Central team ends 25-year drought

By Will Johnston

 For the first time since 1995, Stratford/Eltham made the semi-finals of the CMK premier club rugby competition after bonus points and other results went in its favour.

  Stratford/Eltham will play competition leader Tukapa next weekend at Sanders Park, and Inglewood hosts New Plymouth Old Boys at TET Stadium in the other semi-final.

The top four was decided after a tight final round played on Saturday with points differential leaving defending champion Spotswood United and last year’s finalist Coastal out of title contention.

Stratford/Eltham’s ability to pick up two bonus points was the key difference, despite losing to Tukapa 25-31 at Victoria Park. Both teams scored five tries as they used the forwards to gain momentum close to the line. Tukapa’s Luke Taplin bagged a double on his wing and promising midfielder Lukas Halls scored one try himself and set another up. Stratford/Eltham’s most enterprising try was scored by wing Benny Katene.

 Inglewood finished its regular season with a strong 52-21 win over Clifton at the Tikorangi Domain. The win puts Inglewood and Old Boys on the same number of points but because Inglewood beat Old Boys last week, it gives the maroons second place. Inglewood scored eight tries to three in the thrashing with the first coming inside the opening two minutes.

Clifton’s defence struggled as Inglewood carved its way into the right half of the field and made the most of the opportunities presented.  Clifton was unable to make the playoffs after only winning one match but had nothing to lose against a strong Inglewood side.

 Old Boys comfortably beat Southern 50-17 at Vogeltown Park by capitalising on mistakes made by the visitors. Old Boys got out to a strong 26-5 lead at halftime, thanks to four quick tries inside the first half. For most of the match, Old Boys looked in control scoring eight tries overall.  Fullback Adam Smith scored two tries for the home side.  Southern wing Jade Taylor scored a spectacular kick-and-chase try in the first half and captain Jackson Ormond and former All Blacks Sevens star Tomasi Cama claimed the other tries.   If Southern had won, it could have disrupted Old Boys’ race to the finals even though Southern wasn’t able to make the playoffs.

 In what ended up as a dead rubber, Spotswood United beat Coastal 29-22 at the Rahotu Domain. The final round brings the curtain down on the season for both sides, which had struggled with consistency to make the play-offs.

 The final round of the Division 1 competition proved tight too with three teams fighting out for a home semi-final. In the end, New Plymouth Old Boys hosts Inglewood and Southern is at home to Tukapa.

 The Colts and Division 2 grades will have one more round of matches before the top two teams play off for titles on August 15.