Squash: Kiwis in plate round
Tauranga's James Cooper and Ben Grindrod have been left in the plate competitions after day two of the junior men's world squash championships in Doha.
Cooper was beaten in the second round of the individual competition, meaning all five Kiwis are now out of title contention.
Cooper's match was over in a flash. The 17-year-old Kiwi came up against England's Tom Ford, one of the higher seeded players in the tournament, and he was soundly beaten 11-3, 11-4, 11-2, pushing him into the plate competition where he was due to meet Japan's Tomotaka Endo in his first game.
Grindrod bounced back from a first-up loss to 12th seeded Frenchman Damien Volland 11-3, 11-8, 1-11, 11-7 to beat Belgian Vincent Hitchins in straight games in round one of the plate.
Football: Another hat-trick
A hat-trick of goals to Ngongotaha's Mitchell Miller has carried his side to a 4-1 win over Tauranga's Otumoetai in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Federation league on Saturday.
It is the second consecutive hat-trick for the goal-scoring wizard and the perfect birthday present for his 50-year-old coach, Shane Davis.
Ngongotaha outplayed Otumoetai at Stembridge Rd and it was only the skills of Otumoetai goalkeeper Graeme Blisset who saved the Tauranga side further embarrassment.
Miller scored the first of his three goals in the first half with Isaac Haua scoring a penalty just before the halftime break to take the home side into the changing sheds with a 2-0 lead.
The villagers continued their dominance in the second half with Miller scoring twice before Otumoetai player Matt Collins scored a consolation goal right on fulltime.
Rotorua United continued their dismal season with a 3-2 loss to league leaders Taupo.
When the teams took the field at Neil Hunt Park, the overwhelming feeling among the Rotorua United supporters was the hope their team would not be embarrassed.
But the opening quarter offered the home supporters little hope as Taupo dominated territory and possession, and when Alan Lamb scored for Taupo to put them ahead the writing was on the wall.
United managed to level the score when Eru West latched on to a lax clearance from the visitors.
Stung by the goal Taupo went straight back on attack, with Lamb netting his second to give them back the lead which they held to the break. There was no doubt the score flattered United and the expectation was that Taupo would take control in the second half and win comfortably.
But the visitors looked lacklustre in the second spell, which allowed United to grow in confidence.
A great freekick from Lamb beat the wall and 'keeper to give Lamb another hat-trick and his team a 3-1 lead.
Old Blues travelled away for a demanding game against AFC Fury at Te Puna's Maramatanga Park.
It was one-way traffic in the first half but only a single goal from Reuben Wood separated the sides at the break.
Fury were on top early in the first half and equalised but Old Blues gradually regained control and deservedly went ahead through Steve Flube.
"We outplayed Fury for much of the game and I would have been disappointed if we hadn't come away with three points," Old Blues coach Andy Legget said.
The other two games had predictable outcomes, with Claudelands Rovers trouncing Waikato Unicol 6-0 and Whakatane Town overcoming bottom of the table Otorohanga 4-1.
In division two, leaders Tauranga City consolidated their position with a 5-1 win over Clube Alegria while Katikati had a hard fought 2-1 win over Te Awamutu.
Federation League scores:
Federation 1: Otorohanga 1 Whakatane Town 4, AFC Fury 1 Old Blues 2, Claudelands Rovers 6 Waikato Unicol 0, Ngongotaha 4 Otumoetai 1, Rotorua United 2 Taupo 3.
Points: Taupo 37, Claudelands 36, Melville 24, AFC Fury 21, Whakatane 18, Ngongotaha 18, Old Blues 18, Otumoetai 16, Waikato Unicol 15, Tauranga Boys' College 13, Rotorua United 8, Otorohanga 5.
Federation 2: Katikati 2 Te Awamutu 1, Tauranga City 5 HRFC Clube Alegria 1, Tokoroa 0 Matamata Swifts 0, Cambridge bye.
Points: Tauranga City 36, Cambridge 27, Katikati 24, Clube Alegria 24, Tokoroa AFC 16, Te Awamutu 15, Rotorua United 10, West Hamilton 8, Matamata 5.
Indoor bowls: Bay into finals
Bay of Plenty have won through to the national indoor bowls mixed fours final in New Plymouth after dominating the Eastern zone regional playoff at Whakatane over the weekend.
Up against teams from Waikato, Thames Valley, Tauranga and Poverty Bay, Bay of Plenty won the most game points after a full round-robin to win the zone and advance to the national final on July 28.
