Middleweight Rugby

March 9, 2015

Bryan Craies 20/20 rugby tournament

The Bryan Craies 20/20 Rugby tournament held at College Rifles was a good introduction for the coming season for these top four teams in 2015.
The tournament went to the rule book to find a winner but was played in good spirits. We had the College Rifles Bombers and the Takapuna Bombers who had done the hard work with weighing in under 86 kg. Ponsonby and Waitakere had a few over the weight between them. Waitakere decided to default all games but treat the tournament as a training run and one player cost Ponsonby the title.
The games were low scoring, Takapuna defeated College Rifles 17-14 in the last play of the game, and Ponsonby also defeated College Rifles 17-5.
The other defaulted games were played with no score registered but the standard of rugby was high and good numbers in the crowd.
After the fixtures we had the sprint race to find 'quickest of the tournament.' Dane Rua of College Rifles ran the 100 metres in 11.8 seconds with ball in hand. We understand that was back to back victories as he was last year's champ.

Best try: Sean Campbell (Takapuna)
Player of the tournament: Tom Kippenberger (College Rifles)
Tournament team, named by Richard Inglis, Auckland U85kg coach:
Kash Ngature, Sam Knowles (Waitakere), Scott Scherer (Takapuna), Jono Gould (College Rifles), Josh van Veen (Takapuna), Nick Thompson (Ponsonby), Tom Kippenberger (College Rifles), Jamie McLagen (Ponsonby), Jared Soar (Takapuna), Damien Taylor (Takapuna), Scott Thomson (College Rifles), Sean Campbell (Takapuna), Dane Rua (College Rifles), Ash Robinson (Ponsonby)
Bryan Craies Cup champions 2015: Takapuna Bombers (King of the Middleweights)

I would just to thank all the teams, coaches and managers, that took part, also College Rifles Rugby Club for hosting this event, Auckland referees for their time, Chris Tautiaga, director of senior rugby at College Rifles, and Kevin Reilly, president of College Rifles, for their work behind the scenes.

Tournament day helpers: Deano Allnutt, Richard Inglis, Roger 'Mad Dog' Moore
Sponsors - Monty's Promotions, Husqvarna
Auckland Rugby Union, North Harbour Rugby Union, NZ Barbarians RFC for their support.

We hope to continue the Bryan Craies Cup 2016 with a new format… the winning team in 2015 will go into the 2016 tournament as favourites, with one team per union which includes the Waikato U85kg club champions.
All the best to all the U85kg teams in 2015, train hard and drive safe.

Deano Allnutt
Bryan Craies 20/20 tournament controller
NZ Barbarians Rugby Club U85kg Rugby

March 2014

Bombers retain Bryan Craies Cup

By Deano Allnutt at Northcote RFC

Cyclone Lusi started to play havoc in the build-up to the Bryan Craies Cup and just before kickoff.

I'm not sure how hard the referees blew their whistles but she headed south. The conditions were pretty good, a soft track, and little tail wind towards Birkenhead Avenue, but otherwise not bad. There were very few spectators but there seemed to be more in the RSA looking out over the field.

The three teams weighed in with Northcote and Takapuna right on the tournament weight while the College Rifles Bombers had only one of their players over 87kg.

The Auckland champions, the College Rifles Raiders, didn't even contest the scales, with more than half of the team over the tournament weight. The Raiders were good sports, though, and decided they still wanted to play in the Bryan Craies Cup but would default their points and use the matches as extra training and get their weight down.

Northcote won by default over the Raiders, but the score was 16-12 on the field. Standout players from Northcote were Aaron Kiwara, Robert Gore, Jesse Muir and Stephen Kerr. For the Raiders, Andrew Little, Bobbie Taivoni, Bobby Lloyd and Cameron Andrew.

