The North Otago Rugby Football Union

North Otago Rugby Football Union

The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...

 were the third-place team in the 2008 Heartland Championship

Heartland Championship

The Heartland Championship New Zealand Division One competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition,...

 after winning the Meads Cup

Meads Cup

The Meads Cup is a rugby cup named after the All Black Colin Meads. It is a cup played for in New Zealand between provincial rugby teams. The Meads Cup is played for during the Heartland Championship...

 in 2007.

North Otago's 2008 season livery is supplied by Samurai Sportswear

Samurai Sportswear

Samurai International Sportswear Limited is a privately owned English sports company specialising in the manufacturing of bespoke team wear sports apparel as well as the supply of equipment...

 

2008 Pool Games

North Otago are to play Auckland for the Ranfurly Shield on 22 July, in Oamaru

Week	Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team	Score	Venue
RS	22 July	2:05	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	3	Auckland Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...	113	Oamaru Oamaru Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
HS	August		North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...		Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union...		Ashburton Ashburton, New Zealand Ashburton is a town and district in the Canterbury Region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the third-largest centre in Canterbury, after Christchurch and Timaru. The area around Ashburton is frequently referred to as Mid Canterbury, which is also the name of the...
1	23 August	2:30	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	32	Horowhenua-Kapiti Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union -Representative Rugby:The Horowhenua-Kapiti team play from Levin Domain, Levin and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 6th qualifiers for the Championship as they were runner-ups in the 3rd division in 2005....	11	Oamaru Oamaru Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
2	30 August	2:30	West Coast West Coast Rugby Football Union The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....	9	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	15	Greymouth Greymouth Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
3	06 September	2:30	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	10	South Canterbury South Canterbury Rugby Football Union The South Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play from Alpine Energy Stadium located in Timaru.-History:...	18	Oamaru Oamaru Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
4	13 September	2:30	Buller Buller Rugby Football Union The Buller Rugby Union is a rugby province based in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The Buller provincial boundary also includes other notable towns such as Reefton, Karamea, Granity, Charleston, Punakaiki and Murchison .-History:Buller was formed in 1894...	18	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	22	Westport Westport, New Zealand -Economy:Economic activity is based around fishing, coal mining and dairy farming. Historically, gold mining was a major industry, and coal mining was much more extensive than today . However, the region still is home to New Zealand's largest opencast mining operation in Stockton...
5	20 September	2:30	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	44	Wairarapa Bush Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairarapa Rugby Football Union and Bush Rugby Football Union....	19	Oamaru Oamaru Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...

• RS=Ranfurly Shield, HS=Hanan Shield

Horowhenua-Kapiti

North Otago started off their 2008 Heartland Championship

2008 Heartland Championship

The 2008 Heartland Championship was a provincial rugby union competition involving 12 teams from New Zealand split into two pools. Matches started on Saturday 23 August 2008 and ended with the final on 25 October....

 season with a 32-11 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti

Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union

-Representative Rugby:The Horowhenua-Kapiti team play from Levin Domain, Levin and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 6th qualifiers for the Championship as they were runner-ups in the 3rd division in 2005....

 in Oamaru

Oamaru

Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...

. It was Ross Hay's

Ross Hay

Ross Hay is a NZ rugby union player currently playing for the Heartland Championship team North Otago.- References :...

 100th match for the Turbines and it became Nathan Cunningham's 50th game when he replaced Mike Mavor in the second half. North Otago started the game slowly but managed to go to the break ahead 15-6. The second half was a different story for North Otago, as they pulled away from Horowhenua-Kapiti

Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union

-Representative Rugby:The Horowhenua-Kapiti team play from Levin Domain, Levin and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 6th qualifiers for the Championship as they were runner-ups in the 3rd division in 2005....

 and picked up a bonus point in their 32-11 Round One win.