The national zone winners were:
North Island
Northern: Northland ( Don Simpson, Kia Ward, John Love, Kath Love).
Eastern: Bay of Plenty (Simon Hatcher, Marge Taare, Brian Flett, Gill Reynolds).
Western: North Taranaki (Mark Ridley, Mike Dempsey, Raewyn Dempsey, Beryl Willis).
South Eastern: Manawatu (Robbie Lochrie, Tim Veale, Jessica Lochrie, Nikki Eastwood).
Southern: Horowhenua (Jason Moore, Danny Moore, Joy Hansen, Stevina Moore).
South Island
North Western: Nelson (Nigel Warnes, Hayden Warnes, Denise Powick, Louise Mason).
Eastern: South Canterbury (Derek Cooper, David Mealings, Carolyn Cooper, Mary Mealings).
Southern: Southland (Gary Low, Graham Low, Jan Low, Jennifer Beattie).
Volleyball: Wake-up for women
Tauranga's women's A indoor volleyball reps have suffered a rare loss this season, going down to reigning national champions Manukau South in the Northern League in Auckland on Saturday, although coach Stewart Henderson said the defeat was a timely wake-up call for his side,
Tauranga A received a dose of reality, going down to Manukau South 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-14).
In the first set Tauranga played with accuracy, speed and intensity to lead 20-16, before going off the boil and losing 25-22. In each of the next two sets Tauranga started poorly, being 13-3 down in both sets before regaining their composure and restoring some respectability to the scoreline.
Henderson said it was a learning curve for a young and inexperienced team against a seasoned team containing many current New Zealand players.
"Tauranga now know where they stand and the work they have to do to compete against the top side in New Zealand. Manukau will still be playing a similar game in two months' time whereas Tauranga have plenty of scope to improve.
"The team was not too despondent with the result considering the experience of the opposition."
Tauranga B beat Manukau South 3-0 (25-14, 31-29, 25-13) with a marathon second set, although close and exciting, punctuated with service errors from both teams.
Both Tauranga teams travelled across Auckland to Waitakere Trust Stadium to play North Harbour. Unfortunately, because of injuries and the school holidays, North Harbour had to combine with Waitakere to field teams.
The B team again played well after a slow start against Harbour/Waitakere. The scoreline of 25-22, 25-20, 25-11 underlined the B team's superiority and gives them confidence going into the qualifying tournament for division one nationals at the end of this month.
Again veteran Kylie Rae, setter Kerryn Schroeder and middle Ella Duggan played well for Tauranga.
The A team started hesitantly against Harbour/Waitakere, losing the first set 21-25. The players then hit their stride, winning the next three sets 25-14, 25-15, 5-7. The final set featuring some excellent jump float serving from Holly Boyle and Lisa Claassen and Tauranga A did well to recover from their learning experience against Manukau and finish a long day positively.
This Saturday Tauranga host Sparta and Hamilton at the Otumoetai College Action Centre.
Northern Zone indoor volleyball league:
Men:
Reserves: Sparta b Waitakere 3-0, 25-14, 25-23, 25-21; Sparta b South Auckland 3-2, 19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 25-22, 17-15; South Auckland b Hamilton 3-2, 22-25, 26-28, 25-18, 26-24, 15-9; Harbour Raiders A b Hamilton 3-0 25-12, 25-22, 25-18; Harbour Raiders B b Waitakere 3-1, 25-19, 23-25, 25-11, 25-16; Harbour Raiders B b Harbour Raiders A 3-0.
Premiers: Harbour Raiders A b Hamilton 3-1, 29-27, 27-25, 22-25, 25-23; South Auckland b Hamilton 3-0, 25-21, 25-22, 25-18; Nelson Pine b Hamilton A 3-1, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19, 25-21; Waitakere b Harbour Raiders B 3-0, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20; Harbour Raiders A b Harbour Raiders B 3-0, 25-13, 25-22, 30-28; Nelson Pine b Sparta 3-2, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-11; Sparta b Waitakere 3-0, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20
Women:
Reserves: South Auckland b Manukau South 3-0, 25-13, 25-13, 25-13; Tauranga b Manukau South 3-0, 25-14, 31-29, 25-13; Sparta b Hamilton 2-0, 25-14, 25-11; South Auckland b Hamilton 2-1, 25-15, 25-23, 23-25; Tauranga b Harbour Raiders 3-0, 25-22, 25-20, 25-11
Premiers: Sparta b Hamilton 3-2, 25-27, 16-25, 28-26, 25-10, 15-10; Hamilton b South Auckland 3-1, 25-16, 24-26, 25-17, 25-21; Sparta b Harbour Raiders 3-1, 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-14; Tauranga b Harbour Raiders 3-1, 21-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-7; Manukau South b South Auckland 3-0, 25-17, 25-21, 25-12; Manukau South b Tauranga 3-0, 25-22, 25-16, 25-14.