The Rifles Bombers beat Takapuna 12-6. This was a top game to watch. Both teams had been doing their homework in the fitness department and showed great running rugby in 40 minutes. The halftime score was 6-5 to Takapuna with Taka having the upper hand to put game out to a three-point lead. A penalty goal hit the post, and a counterattack from the Rifles Bombers with the ball going through all 15 players' hands ended with a well-executed try in the corner with a successful conversion. Both teams showed great sportsmanship. Standout players from Takapuna were: Glenn Tucker, Charles Bradley, Antony Hamilton, and Euan Wilson while from the Rifles Bombers, Tom Kippenberger, Ben Claxton, Carl Anderson, and Dave Rattenburg.

Takapuna Bombers won by default over College Rifles Raiders, though the Raiders took the on-field match by three tries to one.
The final pitted 2013 runners-up Northcote versus the defending champs College Rifles Bombers.

Both teams looked good on paper but also in the early matches - nothing could separate them in the first 20 minutes, using both ends of the field, the width, solid tackling, and refereed at a very high standard. Going into halftime both teams were locked at 6-all with penalties by Jesse Muir of Northcote and David Rattenburg of the Rifles Bombers. Northcote had all the play, attacking with a tail wind, and just couldn't get that five pointer. A late penalty to Rifles with two minutes to go, a kick for a lineout you could see the Riflesmen planning their attack. But Northcote fought back. A little knock-on by the 'Cote gave Rifles another chance for the line. The rest was history: a scrum, an 8-9 move off the back, a little shimmy just around behind the post with a Rifles try to Aaron Westbrook and Rattenburg adding the conversion. Final score: College Rifles Bombers 13 Northcote 6.

Well played College Rifles Bombers, and congratulations on back to back Bryan Craies Cup victories.

The sprint race for the quickest at the tournament went to Dane 'The Flyer' from College Rifles Bombers.

A special thank you to Tina Gates and Miles Marcroft of the North Harbour Rugby Union. The planning for this Bryan Craies 'King of the Middleweights' Cup started in November, and we all appreciate the work behind the scenes.

Thanks also to Kieran and Karen Jones of Northcote Rugby Club for hosting the tournament, North Harbour referees - Leon Venter, Bennie Van Zyl, Tyron Lagerwell, Scott McKenzie; Monty's Promotions - sponsoring sausages, referees shirts, and the sprint prize.

A final thanks to Northcote, Takapuna, College Rifles Bombers and College Rifles Raiders for taking part. All the best for the coming 2014 season.

February 22, 2014

Bryan Craies Cup U85kg tournament

General information:
Bryan Craies is a long-standing member of the NZ Barbarians Rugby Club and has been instrumental in promoting and developing Barbarians middleweight or Under 85kg rugby. Through Bryan's efforts and support, a middleweight 20/20 representative tournament has been in place since 2010 with teams entered from Auckland, North Harbour, Thames Valley, Waikato and in 2012 Wellington joined the tournament. Bryan has overseen the selection of an NZ Barbarians middleweight representative team who have played New South Wales and Wellington in recent years.

Bryan Craies Cup, known as King of the Middleweights:
The teams taking part are:
From Auckland:
College Rifles Raiders - winners of the 2013 Auckland U85kg competition (winners three years in a row).
College Rifles Bombers - runners-up of the 2012-13 Auckland competition, defending champions of the Bryan Craies Cup 2013
From North Harbour:
Takapuna - 2013 winners of the North Harbour competition
Northcote - 2013 North Harbour competition runners-up

Venue information:
The Bryan Craies U85kg Cup will be held at Northcote Rugby Football Club, Recreation Drive, Birkenhead.

Tournament date and kickoff times:
*The tournament will be held on Saturday March 15.
*Kickoff times will be at 12.00pm and 1.00pm. Matches will be played on Harvey Wright Fields 1 and 2.

Structure - match duration and points:
*Games will be 20 minutes each way with a five minute break (the referee will be the sole judge of time).
*As these are pre-season fixtures rolling substitutions will be permitted (maximum of 8 subs).
*Teams will play a one week competition (there will be no final). The team with the most points at the end of play will be the winner of the Bryan Craies U85kg Cup. If teams are equal on points, the team which has the highest difference of points 'for' minus points 'against' shall be the winner.
*If a team cannot be fielded due to retirements, then the next 'best' team (teams which finished third in their competitions i.e. from Auckland (Ponsonby) and from North Harbour (Marist) will be invited to partake in the tournament.

