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The Red Machine
No 3. June 2001

All top six MSP teams finish in top four

Chairman's Report
by Brian McGuinness

The first round of the 2001 season has produced probably the best results across the board for our club’s teams for many years.
Our top six teams from premier to senior 4 all finished in the top four of each grade. Additionally, the 80/80 Black and Colts remain unbeaten.
These results will be a big boost for our players and coaches as they go into their final rounds.
With the premiers playing in the Jubilee Cup and the senior 1s in the Hardham Cup we are effectively fielding two premier teams. The senior 1s made a great start to the round, narrowly going down to Johnsonville’s premier team.
Congratulations to our premier captain Kas Lealamanua and Semo Sititi for their selection in the Manu Samoa team. We will follow their progress through the Pacific Rim Tournament and the All Black test with much interest.
Luke Mahoney, after being with the New Zealand Colts training squad, was very unlucky to miss the final cut for the team. Luke has a big future in the game and selection in the Wellington Lions must be a real possibility this year.
It was great to see John Bishop’s St Pats Town 1st XV up at the clubrooms the other week. The importance of St Pats Town and Silverstream to the club’s future playing resources cannot be overstated, with the club assisting in providing coaching resources through John Schuster.
We are getting a lot of positive feedback on the club website from players and club members overseas. It may even be encouraging a few to come home - Rhys Johnston, after a spell as player/coach in Portugal, has returned ready to play again.

Sunday finals
The Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup semis and finals will now be held on Sundays instead of Friday nights as originally proposed by the WRFU Rugby Board.
This is the best result for clubs, giving an opportunity for all club members to attend, allowing representative players to be available, and providing an opportunity to stage a Club Finals’ day for all grades - let’s hope we’re there.
The club’s annual dinner is on 29 June with Keith Quinn and Eric Rush. This is a great night and always a sell-out - make sure you book soon.

FUTURE PREMIERS: The MSP under-6 Saints from Island Bay are in their first year of rugby. The “Saints” are coached by Bruce Hall and Peter Piotroski, and managed by club stalwart John Murfitt.

MSP Annual Celebrity Dinner
The annual dinner will be held on
Friday 29 June 2001
at the MSP clubrooms
commencing at 7pm.
This is the Friday night before the All Blacks v France Test at the stadium.
Excellent guest speakers include Keith Quinn and Eric Rush.
Tickets cost $65 a head and can be booked through
— Rob Evans, ph 025 471 087, or
— Brian McGuinnness, ph 384 8455.

Premiers welcome timely return of experienced players
The return of several experienced players has come at just the right time for the premiers. Rhys Johnston, Dave McGuinness and Lome Fa’atau are all back in MSP colours, which will help cover the loss of Kas Lealamanua and Semo Sititi (with Manu Samoa) and Norm Broughton and Trent Eagle (both injured).
Meanwhile, premier coach Peter Russell says there are several young players to watch out for. One is Fijian flyer Esaba Teko, a 21-year-old winger and sevens specialist.
After the Hong Kong sevens, Esabo’s manager contacted MSP about Esabo playing club rugby in Wellington.
“He’s pretty quick - he’s got the speed and skills, that’s for sure,” says Peter. Esabo has been playing for the premier twos while he learns more about the 15s game.
Last year’s top MSP colt Fa’atonu Fili is also back from the sevens circuit, where he was in the Samoan team with Lome Fa’atau. Fa’atonu is also playing premier two.
And it looks as though premier prop Nic Giera and Esaba Toko might be playing for Wairarapa Bush in the NPC.
With the Wellington NPC side a closed shop these days, increasing numbers of club players are looking to play rep rugby in the second and third divisions.

A GOOD DAY FOR THE BUCHANANS: Colts A winger Joe Buchanan scored two tries in the win over Petone and won the player-of-the-day award. Watching the game were his father Leo and his grandfather Frank, a life member of MSP.

80/80 Blacks stick to winning rugby
Coach Phil Grigg says there’s a simple reason for his 80/80 Black team’s unbeaten run so far this season.
“They listen and stick to the game plan.” Enthusiasm in the team is high, says Phil. They train just once a week and it is unusual to have less than 20 turn out.
Phil says players who regularly turn in top performances include lock Chris Higham, who is in his first year of rugby; captain Neil O’Styke; No 8 David Smart, front rower Tim Grigg, and openside Nat Marshall.
In the backs, first-five Tom Cook, centre Peter Henderson, and winger Clint Rohlof are also having very good seasons. Phil says manager Tom Cook is doing a great Job in his first year in that role.

Coming up....
Events calendar - June-August 2001
Following is the calendar of social and other events at Marist St Pats for June-August 2001.
Saturday June 23 All Blacks v Argentina
(Christchurch: live on big screen at clubrooms).
Friday June 29 The annual celebrity dinner at the MSP clubrooms commences at 7pm (see front page).
Saturday June 30 All Blacks v France at Westpac Trust Stadium.
Saturday July 7 Ladies’ Night.
Sunday July 29 Club Mass, MSP clubrooms. 11am.
Sunday August 5 Jubilee Cup finals.