Football: Jostle for promotion
North Shore United have consolidated second spot in the jostle for promotion out of the Northern League second division at Tauranga City United's expense.
Orewa's Hibiscus Coast have all but sealed promotion with a 12-point jump on the chasing pack, further strengthening their grip on top spot with a 5-2 home win over Matamata Swifts to notch their 15th win in 17 outings.
Mangere United closed to within a point of North Shore on Saturday following their 4-2 defeat of Fencibles. But Shore ensured their buffer was restored with a comfortable win over Tauranga, turning a 2-1 lead at halftime into a 4-2 win. Jason Walker and Isaac Bright got on the scoresheet for Tauranga who stayed fifth on the table, 11 points outside the top two.
Tauranga's next game is at home on Sunday against 11th-placed Manukau City, who on Saturday advanced to the last eight of the Chatham Cup with a surprise win over Papatoetoe, triumphing in a shootout 4-3 after the scores were level 1-1 at fulltime.
Northern League second division:
North Shore United 4 Tauranga City 2.
Papakura City 1 (Phil Chadwick) Waiuku 2 (Robert Thornton, Cody Ralph). HT: 1-0.
Fencibles 2 (Martin Pike, Brock Kayll) Mangere United 4 (Apisai Smith, Nazim Mohammed Sharif, James Hoyt, Chris Abbott). HT: 0-3.
Warkworth 1 (Mike O'Flaherty) Onehunga Mangere 4 (own goal, Navid Aminian, Marc Lindsay, David Carron). HT: 1-0.
Hibiscus Coast 5 (Dan Bungard 3, Trent Mayes 2) Matamata Swifts 2 (Jack McNab 2). HT: 2-0.
North Shore Utd 4 (David Fahy 2, Chris Bryson, Jaryd Gray) Tauranga City Utd 2 (Jason Walker, Isaac Bright). HT: 2-1.
Western Springs v Manukau City postponed.
PWDLFAPts
1. Hibiscus C 17 15 0 2 48 15 45
2. North Shore 16 11 1 4 36 23 34
3. Mangere Utd 16 9 3 4 31 25 30
4. West Springs 16 9 1 6 29 28 28
5. Tauranga C 17 7 2 8 29 29 23
6. Warkworth 17 6 5 6 23 25 23
7. Waiuku 16 6 2 8 40 39 20
8. Fencibles 17 5 4 8 25 35 19
9. Onehunga M 17 5 3 9 29 39 18
10. Matamata S 17 4 6 7 19 30 18
11. Manukau C 15 3 3 9 17 24 12
12. Papakura C 15 2 2 11 23 37 8
Hockey: Mount into semis
CMS Mt Maunganui men are into the Intercity club hockey premier semifinals following Saturday's high-scoring 6-4 defeat of Waikato University in Hamilton.
In the only premier men's game played on Saturday, Mount opened up a winning margin in the second half after being level 2-2 at the interval. Mt Maunganui's goal-scorers were Shaun Matthews, who got a hat-trick, two from former international Lincoln Churchill and Brad McKenzie.
In a deferred game played earlier, Rotorua Aces overwhelmed Fraser Tech 5-1. The remaining game between Thames Valley and Pukekohe Indians has been scheduled for tonight.
There was no play in the Midlands Intercity women's grades, or in the middle and bottom men's divisions, because the national under-18 tournaments were in progress at Dunedin and Palmerston North.
This weekend's semifinals have top qualifiers Thames Valley taking on Fraser Tech and Mt Maunganui up against old adversaries Aces from Rotorua.
In the premier women's competition, top-of-the-table Fraser Tech will take on Hamilton Old Girls in one semifinal, with Rotorua Aces hosting Otumoetai in the other.
Bayleys Otumoetai, champions for the past two seasons, finished third on the points table but still have a lifeline if they defeat Rotorua Aces in the semifinal.
At the national under-18 tournaments, both Tauranga's boys' and girls' teams have finished well off the pace.