Teams have been seeded as follows:
North Harbour - Takapuna (1), Northcote (2)
Auckland - College Rifles Raiders (1), College Rifles Bombers (2)
Match 1: Round 1 - NH 2 v Auckland 1 (Northcote v CR Raiders)
Match 2: Round 1 - NH 1 v Auckland 2 (Takapuna v CR Bombers)
Match 3: Round 2 - NH 2 v Auckland 2 (Northcote v CR Bombers)
Match 4: Round 2 - NH 1 v Auckland 1 (Takapuna v CR Raiders)

Matches 1 and 2 kick off at 12.00pm and matches 3 and 4 at 1.00pm.

Tournament contacts are Kieran Jones (021-378-780) and Deano Allnutt (027-488-8351). Please do not hesitate to contact them if any further information or clarification is required.

The North Harbour and Waikato Cavaliers packs collide. North Harbour won 31-5. Photo courtesy of Pania Gifford

Auckland reclaims middleweight title

	Middleweight tourney team

Auckland has reclaimed its northern region middleweight title after last weekend's (September 14-15, 2013) annual tournament at the College Rifles club.

Two Barbarians cups were presented last weekend - the first to the national schools winner (Hamilton BHS) and the second the following day to the Auckland Under 85kg rep side, whose 3-1 tournament record was enough to clinch the silverware after dropping its opening match 8-3 to eventual runners-up North Harbour.

Tournament organiser Deano Allnutt says the 2013 tournament was very successful with a lot of young players shining, though the age spread was 18 to 53. Gary Good from the Waikato Cavaliers was the oldest (53) but youngest at heart. He received a special award for services to U85kg rugby - a true legend and a great ambassador to the fast and furious grade.

The tournament was a great spectacle for all the supporters and the games were play at pace, as befitting middleweight rugby. Organisers Allnutt and Cliff Lyon were assisted by Scott Lacey, while Roger 'Mad Dog' Moore was also on hand. Doctor Tom Marks of the Waikato Cavaliers did a top job stitching up the walking wounded.

There are plans afoot to have the next tournament in the Taupo region, which will make it easier for the Wellington Centurions team to meet halfway.

A tournament team of 22 was selected and they were photographed in full Barbarians strip (as pictured).

The tournament team is:
Antony Hamilton (North Harbour), Jeremy Chou-Lee (North Harbour), Peter Stirrat (North Harbour), Texas Ngarongo-Porima (North Harbour), Adam Hallet (Thames Valley), Nikora Royal (North Harbour), Matiu Welch (Wellington Centurions), Andrew Little (Auckland), Tony Natoli (Wellington Centurions), Arran Tawhara (Waikato Cavaliers), Nick Kavanagh (Wellington Centurions), Steven Trelevan (Auckland), Michael Gregson (Auckland), Bobby Taivoni (Auckland), Glenn Tucker (North Harbour), Rawiri Brightwell (North Harbour), Ryan Lee (Auckland), Tom Krippenberg (Auckland), Brendan Lambert (Auckland), Josh DeRuyter (Waikato Cavaliers), Nano Perez (Wellington Centurions), Glenn Strange (Thames Valley). The selection convenor is Bryan Craies, and Deano Allnutt is the manager.

Results: day one
North Harbour 8-3 Auckland
Wellington Centurions 16-0 Waikato Cavaliers
North Harbour 12-7 Thames Valley
Auckland 25-7 Wellington Centurions
Thames Valley 3-0 Waikato Cavaliers

Results: day two
Auckland 31-7 Waikato Cavaliers
Thames Valley 13-7 Wellington Centurions
Wellington Centurions 22-10 North Harbour
Auckland 10-3 Thames Valley
North Harbour 31-5 Waikato Cavaliers

Final placings
1. Auckland - 15 points
2. North Harbour - 13 points
3= Wellington - 10 points
3= Thames Valley - 10 points
5. Waikato - 1 point

Rifles loaded for action-packed weekend

One of the highlights of the middleweight rugby calendar is set to rock into action on the weekend of September 14-15 2013.

