Buller Rugby News
Buller Under 18's Finish on a high
The Buller U18 representative side finished their rep season on a high by beating a powerful Canterbury Metro U17 side 12-0 at Westport on Saturday. The match was played as the curtain-raiser to the Buller V King Country match in the Heartland Championship and as a result a good sized crowd was on hand to support the U18's. Both sides had the chance to win the title of South Island Under 18 Division 2 champions, but both needed to score 4 tries in winning in order to usurp Mid-Canterbury.
The Canterbury Metro side went into the game as firm favourites but the wet and slippery conditions certainly affected their ability to play the wide ranging game that has been their lifeblood in the tournament so far. This combined with some determined Buller tackling managed to stifle any attacks that Canterbury could mount and much to the pleasure of the Buller coaching staff Metro were kept to 0 points for the match.
All the Buller players played well and it was certainly a squad effort as the reserves certainly made an impact when they came on. However a number of individuals also stood out and played extremely well. Stand in Captain Marty Banks was exceptional in all aspects of the game from his booming punt to his solid defence. Scott Neighbours was again solid as always and managed to defuse any dangerous situations at fullback. Scott Beckingsale had a good game at halfback and has proved somewhat of a valuable tryscorer for Buller scoring his 4th try in 4 games.
The forward pack were without a couple of crucial players in captain Matt Coles, and talented number 6 Reuben Elley, but the side certainly didn't miss them as their replacements had great games. Vincent Dalzell secured a lot of ball at openside and Tyson Walsh defended very well and made some inroads with ball in hand. Also the entire tight 5 all put in a great effort and it is here where the match was won as Canterbury couldn't compete with Buller in this area. The Buller tight 5 tackled all day and their counter rucking forced Canterbury into uncharacteristic errors. They also played a much more intelligent game and understood the conditions and how best to play in them.
So in the end a great result to finish a great season. 4 wins out of 5 games and 2nd place in the South Island U18 tournament (missing the title by 1 bonus point) was a great reward for the side. Also to stay unbeaten in all 4 of our home games showed the pride that the team plays with in defending their home turf. So congratulations to the 18's who finish the 2008 season with the best record of any Buller rep team. Well Done U18's.
Buller move into top 4 with good win over Rams
For the first time in the history of the Heartland Championship at least one team from the West Coast of the South island will be in NZ's Meads Cup semi-finals. The question is will it be Buller or West Coast. Buller have leapfrogged West Coast to sit in the all important 4th spot but West Coast are only two points back in 5th. Buller can finish no worse than 5th at this point (Buller's final position in last years very successful campaign) putting us in the top 20 provinces in the country. However a semi-final spot would bestow a level of greatness on this current Buller squad that few Buller teams have been afforded since the advent of the NPC in 1976.
On Saturday against King Country Buller continued their good play from throughout the tournament and dispatched of the KC Rams 25-8 in sodden conditions. Buller absorbed good King Country pressure for the first 25 minutes of the match and King Country did take an early 5-0 lead through centre Hone Wanden, but from this point on it was all Buller who despite the conditions displayed good handling. In the end Buller scored 3 tries and narrowly missed out on getting a 4th try bonus point but given the conditions and the margin of Buller's victory, Buller should be giving themselves a more than equal chance of toppling the heavily favoured Mid-Canterbury side this weekend.
Mitieli Kaloudigibeci was the hero in Saturdays match scoring 2 excellent tries for Buller, and he was always a threat with ball in hand. Lock Casey Gibson was also immense displaying excellent aerial skills in the wet and also using his physicality to good effect in the contact area. Casey also managed a deserved try near the end of the first half to cap off an impressive performance. Also to the fore was Nathan Thompson whose field kicking was solid throughout, and he directed play well. His goal kicking was also crucial in this match and this kept the points, and the momentum, ticking over for Buller. Damian Bailey, receiveing his first start of the campaign, delivered a solid performance and his mobility and was a good asset to a very competitive Buller forward pack. The depth throughout this years squad has certainly helped with the teams success and whenever a frontline player has been unavailable whoever has come into the side has always added something and Saturday was again no different.
THE SEMI-FINAL PERMEATATIONS FOR BULLER:
A win for buller this weekend against Mid Canterbury will guarantee a semi final and a return trip to Wanganui next weekend.
If Buller lose we can still make the semi's if King Country beat West Coast.
