the much anticipated top of the table clash between Otumoetai and Old Blues.
Playing into the wind in the first half, Otumoetai conceded an own goal in the 10th minute but with some gritty defence and a bit of luck held Old Blues out until the 35th minute when Jack McNab made it 2-0.
The expectation was that Otumoetai would dominate the second half but although they had territory in the early stages they never threatened to score as Old Blues defended well. Otumoetai became frustrated and turned to long balls which played into the defenders' hands.
The gloomy and depressing weather that settled in for the second spell of the Rotorua United-Te Puke clash at Neil Hunt Park reflected the mood of the supporters who endured 90 minutes of lacklustre football.
Te Puke, without a win this season and destined for relegation, brought nothing to the game but it was United's inability to retain possession and score goals kept the visitors in the game.
In division two, Ngongotaha went to the top after a 5-0 win over Matamata, Tauranga City beat Cambridge 3-0, Katikati overcame Rotorua United 3-0 and Te Awamutu beat West Hamilton 1-0.
Rippa rugby
With the preliminary contests completed, the scene is set for tomorrow's main event of the 2011 EastPack Bay of Plenty Rippa Rugby World Cup. The finals will take place at Paengaroa Domain, where eight teams from the three Bay of Plenty regions - Western. Central and Eastern Bay - will battle to find the Rippa Rugby World Cup champions.
Rippa Rugby is the game used to introduce youngsters to the basic skills of rugby, teaching the two fundamental skills of evasion and passing the ball.
Three regional contests have been staged at Blake Park in Mount Maunganui, Rugby Park in Whakatane, and Boord Park in Rotorua. A total of 80 schools entered the World Cup in two age divisions.
Along with the two Bay of Plenty Rippa Rugby World Cup championships on the line, the winning Year 5 and 6 team qualifies for the national Rippa World Cup in August.
Rippa Rugby World Cup finals competing teams:
Western Bay:
Year 3-4: Mount Maunganui Primary, Selwyn Ridge School, Fairhaven School, Papamoa School. Year 5-6: Maungatapu Primary, Greenpark School, Tauranga Primary, Pillans Point School.
Eastern Bay:
Year 3-4: Opotiki A. Opotiki B, Te Kura o Te Teko, Otakari School. Year 5-6: St Josephs Whakatane, Ashbrook School, Te Kura o Paroa, Opotiki Primary.
Central Bay (Rotorua):
Year 3-4: Ngongotaha School, Glenholme School, Westbrook School, Otanga School. Year 5-6: Owhata School, Selwyn School, Westbrook School, Kawaha Point School.
August 7-9: New Zealand Rippa World Cup (North Harbour Stadium).
Paintball comp
Being called a snake isn't a problem for Mario Thorne - in fact he's proud of it. The 16-year-old was part of the Tauranga Paintball Club "Blast" competing in round two of the New Zealand Paintball Players League at Rotorua's Lakes Ranch over the weekend.
After taking fourth in round one in Levin in April, Blast were confident about a top-three finish in the two-day second round.
But the Tauranga team struggled with the move to an indoor arena and faded to second in the plate final and eighth overall from 11 teams. Thorne is known as the "snake" in the team because it's his job to get to what is known as the snake obstacle in the 40m x 22m arena. "I got that job because I'm skinny and fast that's basically why and I enjoy it. I'm an aggressive player."
The tournament was eventually won by Auckland team Disposal Unit. Rotorua team Tempest were sixth overall with another Tauranga team Scarlett 10th.
Blast team captain Steve McTanish said the team struggled with conditions in Rotorua.
"We were finding it hard to see. This field didn't suit us. That's not to say [the team] wasn't playing good, everyone else was playing us quite well. We play a different style. We're sort of defensive-semi-aggressive, everyone else is quite aggressive and this field was set up for an aggressive team."
UCan2 change
Mt Maunganui-based Team Shorebreak have taken over running local triathlon event series UCan2 and plan to continue the races' community focus.