The annual Barbarians northern region middleweight (Under 85kg) tournament, which has run since 2008, will again be held at Auckland's College Rifles club on the acclaimed artificial turf.

Auckland may have dominated this always-competitive tournament in the early years, but the defending champions are the Wellington Centurions, who proved their worth with an unbeaten run in the 2012 event.

Coached by former Hawke's Bay rep Greg Halford and Ian Tulloch, Wellington will field another strong line-up and are seeking to build on the burgeoning Under 85kg grade in the capital, where there are 20 teams across three divisions. Players to watch in the Centurions squad are centre Tony Natoli out of the Tawa Titans club side (the runners-up to Marist St Pat's), fullback Matiu Welch and loose forward Jack Coles.

One of the features of the Waikato side is the selection of front-rower Gary Good of the Te Rapa club. He is 53! His son Lance is the player-backs coach of the Waikato team.

Thames Valley will again field a competitive side, though it will not be an Under 85kg unit, as the small union just does not have the numbers to cater for a middleweight grade. In effect, Thames Valley will be the union's second XV or development side.
North Harbour, sponsored by Montys Promotions and Sue Mayhew (wife of Barbarian John) of Bayleys Real Estate Takapuna, is sure to be in the mix if it can free ball to exciting fullback/wing Texas Ngarongo-Porima and fellow flyer Hezekiah Bowlin.

In the Auckland side, many of whom are playing on their home ground, watch out for the experience of lock Brendan Lambert and first five Scott Thomson.

Tournament organiser and Barbarian Deano Allnutt, who is the North Harbour manager, says a number of premier grade club players are filtering into the middleweight rep sides, thus raising the standard. Many are aspiring to make the NZ Barbarians representative team, which would be their All Blacks jersey. Some of the players will no doubt head across town to the All Blacks-Springboks test at Eden Park later on Saturday night.

The games will be of 40 minutes duration, 20 minutes each way. After the final match on Sunday, the Barbarians selectors Wayne Underhay and Brett and Bryan Craies will select a tournament side which will have its photo in full Barbarians strip with a view to a possible tour or matches in 2014, hopefully following the unbeaten 2010 trailblazers.

The tournament controller is Barbarian Cliff Lyon, assisted by Scott Lacey.

The Barbarians club sees entry into weight restricted rugby as an integral part of its drive to foster amateur rugby. It is committed to continue pushing for a national competition as part of the NZRU calendar. This rep tournament is a solid base from which to grow this important and growing level of the game.

When: Saturday September 14-Sunday September 15
From: 11am (Saturday), 10.30am (Sunday)
Where: College Rifles Rugby Club, Auckland
For: NZ Barbarians Middleweight Cup
Teams (5): Auckland, North Harbour, Thames Valley, Waikato, Wellington Centurions

2011 Barbarians middleweight report/results

Played on 24/09/2011 in Paeroa
Auckland U85s 55 Tries: Colin Faulkner 3, Joel Murphy 2, Jono Willis, Brendon Lambert, Scott Thomson, Kieran Eddy; Cons: Thomson (3), Robert Dunne (2)
Thames Valley 7

Played on 17/09/2011 at Shadbolt Park, Auckland
Auckland U85s 32 Tries: Jono Willis, Steve Kitchener, Joel Murphy, Daniel Harris, Loren May; Cons: Scott Thomson (2); Pen: Thomson
North Harbour U85s 18 Tries: Shaun Mortenson, Albertus Engelbrecht; Con: Daniel Wallis; Pens: Shaun McCann (2); Halftime: 10-10

BARBARIANS CUP 2011

Barbarians Cup points for 2011 tournament:
Auckland: Record (3-0); points for 146, against 43; bonus points 3; total points 15
North Harbour (2-1); points for 77, against 70; bonus 2; total points 10
Waikato (0-2); points for 34; against 66; total points 0
Thames Valley (0-2); points for 29; against 89; total points 0

