Old Boys face hurdle in bid to break Jubilee Cup drought
IT’S been more than a decade since Old Boys University reached the Jubilee Cup final, and nearly 50 years since the club won it.
For all the talented premier players who have passed through the club’s Cambridge Hotel club rooms, the Jubilee Cup results haven’t followed.
But under first year premier coach Jeremy Little, the 2015 season feels a little different ahead of today’s semifinal against Oriental-Rongotai at the Basin Reserve.
Different because the Billygoats, as they are known in Wellington club rugby, were unbeaten through seven Jubilee Cup regular season matches.
‘‘Geez, you start talking about guys like [Jimmy] Gopperth and [Shannon] Paku, [Paul] Steinmetz and [Jason] Spice,’’ Little said when asked about the last time OBU actually reached the final.
‘‘It’s starting to feel a bit like ancient history, but it’s nice to be in top spot heading into the semis.
‘‘We know it doesn’t mean much come kickoff, but it’s still Jubilee Cup semifinals Old Boys University v Oriental Rongotai, Basin Reserve, 2.30pm Marist St Pat’s v Tawa, Evans Bay Park, 2.30pm Hardham Cup semifinals Johnsonville v Poneke, Helston Park, 2.30pm Upper Hutt v Avalon, Maidstone Park, 2.30pm nice to be there.’’
When the club received the Andy Leslie Trophy for winning the regular season last weekend it was, incredibly, the first secondround premier trophy the club has held since the University side of 1966 won the Jubilee Cup in 1966.
‘‘A couple of things we’ve spoken about is that it’s been 50 years since OBU had success in the Jubilee Cup, and we’ve had nothing as a joint venture [since 1991],’’ Little said. ‘‘Those guys [from the 1966 team] aren’t going to be around forever and even if we don’t win it [this year] we want to make them proud.’’
In fact, that’s been at the heart of Little’s philosophy.
After coaching the senior first side into the Hardham Cup for the past three years, he took the premiers, with Paddy Gough staying on with Jamie Williams as his assistants.
‘‘The relationship I had with the fringe players in that senior one group, being able to come up to the premiers and reconnect those two teams has been great.
‘‘We’ve really had a squad of 40 in the prems and it’s been making sure those guys have put pressure on and made them accountable.’’
Extra competition has seen OBU develop a competitive edge in big matches and it’s helped that they have sneaked under the club rugby radar because of a lack of representative players.
Centre Wes Goosen is the only semifinal starter contracted to the Wellington union, but there’s now a groundswell of players pushing hard to break into the next tier.
‘‘We have a number of guys though who through their performances this club season have put themselves in the picture in terms of the [Lions] wider training squad and are hopeful of forcing their way through to the next level,’’ Little said.
Those include former Otago representative openside Mitch Clarke, who will keep Hurricanes loosie Adam Hill on the bench in the semifinal, and prop Finnbar Kerr-Newell, who is enjoying a standout season.
The arrival of halfback Danny Tusitala from Ponsonby via a stint with Counties Manukau has given OBU two quality No 9s along with Luke Campbell, while first five Hamish Buick, released for Horowhenua’s Ranfurly Shield challenge last week, is now pressing for a spot in Wellington’s ITM Cup squad.
Throw in the re-emergence of former Wellington wing Joe Hill, back after a season off dealing with concussion, and OBU’s winning run starts to make sense.
For all that, their semifinal shapes as a nail-biter.
In a quirk of the draw, the semifinalists will be playing each other in successive weeks.
OBU beat Ories 21-13 Saturday, but lost to them during the Swindale Shield.
Ories are no strangers to the playoffs, having qualified every year since 2011. They are well run by first five James Proctor and have firepower out wide.
With New Zealand sevens wing Lote Raikabula on a strong team sheet, MSP will be warm favourites to beat Tawa in the other semifinal at Evans Bay Park a week after overpowering their rivals 44-38. last 38-27