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Defence the key in win over Petone
The premiers grabbed a vital four points in their Jubilee Cup campaign with a nail-biting 24-19 win over Petone at Evans Bay Park on 10 July.
The side showed a lot of character to hold out a strongly-finishing Petone team that camped inside the MSP 22-metre line for the last 10 minutes, but the result was a fair reflection of a tough forward battle in which MSP had the edge for much of the game.
First-five Fa'atonu Fili was the scoring star for the home team, collecting all the side's points. In fhe first half, he landed four penalties and a dropped goal to give MSP a 15-6 lead at the break. With little wind and the sun trying to shine through after a terrible week's weather, he nailed some fine shots on a heavy field, missing only one that hit the crossbar. The other feature of the first half was some outstanding defence, with captain and lock Nick Passi, hooker Ged Robinson back from injury, and young loosies Valentine Meachen and Solomona Sakalia to the fore.
Petone came storming out in the second half, opening up the MSP line on several occasions. Fifteen minutes in, they scored the only try of the match from a scrum near the MSP line to close it up to 18-16. However, two more Fa'atonu penalties enabled MSP to keep their noses in front to the final whistle. The win can be put down to committed defence, the team having the best defensive record in the competition.
Meanwhile, in the Hardham Cup, the premier 2s were unlucky to concede a converted try on full-time against Johnsonville's top side, and had to settle for a 24-all draw. The senior 2s are topping their second-round competition after their fourth straight win. See the full list of MSP results >>

Last-gasp loss to Poneke on 3 July
The premiers committed one of rugby's cardinal sins by failing to put away their opponents and went down to a last-gasp 21-23 loss to neighbours Poneke on 3 July.
With a 21-6 lead 35 minutes into the second half, MSP looked to have the game in the bag on a sunny but heavy Kilbirnie Park. Obviously some in the team thought that too, because suddenly Poneke rattled on two converted tries and then a penalty, in the last act of the game, to steal a miraculous win.
In a superb game of club rugby before a big crowd, MSP had a fine first half with a light breeze at their backs. It was a big match for two players, fullback Apoua Stewart in his 100th game, and centre Chris Slade in his last appearance before a shift to Melbourne. The pair were in top form, with Chris making a sharp midfield break to put Apoua in at the corner for the first try, and minutes later he went in next to the posts after slicing through off a short ball from Fa'atonu Fili.
A Fa'atonu penalty had MSP up 21-6 at the break and it stayed that way for most of the second half. Both sides put on some outstanding defence as play switched from end to end.
The decisive moment came 10 minutes from time with the sinbinning of captain Nick Passi for offside play. Poneke then pounced, leaving the MSP supporters dumbfounded and the Poneke supporters jubilant.

Premiers battle to win over OBU
The premiers battled atrocious conditions and a committed Old Boys University side before coming out on top 16-3 on 26 June. Southerly gales saw many games cancelled in the capital and at Evans Bay Park, a bitter wind cut across the ground already cut up by the premier 2s' early game.
In the main game, OBU had the better of the opened stages but centre Chris Slade opened the scoring with a penalty after 10 minutes. The game quickly became a forward battle and the MSP pack made good ground through using the pick and go. A strong OBU defensive line held up for 30 minutes until halfback Peter Sciascia flicked a ball back inside for hooker Liu Taituave to dive over a pile of muddy players and score.
Some excellent play just before halftime saw MSP again hammering away at the OBU line, and quick hands from a ruck put winger JP Tocker sliding over in the corner to give the home team a 13-0 lead at the break.
In the second half the mud-caked players became unrecognisable in the gloom but play still swung from end to end as the teams tried to play rugby. A penalty to either side was the sole scoring in the second half, which was notable for former MSP captain and prop Kas Lealamanua coming off the reserves bench late in the match.
No 8 Wim Baars and Liu Taituave had strong games in the forwards, but the player-of-the-day award went to Peter Sciascia who showed considerable skill in the freezing conditions.
In the early game the premier 2s went down 12-5 to Tawa in their Hardham Cup clash, but it was a good showing from the seconds against another club's top team. See results for other MSP scores...

