Very little joy for our Pennant teams on Sunday with only the Bissett Shield team making the play-offs. At Howick they beat Pukekohe 5.5-2.5 (wins to James Kim, James Ashwin, Scott Robertson, Dell Bain and James Eng - plus Matthew Cormack's half. As a result they fell just 0.5pt short of heading off Titirangi for direct passage to the final. They now play Akarana (for the second year running) for a place in the final. This match will be played at Pakuranga on May 12th.
The Presidents team lost 3-5 to Titirangi (wins to Jaime Lansi, Karl Jorgensen & Finlay McKechnie) resulted in them finishing 4th - a very creditable result for a team that had many forced changes due to unavailability. For the Vice Presidents it was a major disappointment - they lost 0-8 to Whitford Park at Whitford and slumped from mid-table to last (and possibly relegated). A bad day at the "office" for everyone.
Inter Club II went into the final round in last place and secured it with a 0.5-7.5 loss to Maungakiekie. A season where nothing went right but it seems they are keen to do better in 2020. One suspects that may not be hard! Inter Club III lost 2.5-5.5 to Formosa at Howick and finished mid-table. They may be joined in Division III next year by the Inter Club II team. A review of the Pennant structure is scheduled for mid-year which will determine who plays where in 2020.
Thanks to all the players who gave up their early Sunday mornings this year - it is a real commitment and we appreciate your efforts. Let's all get in behind the Bissett team and their semi-final against Akarana next month.