05/03/2011 at Ardmore Marist RFC, Counties Manukau
Barbarians middleweight XV 25-6 U85kg Development XV
Tries: Daniel Hainsworth, Bronson Rameka, Johnny Kaisuva Daunivuka, Chris Aim: Con: Scott Thomson; Pen: Thomson

12/03/2011 at Thames Rugby Club, Thames
Barbarians middleweight XV 33-14 Thames Valley Development
Tries: Brendan Lambert (2), Steve Kitchener, Albertus Engelbrecht, Josh van der Valk; Cons: Scott Thomson (4)

19/03/2011 at College Rifles Park, Auckland
Barbarians middleweight XV 48-14 U85kg Development
Tries: Daniel Hainsworth, Steve Kitchener, Aaron Westbrook, Albertus Engelbrecht, Ben Stephenson, Mark Shaw, James Valentine; Cons: Scott Thomson (3), Ben Steele (2); Pen: Steele

25/03/2011 at Te Whaea artificial turf, Newtown
Barbarians middleweight XV 62-0 OB University U85kg
Tries: Mark Shaw (2), Ryan Lee (2), Joe Kingstone, Brendan Lambert, James Valentine, Bronson Rameka, Scott Thomson, Johnny Kaisuva Daunivuka; Cons: Thomson (4); Ben Steele (2)

Total tries: 26
Points for 168, against 34
Most tries: Lock Brendan Lambert 3
Most points: Scott Thomson 32

Just in closing, I would like to thank the NZ Barbarian Rugby Football Club for getting behind the middleweight team in its third year. When speaking to players over the years and how they felt putting on the famous red jersey for the first time, they all said they grew an extra two feet and the honour that goes with it, the history, famous names, and their confidence has reached a new level for the future. The Barbarians gave them all an opportunity. Thank you for that.

Deano Allnutt
Manager
NZ Barbarians middleweight rugby team

Barbarians involvement in middleweight rugby

The Barbarians became involved in the Under 85kg rugby grade in 2008, believing that there was an opportunity for the club to assist in fostering this grade. It is an amateur grade, encompassing many players, who because of weight, work, or time restraints, find that this grade caters for serious amateur players, playing to high technical status. We believe that many future club committees, and club officials, will come from this base of enthusiastic young men. To date the trend of senior players "doing their time" within their club is trending downwards. Following acceptance by the Barbarians committee, it was decided to put a Barbarian flavour to the grade by referring to it as 'middleweight rugby".

Middleweight rugby is played as a grade in Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, North Harbour and Waikato. Counties Manukau and Northland are trialling the grade. NSW has a strong competition. In the past Auckland has played Wellington and has attended an 80/80 tournament hosted by Malaysia. We were also aware of previous trans-Tasman games between North Harbour and Sydney.

Following a very successful trip by an Auckland U85kg grade to Thailand in 2002, Ken Baguley (former chairman of the Auckland Rugby Union) suggested the NZRU consider promoting this grade of rugby. Nothing came of this, however, his paper has become the basis of our club's plan for this grade.

Following the completion of the inaugural middleweight tournament, a combined effort by the Auckland Rugby Union and the Barbarians, a NZ Barbarians side was selected to play an Australian side. The tournament was attended by teams from North Harbour, Auckland, Waikato, and the U23 national Thai team. This Barbarian selection then toured Sydney, winning both games it played. This format has continued with a team from Thames Valley replacing the Thai team last year (2009).

Every effort is being made to include teams from Wellington, Canterbury, as well as Counties and Northland.

The Barbarian Rugby Football Club see entry into weight restricted rugby as an integral part of the club's effort to foster amateur rugby. We are committed to continue driving forward for a national competition as part of the NZRU calendar.
The club has been presented a very prestigious trophy, the Ladore Trophy, by the family trust of Norm Bennett, to be presented for excellence within this grade.