College sport: Mt Albert's Japan tour reliant on funds

Tim Cage, of Botany Downs, tees off in his match against King's College as the first-round matches in the Auckland secondary school premier championship were played at the Aviation Country Club. Photo / Greg Bowker

The burning will-they-won't-they question surrounding Mt Albert Grammar's participation in the annual Sanix Cup invitation secondary schools rugby tournament in Japan was still up in the air last night.

Coach Charlie McAllister has been working flat out to raise funds for the April 28-May 6 tournament in Fukuoka, but went into a meeting with the boys' parents last night still uncertain whether funding had been found.

MAGS director of sport David Long said the cost for the trip would be over $100,000 and that McAllister had done everything possible to raise the necessary funding to keep the player contributions as low as possible which, he said, might still be beyond many parents.

Long said that at this stage three adults, including McAllister, were confirmed for the trip but he would need at least one more to ensure adequate supervision.

"It is a huge amount of money for parents to raise," said Long.

"It is not something the school can afford to contribute to so it is up to them to convince us the funding is in place."

Around half of the boys who played in last season's all-conquering 1st XV are in the 27-strong squad selected by McAllister who would dearly love the chance to test the team against the best.

The only real cost is the airfares as almost all internal costs are covered.

It is understood defending Sanix Cup champions Hamilton BHS have also been invited but the Herald was unable to contact the school yesterday to confirm that.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

Westlake Girls and Boys turned on the magic and matched the stunning weather to score a double triumph at the NZSS championships at Mt Maunganui.

Twin sisters Charlotte and Sophie Joy, recently selected in the New Zealand under-19 team for the forthcoming World Cup in Croatia, cruised comfortably beyond the quarter-final without dropping a set.

The semifinal against the Tauranga Girls pairing produced a tight and enthralling battle.

Despite some of the best attacking beach volleyball on display, neither team could assert their ascendancy and no more than three points ever separated the two teams.

The first set extended well beyond 21 points and eventually went in favour of Tauranga 27-25 in an intense nail-biting opening set.

The second set was an equally tough tussle as the lead rocked back and forth.

Westlake managed to survive two match points and finally broke the deadlock to win the set 24-22.

In the final deciding set (to 15) the Westlake girls took command and developed an early lead and a five- point buffer which they protected to win the final set 15-10 and progress to the finals.

With only 25 minutes rest, they were in action against the defending champions, Vaetoe and Pierce also from Tauranga Girls.

The Tauranga pairing moved out to a handy lead but the Westlake duo played their way back into the game. At 15-20, the Joy twins began an incredible comeback.

They survived five consecutive set points to level the score at 20-20 and went on to steal the set 24-22.

This proved a decisive moment in the match and, buoyed with confidence, the twins punished their opponents in the second set 21-15 to win the championship in just two sets.

CRICKET

AUCKLAND: Led by another man-of-the-match performance from Ben Horne, Kings wasted little time in beating Rosmini by eight wickets to book their place in the semifinals of the one-day championship.

Batting first after winning the toss, Rosmini found few terrors in the Kings' pace attack but the introduction of Horne's spin quickly turned the table.

Backed by two smart runouts and with Horne bagging 4-15 from his 10 overs, Kings dismissed Rosmini for just 109.

With Horne and captain Simon Hickey quickly into stride, Kings knocked off the runs in 21.2 over for the loss of only two wickets.

It was over even quicker at WBHS as Sacred Heart - electing to bat first on a hard and flat pitch and against a Westlake team without two of their recognised fast bowlers - were soon in trouble as Ashley Martinus and 1st X1 debutante Tamati Harris ripped them apart to end their spell with the visitors down and almost out at 36/9. Martinus finished with the outstanding figures of 5-9, Harris 4-23.

Sacred Heart eventually made 50 with only one batsman reaching double figures.

WBHS knocked off the required runs in 11 overs with Simon Middleton unbeaten on 33.

In the other pool A match St Peters beat Macleans by six wickets.

MAGS provided the highlight in pool B beating previously St Kentigern by 20 runs.

That results left MAGS, AGS and St Kentigern tied at the top with one round to play with the three front-runners avoiding each other in Saturday's deciding matches.

Batting first at St Kentigern, MAGS compiled a defendable 256/9 in their 50 overs thanks to useful knocks from Vaidik Raj, Amit Dhadwal and Teja Nidamanuru 53.

Andrew Meyer, with 3-26, was the pick of the St Kentigern attack.

Aware victory would cement their semifinal spot, the home team went on the attack and took heart as Matthew Ellis, Harry Lyford and player of the season Nick Kelly got starts but none were able to push on for a match-winning score as Nidamanuru completed a fine match double with 3-34 giving the visitors the win.

In the battle of the bottom teams - and with both chasing their first points of the season - home advantage proved anything but for Rangitoto who were thumped by Avondale.

Batting first, Rangitoto were dismissed for 109 thanks to a good spell of bowling from Vinay Patel who picked up 5-19.