Finally If Buller lose but get 2 bonus points (1 for 4 tries, and 1 for being within 7) and West Coast win without a 4 try bonus we will make the semi-finals.
-So the moral of the story is just win and we wont have to worry about anyone else.
Buller battle hard but Wanganui too classy
Playing against Meads Cup favourites Wanganui, up at Cooks Gardens, Buller showed some heart in their Heartland Championship game but despite causing Wanganui plenty of concern for 50 minutes a win was well out of reach by the end of the game. With Wanganui dominating the competition things didn't look good when a couple of minutes into the game Wanganui scored a try with ease. However this was the wakeup call that Buller needed and they then began to get into the game. In particular it was the defence of Buller that was concerning the Wanganui team and Buller were forcing Wanganui into many mistakes. Buller also started to make breaks through the Wanganui defence and eventually they scored a well worked try to Marcus Taylor which Nathan Thompson converted. Then more good play from Buller put pressure onto Wanganui and this was eventually turned into points through a well executed drop goal by Nathan Thompson. By halftime the score was 10-10 and with Buller having played into a mildly strong wind hopes were high for an upset in the second half.
Buller began the second half where they left off in the first and had some good chances early on. Then on about the 50 minute mark Wanganui halfback Josh Edwards was sinbinned and Buller had a penalty shot. With Wanganui being down to 14 men and a kickable penalty in the offing thing were looking very good for Buller but amazingly Wanganui went on to score 3 tries while Edwards was in the bin and a shell-shocked Buller couldn't revive themselves after this. Wanganui began to string multiple phases together and their passes were now sticking and numerous breaks were made by Wanganui in the last half hour. Buller began running out of defenders as the speed of the game went up another level and in the end Wanganui were deserved winners by the somewhat flattering scoreline of 42-10. Despite the scoreline Buller can take heart from the fact that they caused Wanganui so much concern for so long and with a bit more luck the game could have been a lot closer than it was. Credit must also be payed to the ability of Wanganui who when they get it right are certainly a very dangerous team especially with the multitude of athletic ball carriers that they have in their side.
Buller Fight Back Earns Rundle Cup Victory
Buller travelled down to Greymouth on Saturday to play one of the most anticipated provincial rugby matches of the year. The match was a vital Heartland NPC encounter a Rundle Cup match and was flanker Luke Brownlee's 100th match for Buller. Things didn't start well for Buller who were 3-12 down early in the game, and also had First Five Matt Bonisch go down with injury. A reshuffled backline and a rampant West Coast loose forward unit started to cause great concern to Buller supporters and it looked as if it could be a long day at the office for the Buller boys, however Buller started to show a bit of heart and slowly started to work their way back into the match. Playing with a slight breeze Buller began to kick for territory and started to gain some ascendancy. Eventually this paid off with a Nathan Thompson penalty followed quickly by a Marcus Taylor try. However Coast fought back and broke through the midfield to score and take a 19-13 halftime lead.
Turning around into the wind and being 6 points down Buller were certainly going to be up against it in the second half, but the wind seemed to work in Buller's favour as Coast were content to kick rather than run the ball through big booted first five Corey Simpson. Buller were able to return any kicks with ease and despite playing into the wind had a good share of the territory statistics. In the end it was Mitieli Kaloudigibeci who proved the spark as he chased down a chip kick and scored a try to take Buller into a 20-19 lead which they would defend with vigour. On the final whistle the Buller Supporters and players were jubilant and the journey home was made that much more enjoyable as the Rundle Cup was still in Buller's possession for the 4th year in a row. The win also earnt Buller a spot in the top tier Meads Cup section for the 2nd year running, and the win was a great way for the team to celebrate Brownlee's 100th game.
Under 18's show their skills
The Buller U18's put on an excellent showing in their curtain raiser to the Buller NPC match on Saturday. Playing against the Sydenham U18's from Christchurch Buller displayed plenty of ability and were to strong in the end winning the match 25-10.
A number of players had good games and given this was the first hitout for the U18's since July there certainly didn't appear to be any rustiness amongst the players. Scott Neighbours has obviously benefitted from his involvement in the Buller Senior Squad and showed plenty of good touches during this match. Also playing well were the loose forward trio of Matt Coles, Reuben Elley and Number 8 Tyson Walsh. Their ability at carrying the ball allowed the U18's to make good ground whenever they had possession. The tight 5 also performed well and both Jareth McKay and Shaun Bowe in the front row showed good strentgh and power in the tackle and at ruck and maul. The inside backs went well particularly Ricki Jacobs who plays for Woodend in the North Canterbury competition and his distribution skills allowed the likes of Brett Cutbush, Simon Abel and Scott Beckingsale plenty of space to run at in the centres.