Sport Bay of Plenty took over management of the UCan2 series in 2008 after many years of commitment from the Community Sport Trust. The event provides participants with a range of options including triathlon, duathlon and run/walk options. Shorebreak Aquatics will add UCan2 options to the Surfbreaker triathlon to make UCan2 a three-event series. Event management of this triathlon, both the Pilot Bay and Mt Maunganui ocean swims and the Bridge to Bridge events ensure Shorebreak are well equipped to guarantee the ongoing growth of the series.
Netball honour
Bay of Plenty netballer Samantha Sinclair been named by selectors as one of the best players in the transtasman secondary schools netball tournament. The John Paul College Year 11 student was one of just three New Zealanders and five Australians named in the team of eight at the end of the tournament. Sinclair had a great start to her 2011 season, having been a late selection into the group to go to the Western Region Academy in Bathurst, training with Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, being part of the third placed Bay of Plenty Lois Muir Challenge Team and then going on to make the New Zealand schools team. Although the team was beaten by School Sport Australia 44-32 in the final, it was an experience Sinclair would cherish. The 15-year-old will play in the Bay of Plenty under-19 team at the Netball New Zealand age group championships being held in Nelson in July.
Calling all refs
Bay of Plenty college students are this month and next being given the chance to follow in footsteps of Tauranga-based international rugby referee Bryce Lawrence.
Bay of Plenty rugby has instigated "You Make The Call", an introductory course for secondary school students who might be interested in taking up the whistle. The course is designed for male and female Year 11, 12 and 13 students.
Bay of Plenty Rugby Union referee manager Paul Greenstreet said the course would appeal to students studying physical education or other sport-related topics.
The three-day course covers a number of different skills needed to be a successful rugby referee, and qualifies for NZQA credits. On the completion of the course the new referee recruits receive a certificate from the NZRU. There will be three courses held in Bay of Plenty.
"You Make the Call" training courses: June 29-July 1: Western Bay of Plenty, July 19-21: Whakatane, July 26-29: Rotorua.
Run ultra popular
Overseas runners have been quick to sign up for next year's Tarawera Ultramarathon run and relay. Race director Paul Charteris opened entries last week and within five minutes Tauranga-based athlete Heather Andrews had signed up for the 100km distance, quickly followed by athletes from Australia, Singapore and Canada.
Charteris expects 400 athletes will take part in the March run, with 60km, 85km and 100km solo and team relay options taking athletes from Rotorua to Kawerau. The 100km solo option is proving the most popular among early entries. Last year's race had 238 entrants from 12 countries, with more than 200 of those entrants from outside of Bay of Plenty.
Arataki get home
Arataki have retained the Hardy Rosebowl, surviving the mud and rain at Wharepai Domain on Saturday to stave off Tauranga Sports 17-7 in the Seeka KI Western Bay club rugby championship.
The closest contest of the weekend took place at Moore Park in Katikati where the home team faced a Judea side that has slipped off the pace in recent weeks. But Judea fought hard and got a share of the points in a 17-17 draw.
Papamoa revived their winning record when they posted a solid 29-3 win against Greerton Marist, while Te Puke Sports took little joy from their outing to Matakana Island, going down heavily 62-12.
Seeka KI Western Bay scores: Papamoa 29 Greerton Marist 3, Katikati 17 Judea 17, Arataki 17 Tauranga Sports 7, Matakana Island 62 Te Puke Sports 12, Mount Maunganui won by default.
Points: Mount Maunganui 49, Matakana Island 48, Arataki 38, Katikati 33, Tauranga Sports 32, Papamoa 30, Judea 23, Eastern Districts 21, Te Puke Sports 20, Greerton Marist 16, Rangiuru 9.
Underdogs again
The last round of the Graeme Monroe Trophy in the Kaimai Darts Association's Monday night competition ended the same way as it started - Underdogs on top.
Underdogs defended their title convincingly and went through the 10 rounds undefeated, with just the one draw in round six to Whats Up. On Monday Underdogs defeated Babas 12-8 to wrap up first place. Whats Up beat Allsorts 11-9 to finish second while, in the night's other match, WGP and Cruzers had a hard fought 10-all draw.
Final standings: Underdogs 28, Whats Up 23, Babas 13, Cruzers 10, Allsorts 6, WGP 4. 180s: Dave Arnold, Wayne Hamlin, John Kelly 2, Andy Reynolds.