Avondale then comfortably chased the total down without losing a wicket on the back of a well-crafted unbeaten 72 from Matthew Fraser.

AGS got their season back on track with a 30-run win at KBHS.

Batting first, AGS started solidly bringing up their 50 for the loss of two wickets.

James Parslow batted well for his 67 and in partnerships with Shawn Hicks and Shikar Chaturvedi laid the foundation to launch an attack in the last 10 overs.

That did not eventuate as wickets fell and they managed a modest 180.

Kelston began their chase steadily, conceding only one wicket before drinks but they were soon undone by a fantastic bowling partnership between Jack Driscoll and Jacob Reilly who conceded only 35 runs from their combined 20 overs and put the home side well behind the asking rate.

The innings ended at 151 with Parslow completing a good double with 3-26.

In the Auckland SS representative team named to tour India later in the year, five of the 12 schools are represented with another couple having players on standby.

WAIKATO: Cambridge High School have made a strong start to the new 1A season taking a two-point lead at the top of the table but not before having to battle all the way to get home by four wickets over Matamata College.

Visiting Matamata were in big trouble after electing to bat first on the first day of the two-day game.

Struggling against the inspired bowling from Harlee Overton and youngsters Kieran Carling and Nick Bateman, Matamata were reeling at 42/8 before Brad McKenzie and Taylor Green added 64 for the ninth wicket en route to an eventual 124.

Cambridge began strongly and eventually reached 241/7 by stumps but could add only 19 on the resumption on the second day but still had a handy 136-run lead.

It did not look good for the visitors when they lost a wicket before a run had been scored.

Ciaran O'Malley then joined Taylor Douglas and they added 42 runs. O'Malley went on to score 69 and with several useful contributions they reached 236.

Cambridge then got away well in their run chase with Patrick Tomsett (49) and Caleb Webb (14) having a 66-run opening partnership but the loss of several wickets left them with five runs to score from the last over.

In a match which followed a similar pattern, St John's College got home by five wickets over Morrinsville College.

Led by 85 from captain Jeremy Rout and Jake O'Connor (58), Morrinsville scored 215 with Sam Cooper and Brendan O'Neil taking nine wickets between them for St John's.

In reply St John's, thanks mainly to a century from Sam Watson, took a handy first innings lead of 63.

Batting a second time, Morrinsville, again with Rout leading the way, reached 174 with O'Neil taking his match haul to an impressive 11-118 with 6-43 in the second innings.

Needing 112 to win, St John's got home with five wickets in hand.

Fraser HS and Hamilton BHS Blue are the early pace-setters in the 1B championship but they reached the top of the table in differing circumstances.

While Fraser picked up easy points when Melville defaulted their second round match, Hamilton went on the offensive to beat the St Peter's School 2nd X1 by 176 runs.

The 187 scored by Hamilton in their first innings was hardly imposing but in restricting St Peters to 52/8 declared they pocketed first innings points.

Hamilton BHS then rattled on 125/8 declared, leaving St Peters 261 to win.

They never got close as Stephen Reddin and Shaan Singh-Parhar bagged three wickets each to dismiss them for 84.

The big scoring came in the other match as Mitchell East piled on 142 runs - more than half of his team's total - to get Hamilton BHS Red to a handy 270.

When they then bundled Hillcrest HS out for 79, Hamilton BHS entertained of an early finish and outright points.

That was not to be however as, led by 98 from Josh Edwards, Hillcrest reached 259/6 to restrict Hamilton to just first innings points.

COMING UP

TODAY: Cricket, girls (4pm, home team first), section one, Botany Downs v Rosehill, Kings v St Kentigern, Macleans v McAuley, Glendowie v Pakuranga. Section two, Massey v St Dominics, Onehunga v EGGS, St Cuthberts v MRGS 2, Waitakere v Marist, Rutherford v MRGS 1. North Harbour, Long Bay v TGS 1, Rangitoto v Northcote, TGS 2 v Kristin, WGHS bye.

Softball, (4pm, home team first), EGGS v Green Bay, One Tree Hill v AGGS.

TOMORROW: Multisport, aquathon, St Kentigern College 9.30am.

Orienteering, Auckland SS sprint series, Central/Shore zones, Rosmini College 4.30pm.

Softball, division 11 championships, Rosedale Park 9.15am.

FRIDAY: Volleyball, premier boys, at Manurewa HS, Manurewa v Orewa 4pm, Orewa v Otahuhu 5pm, Otahuhu v Manurewa 6pm. At WBHS, KBHS v Sir Edmund Hillary 4pm, WBHS v Sir Edmund Hillary 5pm, WBHS v KBHS 6pm. At De La Salle, Rangitoto v De la Salle 4pm, Rangitoto v One Tree Hill 5pm, De La Salle v One Tree Hill 6pm.