Tauranga under-18 girls finished seventh at their week-long tournament in Dunedin, drawing 1-1 with Bay of Plenty, downing Waikato 2-1, and losing to Auckland 3-1 and North Harbour 2-1 before drawing 2-2 with Waikato in Saturday's playoff.
In Palmerston North, Tauranga boys have finished 12th from 16 teams in their tournament, finishing the back end well after struggling early. Tauranga were last in their pool after consecutive losses to Southern 3-1, Auckland 6-0 and Manawatu 3-0. In their first crossover game they downed Northland 3-1 and won their second post-section game against Wanganui 3-2.
But their run ended in the playoff for 11th when they were well beaten 4-0 by Hawkes Bay.
Club rugby: Two stay unbeaten
Papamoa and Rangiuru, the only two unbeaten teams in the Seeka KI Western Bay of Plenty Phelan Cup club rugby competition, posted wins in contrasting circumstances on Saturday.
Papamoa continued their winning streak in the Western Bay second round competition with a big win against Te Puna. The home side was competitive for the first half before Papamoa cut loose in the second spell to win 52-14.
Rangiuru sat on the sidelines when Rangataua defaulted the first game at Centennial Park. Matakana Island got back in contention for the Phelan Cup with a hard-fought 22-18 win against Greerton Marist, and Judea ran over top of Eastern Districts 75-5.
In the Merv Scholes trophy competition, Tauranga Sports posted a big win over archrivals Mount Maunganui 50-5 while Katikati got past Arataki 18-5 at Moore Park.
Two Western Bay of Plenty Rugby sub-union challenge trophies changed hands at the weekend. Rangataua bounced back from a big loss to Tauranga Sports in the first half of the season to gain revenge and grab the Jordan Cup in a Baywide premier game.
Rangataua came from 7-3 down at the break to post a 14-12 win.
Tauranga Sports colts beat long-time rivals Mount Maunganui to claim the Oliver Cup.
Seeka KI Western Bay scores:
Merv Scholes Trophy: Tauranga Sports 50 Mount Maunganui 5, Katikati 18 Arataki 5. Phelan Cup: Papamoa 52 Te Puna 14, Judea 75 Eastern Districts 5, Matakana Island 22 Greerton Marist 18, Rangiuru won by default.
Rugby League: Eels slip home
In a nailbiter at Mitchell Park, the Bay Sprint Courier Otumoetai Eels premiers won an arm wrestle over bogey team Pikiao Warriors from Rotorua 39-36 in a 14-try thriller, with Pikiao camped on Otumoetai's tryline searching for a winner when the bell rang for fulltime.
Brilliant half Josh Weeden, with a try and five conversions, was again instrumental in getting the win for the Eels with his direction and superb kicking game, resulting in left wing Ryan Gordon scoring his sixth hat-trick for the season, with the rugby convert's tally now 26 tries from 12 matches.
Samoan centre Pila Visesio was always a handful to stop, and with his cousin Johnny Taamilo outside him on the other wing he capitalised on the breaks by also posting a hat-trick out wide.
After leading 20-6 just before halftime, it appeared the Eels were going to waltz away with it. But they relaxed, and two quick Pikiao tries just before halftime reduced the margin to 20-16. But for a couple of spilled passes Pikiao could have stolen the game like they did in their previous clash with Otumoetai eight weeks before.
Across town at Waipuna Park, Ngaruawahia Panthers proved too big and fast for Tauranga Whalers, posting an impressive 42-14 win and cementing themselves as one of the favourites going into the round one playoffs this weekend.
In other matches, title favourites Hamilton City Tigers blasted Hukanui off the park, recording a 70-6 demolition, Taniwharau scraped home 22-20 over a strong Pacific Sharks and Turangawaewae won 56-22 in a bottom-of-the-table clash over Hamilton Hornets, finishing the Hornets' season.
This weekend sees the top qualifiers of the two pools, Hamilton City and Ngaruawahia, taking the first round byes.
Otumoetai host Pacific Sharks, which promises to be a humdinger, Tauranga Whalers host Hukanui at Waipuna Park, which should see them progress to the second round of playoffs, Taniwharau are at home to Pikiao in Huntly, and Taupo are at home to Turangawaewae.
Results:
Otumoetai Eels 39 Pikiao Warriors 36, Hamilton City Tigers 70 Hukanui 6, Taniwharau Taniwha 22 Pacific Sharks 20, Ngaruawahia Panthers 42 Tauranga Whalers 14, Turangawaewae 56 Hamilton Hornets 22, Taupo Phoenix bye.
Christian Lio-Willie has been called into the squad as cover.