KEY POINTS:
The Muriwai crew of Andrew Lancaster and Ashley Matuschka, in their first season at the top level, won the top premier title at the New Zealand IRB Championships at Warrington Beach, Dunedin, at the weekend.
They came into the top class after winning the senior title last year and scored consistently in the tube, mass, assembly and single races.
The pair finished on 21 points, just two clear of their closest rivals from Fitzroy - Jaron Mumby and Chris Scott, who have dominated since 2003.
The Mumby/Scott combination inexplicably failed to make the final of the tube rescue race on the first day and had to play catch-up from the start.
The premier competition was so close that four different crews won gold in each of the four disciplines.
Paekakariki's Brent Harvey and Richard Whinham won the tube rescue with East End's Andrew Cronin and Rory O'Connor taking the mass rescue on Saturday.
Mumby and Scott claimed the assembly rescue in the first discipline yesterday with the Wainui pair of Justin Martin and Nathan Teutenberg winning the single rescue race.
Racing was so demanding that the final premier points were decided only in the last race.
"The key to that was not one crew was dominant with the conditions playing a part," said New Zealand Surf Lifesaving sport manager Mark Weatherall.
The spread of success pleased the officials. "It also showed that it is very competitive at the top level," said Weatherall.
"Chris (Scott) and Jaron (Mumby) Fitzroy are being pushed really hard, which is exciting from the sport's point of view. These two have been very dominant in previous years."