Water polo, premier girls, Baradene v Marist, Diocesan 6pm, Rangitoto 1 v Diocesan, Diocesan 6.50pm, St Kentigern v WGHS, Millennium 6.20pm, Western Springs v St Cuthberts, West Wave 5.10pm, EGGS v MAGS, West Wave 6pm, Rangitoto 2 bye. Premier boys, MAGS v AGS, Diocesan 5.10pm, Kings v Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart 7.15pm, AGS 2 v WBHS 1, Diocesan 8.30pm, St Kentigern v Northcote, Diocesan 7.40pm, Rangitoto, Kristin byes.

SATURDAY: Cricket, premier A boys one-day matches (11am, home team first), pool A, Kings v St Peters, Sacred Heart v Rosmini, Macleans v WBHS. Pool B, AGS v Rangitoto, MAGS v KBHS, St Kentigern v Avondale. Premier B (12.30pm), pool A, Kings 2nd X1 v St Kentigern 2nd X1, Kristin v MAGS 2nd X1, WBHS 3rd X1 v MRGS. Pool B, WBHS 2nd X1 v Glendowie, Papatoetoe v AGS 2nd X1, TGS v Sancta Maria. Premier colts, pool A, Kings v WBHS, Rosmini v St Kentigern, Stanley Bay, Rangitoto v St Peters. Pool B, AGS v Macleans, Sacred Heart v WBHS 2, KBHS v MAGS.

Volleyball, premier girls, at MRGS, MRGS v Mangere 9a,, Mangere v Long Bay 10am, Long Bay v MRGS 11am. At Green Bay HS, Rangitoto v Green Bay 9am, Manurewa v Green Bay 10am, Manurewa v Rangitoto 11am. At McAuley, Otahuhu v MAGS 9am, Otahuhu v McAuley 10am, MAGS v McAuley 11am.

Water polo, boy's premier, Rangitoto v WBHS, Millennium 12.30pm.

SUNDAY: Water polo, premier girls, Baradene v St Kentigern, Sacred Heart 6.30pm, Rangitoto 2 v St Cuthberts, Diocesan 5.50pm, MAGS v WGHS, West Wave 5.10pm, Marist bye. Premier boys, MAGS v St Kentigern, Sacred Heart 7.20pm, AGS 1 v Sacred Heart, Sacred Heart 8.10pm, Kristin v WBHS 1, Millennium 8.30pm, Kings, AGS 2 byes.

MONDAY: Softball, premier boys (4pm), Green Bay v Massey, Starling Park, Sacred Heart v MAGS, Sacred Heart, St Peters v MRGS, Simpson Park.

TUESDAY: Touch, North Harbour, all Hato Petera College, boys, A grade (5.30pm), Rangitoto v WBHS 2, Whangaparaoa v Mahurangi, WBHS 1 bye. Girls (5.30), Mahurangi v WGHS, Whangaparaoa v Carmel, Rangitoto bye. Mixed (4.30pm), pool A, Kristin v Northcote, Mahurangi v Whangaparaoa, TGS v Birkenhead. Pool B, Kaipara v Long Bay, KingsWay v TKKM O Te Raki Paewhenua, Orewa v Albany SH. Eastern, all Macleans College, boys, pool A (5.30pm), One Tree Hill v St Kents 1, Sacred Heart 2 v Pakuranga, St Kents 2 v Macleans 1. Pool B (4.30pm), Edgewater v Sacred Heart 1, Howick v Tamaki, Macleans 2 v Botany Downs. Girls (4pm), Howick v Macleans 1, One Tree Hill v Botany Downs, St Kents 2 v Pakuranga, Macleans 2 v St Kents 1, Edgewater v Tamaki. (5pm), Botany Downs v Macleans 1, One Tree Hill v Macleans 2, St Kents 2 v Edgewater, Pakuranga v St Kents 1. Mixed, Howick v Sancta Maria 4.30pm, Selwyn v Botany Downs 4.30pm, Macleans v Glendowie 5.30pm. Southern, all House Park), boys, section one (4.30pm), Tangaroa Mixed v Southern Cross Mixed, Mangere v TKKM O Mangere, Kings v Tangaroa, Papatoetoe bye. Section two (4pm), De La Salle v Sir Edmund Hillary, Otahuhu v Mangere Mixed, Southern Cross v Aorere. Girls (4pm), Otahuhu v Southern Cross, Sir Edmund Hillary v Papatoetoe, TKKM O Mangere v Aorere. Counties, all , Bruce Pullman Park, boys (4.15pm), Alfriston A v Pukekohe, James Cook v Manurewa B, Papakura v Alfriston B, TWKO Manurewa v Manurewa A. (5.15pm), Alfriston B v Manurewa A, James Cook v TWKO Manurewa, Manurewa B v Alfriston A, Pukekohe v Papakura. Western, all Massey High, boys (4.30pm), Avondale v Green Bay, KBHS 2 v Liston, Massey 2 v Rutherford, Waitakere v Massey 1, Massey Mixed bye. Girls (4pm), KGHS v Avondale, Rutherford v Waitakere, Massey 2 v St Doms 1, St Doms 2 v Massey 1. (5pm), Avondale v Massey 1, Massey 2 v St Doms 2, St Doms 1 v Rutherford, Waitakere v KGHS.

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