The sun was shining again at Ongley Park today as the ZM Masters National Touch Championship continued to build towards Tuesday's finals.
Canterbury followed up yesterday's strong performance with another hattrick of wins today to assert their authority on the Over 30 Mens grade. Their biggest challenge look to be the North Harbour team that had a similarly flawless day. Yesterday Harbour let Canterbury get away to a lead in the first half of their round game and couldn't quite catch up; if they meet in the final tomorrow they will need to be 'on' from the first minute.
With the powerhouse Auckland team dominating the Over 40s grade, the pressure is on to see which contender will meet them in the final. Kapiti Horowhenua look most likely at this stage but with Auckland defeating them 11-1 to close out the day, it will be a mighty effort for the underdogs to make an impact.
Counties Manukau and Wellington are also in the mix to make the Final and the Semi Finals tomorrow morning could yet provide a number of surprises.
The likely preview of tomorrow's Over 30 Womens Final took place this morning and it was a matter of Canterbury taking the momentum from their North Harbour rivals. The Cantabrians were too strong all over the field and after gaining a 4-0 lead into halftime there was no coming back for Harbour. The teams may end up playing each-other twice tomorrow and Harbour will be out to find a chink in Canterbury's armour.
Bay of Plenty remained unstoppable today in the OVer 30 Mixed, serving up two more wins against Wellington and Taranaki. The results of the grade followed a similar pattern to yesterday with Wellington getting the better of Taranki but unable to trouble Bay of Plenty and their team that is stacked with New Zealand representative players.
Canterbury lead the Over 50s but Counties Manukau and North Harbour are snapping at their heals and the grade is wide open. The highlight of the day's play was Canterbury and Counties 7-7 draw with both teams giving their all in an enteraining match-up. In an intriguing scenario Harbour got the better of Counties earlier in the tournament but were soundly beaten 6-1 by Canterbury at the close of the day. More surprises will come tomorrow as the three teams jockey for finals spots.
Last Modified on 28/02/2012 08:48