(North Otago 32-Hamish McKenzie 2, Mike Mavor, Matt Clutterbuck tries
Horowhenua Kapiti 11-Aloe try, 2 pen)

West Coast

North Otago travelled to Rugby Park, Greymouth for their round two clash with West Coast

West Coast Rugby Football Union

The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....

. After a solid first half from both teams, North Otago managed to hold a halftime lead of 10-6. Very littled separated the teams in the second half but after a late serge from West Coast

West Coast Rugby Football Union

The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....

 it looked as if the game could have gone to either side, but it was North Otago that held on for the 15-9 win.


(North Otago 15-Tuataina Samisoni, Samisoni TongoTongo tries, Pale Tuilagi penalty, conversion
West Coast 9-Corey Simpson 2 penalties, drop goal)

South Canterbury

North Otago suffered their first loss of their 2008 Heartland Championship when they went down 18-10 to South Canterbury, in Oamaru. North Otago failed to take their chances as South Canterbury defended all day and held North Otago out to take the win. (North Otago 10-Jeremy Te Huia try, Pale Tuilagi con, pen
South Canterbury 18-Malakai Fonua 2 tries, Luke Reihana con, Scott Norton 2 pen)

Buller

North Otago continued their push for the Meads Cup after beating Buller 22-18 in Westport. The win put North Otago into second position in pool A, behind West Coast. (North Otago 22-Mike Mavor, Ekeroma Sifo, Josh Collier tries, Pale Tuilagi 2 con, pen

Buller 18-Mitieli Kaloudigibecki, Simon Lloyd tries, Nathan Thompson con, 2 pen)

Wararapa-Bush

North Otago put together their best performance so far this season with a comfortable win over Wararapa-Bush in Oamaru. North Otago led 10-7 at half-time, but it was an exciting second half that saw North Otago's lead extended. 8 minutes into the second half Ross Hay charged down Cash Lafaele's clearing kick, gathering the ball up on the bounce to cross the line. North Otago held the led throughout the second half despite a late charge from Wairarapa-Bush. Lemi Masoe was at his best, scoring two tries, while Pale Tuilagi proved his worth by not missing a kick all game. (North Otago 44-Lemi Masoe 2, Ross Hay, Samisoni Tongo Tongo, Jone Paumau tries Pale Tuilagi 5 con, 3 pen
Wairarapa Bush 19-Charles Walker-Blair, Junior Togia, Paeto Lafaele tries Paddy Rimene 2 con)

Meads Cup

Week	Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team	Score	Venue
6		2:05	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...		King Country King Country Rugby Football Union The King Country Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located in the central North Island of New Zealand...		Oamaru Oamaru Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
7 HS			North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	11	Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union...	15	Ashburton Ashburton, New Zealand Ashburton is a town and district in the Canterbury Region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the third-largest centre in Canterbury, after Christchurch and Timaru. The area around Ashburton is frequently referred to as Mid Canterbury, which is also the name of the...
8		2:30	Wanganui Wanganui Rugby Football Union The Wanganui Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Wanganui region of New Zealand. The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed in 1888....	19	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	8	Wanganui Wanganui Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
9		1:35	Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union...	38	North Otago North Otago Rugby Football Union The North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...	24	Ashburton Ashburton, New Zealand Ashburton is a town and district in the Canterbury Region on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the third-largest centre in Canterbury, after Christchurch and Timaru. The area around Ashburton is frequently referred to as Mid Canterbury, which is also the name of the...

• HS=Hanan Shield

Forwards

• Toetuu Hausia
• Lotu Tonga
• John Blakely
• Tobias Sekona
• Fraser Fletcher
• Aisake Fonua
• Taua Limuloa(Tahaafe)
• Marc Comb
• Sione Aho
• Samisoni Tongotongo
• Ross Hay
• Viliami Leo
• Joe Mamea(c)

Backs

• Hamish McKenzie
• Nick Webster
• Jeremy Te Huia
• Nathan Cunningham
• Ekeroma Sefo
• Siaosi Folau
• Chris Talanoa
• Tim Milmine
• Mike Penn.