Bright start to Jubilee Cup round
The premiers made a bright start to their defence of the Jubilee Cup with a 49-0 win over Upper Hutt in the first game of the Cup round on 19 June. On a grey day at Evans Bay, a young forward pack missing several established players turned on an energetic display to shut out the visitors.
In the Hardham Cup, the premier 2s also made a solid start. Although they lost 12-13 to Wainui's top side, with a little luck and a goal kicker they could have won in a match that suggests they will take a few scalps in the weeks ahead.
In the main game, first-five Fa'atonu Fili was the first try scorer after darting around the blindside of a ruck close to the Upper Hutt line. He then added a long-range penalty before a barnstorming run from second-five Joe Wright set up a ruck for captain Sio Tuia to score. Sio had taken over the reins with regular skipper Nick Passi out injured, as was fellow lock Matt Egan and hooker Ged Robinson.
Ahead 18-0 at halftime, MSP built on their lead three minutes into the second half with replacement prop Kiki Stowers powering over. Starting prop Solomona Sakalia was in the bin for a high tackle so it was a fine try for a seven-man forward pack.
Smart ball movement saw winger JP Tocker over in the corner 10 minutes later, and then a Chris Slade wrap-around put hard running winger George Cook in the clear for a 20-metre dash to the line. With MSP well on top, Fa'atonu tidied up some messy play with a casually taken drop goal, and Chris Slade bamboozled the defence to score the sixth and final try off a poor Upper Hutt clearing kick. He also nailed some excellent sideline conversions and a penalty to end up with 18 points for the afternoon.
Young locks Charlie Graham and Ben Nansett, in his first premier starting match, were awarded joint MSP players-of-the-day.
See the full list of MSP results >>

Raffle winners announced
The winners of the MSP fund-raising raffle that was drawn on Monday 14 June are:
1. No 6546. Kimberley Leong
2. No 7480. Salome Lefao
3. No 7249. Paea Tauali'i.
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all those who took part.

Well taken tries against Old Boys University
The premiers ran in six well-taken tries against Old Boys University to come out on top 33-11 at a sunny Basin Reserve on 22 May.
MSP dominated for most of the match, with some solid forward play giving the backs plenty of ball. Holes appeared regularly in the OBU defence, with wing John Paul Tocker and halfback Anthony Bradshaw benefitting with two tries each. Prop Jeff Allen and hooker Ged Robinson were the other try scorers.
Just before half time the game was stopped for an extended period for what looked like a serious injury to prop Johnathon Hopgood. Playing in his 80th premier match, he had hurt his neck in general play and lay prone on the ground while an ambulance was called. However, the injury was solely muscular and not as serious as first thought.
MSP scored three tries in each half and began the second spell 18-5 ahead. But after the high of last week's big game against Petone, the match was generally a quiet affair. The team will be happy to bank the points and look ahead to next week's game against Tawa.
Flanker Valentine Meachen and fullback George Cook both had strong games in their premier debuts. Hard running second-five Joe Wright was awarded MSP's player of the day.
In other results, the colts celebrated a last-minute win over competition leaders Petone, and the senior 2s also had a good win.

Ben Christie

MSP man edits new Wellington magazine
Former MSP player Ben Christie is editing a new magazine that should be of interest to many Wellingtonians.
Ben is the the son of former MSP chairman Terry Christie and the brother of MSP centurion Matt. He recently returned to the capital to edit FishHead, which runs a story in its first issue about Isaac Feaunati and his experience playing Jonah Lomu in the Clint Eastwood movie Invictus. Issue 2 features  a story on Ricki Herbert written by MSP deputy chairman Matt Buck.
The magazine covers the greater Wellington region including the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa. It has great photography and regular commentators on Politics (Duncan Garner), Food, Wine, Art, Theatre and Fitness.
FishHead gets its name from the Maori myth that the North Island is a fish that Maui pulled out of the sea, and the Wellington region is the head - see FishHead for more.

Dominant performance in win over Wests
A dominant performance against Wests on 1 May has seen MSP's premiers run out 44-5 winners to retain the Viv Haigh Memorial Trophy.
The team never looked like losing a match in which the backs scored all the points, with some excellent MSP tries the result of a fluent and well-organised team effort.
First-five Fa'atonu Fili scored the first of his 19 points after three minutes with a penalty on a chilly but calm Evans Bay Park. Then winger Julian Tupai opened the try scoring following a good break by opposite winger and man-of-the-match Marc Le, and 15 minutes later the backs combined brilliantly to put centre Chris Slade over next to the posts.
With flanker Tom Dawson winning a couple of key turnovers, quick hands and a Chris Slade break led to a Marc Le try. Fa'atonu added two conversions and another penalty so that MSP went into halftime 25-0 ahead.
In the second half, Fa'atonu sliced through for a try, while fullback Apoua Stewart helped himself to a pair, again following good combinations by backs and forwards. The game lost its shape in the last 15 minutes, and MSP eased up to let the opposition in for a soft try.
However, MSP was far too well organised for Wests with many signs that the red machine is finally hitting top gear.
In other results, the senior 1s and colts had good wins while the under-85 Blues came out on top against fierce rivals Poneke.