Buller's next match is the South Island Div 2 opening match and this will be against Mid-Canterbury at Culverden this Saturday. A win is a must if the side are going to challenge for the division 2 title this season as their games only get harder after that with Canterbury Country and Metro coming up in the following weeks.
Buller make history
The 2008 Buller side made history on Saturday by being the first ever Buller side to beat Wairarapa Bush in Masterton. The match won 11-8 by Buller was played in cold windy conditions and was never going to be a high scoring affair. Playing into the wind in the first half Buller's defence was rock solid both individually and collectively. Bush had their chances, including dropping the ball over the tryline when a certain try looked likely, but the defence of the Buller side forced Bush into errors and by halftime all Bush had to show for the use of the wind was a 3-0 lead and that was never going to be enough.
Nathan Thompson kicked an angled penalty early in the second half to tie the game up but apart from that the first 10-15 minutes of the half were all Wairarapa's and they dominated possesion and territory despite playing into the strong wind. They were rewarded when the ball was moved wide and a try was scored on the wing to former Buller player Junior Togia. This was just the push that Buller needed however and they began to play much smarter rugby after this point and eventually scored a well worked try to Mitieli Kaloudigibeci. Thompson failed with the difficult sideline conversion but Buller were now on level terms at 8-8. Then with about 12 minutes to go Nathan Thompson kicked his second penalty of the match to give Buller a lead that they wouldn't surrender and the final whistle was greeted with much celebration from Buller players, management and supporters.
Buller along with Wanganui and Mid Canterbury are now the only unbeaten teams in the 12 team Heartland Championship. Their win also took them to first position in the Pool B standings, but to illustrate the closeness of the competition the team in last position (Horowhenua) were able to come away from Westport with a draw, and they were disappointed with that!!!
Buller remain unbeaten in Heartland Championship
Buller snatched a late draw on Saturday as Nathan Thompson slotted a drop goal with time almost up. Opponents Horowhenua-Kapiti had all the early running and through the boot of ex Buller player Rob Aloe they completely dominated the territory statistics in the first half. With Buller making many errors and looking bedraggled the halftime score was an intimidating 0-16 to Horowhenua-Kapiti.
Buller came out in the second half after a stern team talk and started to make some inroads. Assisted by a strong wind Buller's kicking game improved as the second half wore on and eventually the territorial advantage led to Marcus Taylor scoring a good try when linking with Kevin Moore on the left wing. Add to that a couple of penalty goals and Buller had worked their way right back into the match. Down 13-16 with just over a minute remaining Nathan Thompson stepped up to slot a 40m drop goal and keep Buller's unbeaten record intact with a 16-16 draw.
Buller along with North Otago are now the only two unbeaten sides in Pool B of the Heartland Championship, but Buller have a tough assignment this weekend travelling up to Masterton where they will face 2006 Heartland Champioship winners Wairarapa Bush. Buller will typically go in as underdogs but if they are able to play to their potential then a win is certainly possible, just as West Coast showed in Masterton last week.
Buller start AA Rewards HC with vital win
Holcim Buller have beaten South Canterbury 18-17 at Victoria Square Westport. The one point victory could prove crucial at the end of the season and it is very important to win any close matches in such an even competition as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship. Playing under the new rules both sides were often guilty of giving away free kicks at the ruck and tackle area but Buller were able to make better use of the ball they got and scored two excellent tries to both wingers Kevin Moore and Mitieli Kaloudigibeci. Nathan Thompson was named man of the match and his organisational skills and his kicking game helped give Buller vital territory throughout the match.
Buller now look ahead to the visit of Horowhenua Kapiti this Saturday. Horowhenua lost to North Otago in Round One, but other than that little is known of them this year. With a number of new players in their squad it will be interesting to see what sort of squad they bring to Westport. With Horowhenua having the largest player numbers in Heartland Rugby we would certainly expect a strong challenge from them this Saturday so get down to the square and cheer on the Holcim Buller Boys.
