Inter-Base 2007: A Tournament to Remember

AC Richie Staunton

 Auckland and Ohakea. FLTLT Adrian Grey with the kick for Auckland. AK-07-0436-40-tn.jpg.

Inter-base rugby 2007 will be remembered for a long time! Looking at last year’s tournament, where Auckland ran wild and comfortably buried both Ohakea and Woodbourne, you wouldn’t blame people for expecting much of the same in 2007. However, somebody forgot to tell the Magpies and the Ligers…

Day 1. Auckland vs. Ohakea

The first ten minutes of this game were fierce. Auckland were doing all they could to cross Ohakea’s line. There were huge hits coming from both teams and play rarely left Ohakea’s 22 metre. Sean Rogers managed to burst over for Auckland but desperate defence kept the ball from being grounded. So Auckland continued to hammer away and Ohakea continued to throw themselves into every tackle. They were doing too much defending and were expected to crack soon, but they would not give up and they held on to a 0-0 score until half time, despite Auckland having five penalty attempts at goal.

At the half time break both teams got a rev up and the crowd began to wonder whether or not Auckland would win.

With the second half underway it was much the same as the first but Ohakea was starting to find some territory through some good tactical kicking from halfback Charlie Beetham and first five Deane Wilson. They went close to scoring a couple of times but Auckland held out. Finally in the 76th minute Ohakea gave away a close range penalty which Adrian Grey calmly slotted to give Auckland a 3-0 lead with time nearly up. A last gasp dropped goal attempt by Deane Wilson just waved away and Auckland came away the winners.

Day 2. Ohakea vs. Woodbourne

After Ohakea’s narrow loss to Auckland many people were expecting them to trample Woodbourne. That idea was dismissed when Woodbourne’s White Rhino, Charger Mockford, crashed over early on to give them a 7-0 lead. But Ohakea hit back quickly with a try of their own to level the scores 7-7. Some sharp hands through the Woody backs allowed them to cross again and snatch the lead back. Just as Ohakea started to look dangerous again, the White Rhino struck, picking up a loose ball and stampeding across the line to give Woodbourne a 19-7 halftime lead.

Ohakea and Woodbourne. FGOFF Andrew Mockford of Woodbourne makes for the tryline. AK-07-0436-59-tn.jpg.

The halftime break went in the favour of Ohakea, as it interrupted Woodbourne’s momentum and the second stanza proved it. Woodbourne were quiet and Ohakea were able to claw back the lead through a couple of good tries and a penalty to lead 22-19. Woodbourne looked finished but some good defence in the final stages meant that the Magpies could not extend their lead.

With the Ligers fighting hard they were awarded a long distance penalty, but some foul play by Ohakea meant they were marched an extra 10 metres and the goal became kickable. Randall Walker stepped up to cut the posts in half and make it a 22-22 draw and set up an exciting final between Woodbourne and Auckland.

Day 3. The final. Auckland vs. Woodbourne

Auckland started this game well and scored a very early try to Gabe Akai off a good driving maul. It was then expected that they would run away with the game but Woodbourne weren’t accepting that very easily. The teams slogged away with both having opportunities but not quite finishing. With time nearly up in the first half Auckland made good use of a big blind-side to score again and take the halftime lead to 12-0.

The second half was much like the first, no one was giving up. Again, there were opportunities for both sides but they weren’t taken until some quick hands gave the Flying Fijian, Dayne Mozel, who has never played rugby before this year, some space and it was all he needed to step his way under the posts. With the conversion successful the score went to 19-0, where it remained for the rest of the game.

So there you have it. It was a tournament not to be forgotten with Auckland coming out on top, Ohakea earning the runner up spot for the first time in years and Woodbourne taking the wooden spoon. It was an awesome tournament and I expect it will be hotly contested again next year.

Thanks very much to all the players, coaches, managers, support crew and especially to those guys from Auckland who helped organise and set things up. Cheers!