LADIES' NIGHT
A complimentary glass of wine and a warm welcome awaits all wives, girlfriends, partners, grandmas, daughters, and aunties at the clubrooms on Saturday 7 July from 4.30pm onwards. (‘Ladies night” is held on the first Saturday of every month.)

The Colts A after their 49-13 win over Petone at the Petone Rec. The victory clinched the first round for the Colts and, along with the 80/80 Black team, they remain one of two unbeaten sides in the club.

Colts A players leave the field after the Petone game. From left: halfback Dominic Reijthar, No 7 Shane Baker, first-five Tyrone Edwards (who is also a Commonwealth age-grade champion in karate), South African No 6 Barry Meyer, and fullback Elliot Campbell.

Premiers' 31-game winning run in Swindale Shield
The premiers 20-29 loss to Ories on 26 May ended a remarkable winning streak in the Swindale Shield.
Over three seasons, the premiers went unbeaten for 31 consecutive games in the shield competition.
According to records kept by MSP life member John Gordon, the premiers scored 1001 points to their opponents’ 368 during that period.
The winning run was one reason the premiers have such an outstanding record in the Swindale Shield - of eight competitions since 1994, five have been won by MSP.
Premier coach Peter Russell says the results reflect a mixture of things, including the enthusiasm of new players each season, and a lot of pre-season activity.
This year, the sevens tournament improved a lot of players’ fitness and last year there were tough pre-season games on the trip to Australia.
“Every year we try and promote the MSP culture that if you work hard, the results will come,” says Peter.

Rugby union launches online club newsletter
A new online newsletter for clubs, The Club Weekly, has been set up by the Wellington Rugby Union.
The newsletter is updated every Friday and Monday. Friday’s issue has news plus a complete list of all players in the Jubilee and Hardham Cup games for the following Saturday.
These team lists can be printed off and taken to Saturday’s games. Monday’s newsletter contains full match reports of all the previous weekend’s games.
The newsletter can be found on the Rugby Union’s website, www.wrfu.co.nz (news/archive), or through the links on the MSP site.

Your team on the net!
The MSP website needs more information for the pages which profile different teams.
If you have any information about your team, or photos, now is your chance to show them to a worldwide audience.
Contact Pat Martin, ph 384 0142 (w), 389 4029 (h).
Email: pat.martin@paradise.net.nz

JUNIOR RUGBY

A sizzling Saturday morning
The junior club was delighted to host the Grand MSP Sausage Sizzle on the morning of Saturday 9 June.
All of MSP’s 25 junior teams, and their supporters, were invited to the Hataitai Clubrooms, following their round of primary school matches.
The fun-filled morning was a terrific way to celebrate some great games, talk about what might have been with teammates and coaches, and share some MSP hospitality.
The junior club is fortunate to have a group of dedicated parents who helped serve the 400 sausages, 20 loaves of bread, 30 dozen cans of soft drink, and 300 cups of coffee! Many thanks!

The MSP under-12 Sharks have had a great start to the season. The Sharks are coached by Libby Muollo and Joe Cuccurullo, and managed by Peter Conway and Paul Nansett. From left: Michael Downes, Andrew White, Lance Dyer, Tipene Friday, Aso Fatu, Valentine Meachen, Libby Mollo, and David Coyle. In front are Sean Conway and John Mollo.

Master coach Jim Gerondis makes a point to his under-11 Hurricanes at Macalister Park. The Hurricanes have been together since under-6 days. Assisting Jim are Mike Greco and Denis Reidy. Players from left are Matt Reid, Patrick Holden, Sekonia Telefoni, Andrew Gerondis, Aaron Imlach, Nathan Paranihi, and Jardyn Dyer.

School liaison officers
The juniors are delighted to have the support of school principals and secretaries in promoting rugby. To assist parents, the junior club has School Liaison Officers attached to each school;
St Bernard’s, Brooklyn - Nicky Scott
St Francis De Sales, Island Bay - Dean Dalton
St Teresa’s, Karori - John Faisandier
St Patrick’s, Kilbirnie - Jenny Steven
Marist Holy Cross, Miramar - Brian Cederwall, Sue Lemon
St Anthony’s, Seatoun - Kath Henderson
Cardinal McKeefry, Northland - Helen Ford
Sacred Heart, Central - Mary-Louise Brown
St Anne’s, Newtown - Nic Small, Richard Goodwin
St Brigids, Johnsonville - Ralph Proops
Parents with children at all other schools in Wellington can direct enquiries through junior convenor John Holden, ph 970 8949.

Junior club information
The Junior Club receives many enquiries about how junior rugby works.
For information visit the MSP website www.msprugby.co.nz or touch base with a member of the junior club’s management;
U-13 (Super Black rugby) Dean Dalton. Ph 383 6552
U-9 to 12 (Junior Black rugby) John Holden. Ph 970 8949
U-6 to 8 (Small Black touch rugby) John O’Keefe. Ph 473 6345

Junior support appreciated
While the junior club relies on players’ subs it also wishes to recognise the support of:
- The Society of Mary (the Marists!)
- Kilbirnie Sportsworld
- The New World and Pak ‘n’ Save Eastern Suburbs Sports Trust
- Community Trust of Wellington
- Portable Fence Hire Ltd
- The Hillary Commission and WCC
- The Winton and Margaret Bear Charitable Family Trust.

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