2005 Oceania Petanque Championships

Rotorua Petanque Club, New Zealand

New Zealand Team

Men:

Tony Chin, Allan Fletcher, Christian Fouquet, Andrew Joe, David Lippard, Andre Noel, Charles Peni, Chris Priestley, Niau Ruta, Georgio Vakauta, Dirk Winnie

 

Women:

Fiona Brown, Sharon Cannon, Margret Fleck, Anita Fletcher, Jane Gilbert, Barbara Johnston, Laurel Priestley, Bethne Rouse, Aussie Samuel

Results

Georgio Vakauta: 2nd Mens Singles

Georgio Vakauta, Niau Ruta: 1st Mens Doubles

Georgio Vakauta, Niau Ruta, Christian Fouquet: 1st Mens Triples

Barbara Johnston, Margret Fleck, Fiona Browne: 3rd Womens Triples

Niau Ruta: 1st Mens Pointing

Chris Priestley: 3rd Mens Pointing

Anita Fletcher: 1st Womens Pointing

Sharon Cannon: 1st Womens Shooting

Bethne Rouse: 3rd Womens Shooting

Overall Results:

1st: New Zealand; 2nd Tahiti; 3rd: New Caledonia; 4th: Australia; 5th: Wallis & Futuna

Reports

Vakauta takes petanque silver medal

Craig Tiriana, Rotorua Daily Post, 4.2.05

 

Georgio Vakauta couldn't get the smile off his face last night. The Aucklander and owner of nine New Zealand titles had just secured the country's first men's Oceania Petanque Tournament medal when he lost out to new singles champion Henry Maere of Tahiti.

 

"This is the best feeling, representing your country and with silver on your chest," Vakauta told the Daily Post through his beaming smile after an enthralling final on the Government Gardens terrain. Maere won the encounter 15-7, pulling away over the final stages with precision throwing which the Kiwi valiantly tried to match. "I'm over the moon. I'm a little disappointed it couldn't be gold but I'm happy with silver. I gave it my best shot," Vakauta said.

 

His silver gave the New Zealand association a full house of Oceania medals, a task which has taken almost eight years. Denise Bavidge secured the first, a women's singles bronze, in 2000 while Barabara Johnston won that title in 2002. Johnston didn't fare so well yesterday, knocked out early on with Auckland's Anita Fletcher going the furthest among the Kiwi women. The Herne Bay representative got through to the quarter-finals before being bundled out by Caroline Turi of New Caledonia.

 

Vakauta carried the hopes of gold for the Kiwis but despite giving his all, he lost to Tahiti's top men's player, Henry Maere 15-7. In keeping with the friendly spirit of the competition the two players embraced when the final point was scored. Maere then let out a hearty scream, raising both fists in triumph before being swarmed by his proud teammates.

 

Minutes later the scene was repeated as Antionette Te Taira triumphed over her countrywoman Celestine Tapeta 15-10 to take the women's final. The Tahatians have dominated the biennial Oceania event, winning two of the three previous tournaments to date and their association president Raymond Teremate was warmed by the opening day's results.

 

"This is a very encouraging result but most important, competitions are still coming and we want to win the overall title ... To win the overall we need some more wins like that," he said through an interpreter. This event is Tahiti's last before they join the world championships for the first time and Teremate said they were determined to take some winning form into that venture. "To win here will show they will be going to the world championships not just to take part."

 

Australia picked up two medals with Pierre Bommarito and Danielle Grancourt winning the play-offs for bronze over Daniel Tcheou and Caroline Turi respectively. New Caledonia and the Wallis and Futuna Islands did not get on the podium yesterday.

 

Play is scheduled to continue today with the Pointing and Shooting competitions and the first round of doubles before Saturday's finals. The triples will be contested on Sunday.

 

Cannon fires on time in shootout

Craig Tiriana, Rotorua Daily Post, 5.2.05

 

Everyone and everything is still as gentle music drifts across the terrain while a sole competitor, boule in hand, eyes a distant target.

 

With a flip of the hand and a underarm toss the boule is sent on its way, the collision with another between six and seven metres away breaks the noise and the crowd come back to life with high fives and cheers galore.

 

This is petanque's version of a shootout, possibly even one-day cricket, where the best players in Oceania were testing their shooting and pointing skills against one and other in Rotorua's Government Garden Terrain yesterday.

 

When Napier's Sharon Cannon lobbed her second of three boules during the women's final yesterday she came up with the pressure shot, dislodging a boule hidden behind another in a target circle seven metres away to score two points and take New Zealand's second gold medal at this level.

 

Fellow Kiwi Bethne Rouse completed the good effort by the host women, picking up the bronze while Anna Metaua of New Caledonia gained silver.

 

The host's second day effort was rewarded with a rousing haka from their teammates following the playing of the national anthem as the two Kiwis stood draped in their medals on the victory dais.

 

The men's shooting title went to New Caledonia's 16-year-old Mike Deplanque with Wallis and Futuna Islander Vitolio Tauvale picking up second before he and his teammates left for Auckland to catch a plane home via Vanuatu today. Robert Tumg of Tahiti finished third before play was abandoned with the pointing halfway through due to heavy rain.

 

Play is scheduled to continue today with pointing and the doubles competition while the triples titles and overall winners will be decided on Sunday.

 

Results:

Men's shooting: Mike Deplanque (New Caledonia), Vitolio Tauvale (Wallis and Futuna Island), Robert Tumg (Tahiti).

Women's shooting: Sharon Cannon (New Zealand), Anna Moetaua (New Caledonia), Bethne Rouse (New Zealand).

 

Kiwis topple Oceania petanque superpowers

Craig Tiriana, Rotorua Daily Post, 7.2.05

 

Petanque New Zealand enjoyed their greatest moment in their 11-year existence when they won the Oceania Tournament for the first time last night in Rotorua. In a stellar weekend of quality international play by the hosts on the Rotorua Petanque Club's Government Gardens terrain, the Kiwis - ranked third coming into the fourth biennial event - upset the traditional strongholds of Tahiti and New Caledonia in securing five gold medals and the overall title. Previous to the 2005 competition New Zealand had only won one gold medal at this level and the latest results had chief executive Graeme Morris excited for the fledgling sport's future.

 

"We've always been trailing New Caledonia and Tahiti but we've knocked the other two countries off the perch ... We'll be put on the map as a sport perhaps," he told The Daily Post after the Kiwi men secured the triples title last night. The triple of Georgio Vakauta, Niau Ruta and Christian Fouquet were on song in beating the New Caledonians 15-7 in a high class display.

 

"Last time [2002] we won our first gold now we've leapt ahead - there's a lot of petanque history amongst those countries," Morris said.

 

On Saturday, the hosts had set up the overall result taking gold in the men's doubles courtesy of Vakauta and Ruta 13-12 win over New Caledonia while Fouquet and Anita Fletcher headed the pointing disciplines to add to Sharron Cannon's shooting gold from Friday. In total New Zealand won nine medals - five gold, two silver and two bronze - a huge improvement on their one gold and one bronze in the past.

 

Morris said the performances of the host squad also vindicated their new selection policy - now controlled by a selection panel - and the appointment of Michael Emerson to the role of national coach last year. The Kiwis also showed a liking for the picturesque Rotorua venue where they had intimate knowledge of the pumice surface after holding their selection and training camps there.

 

The next international assignment for the New Zealanders is March's Pan Pacific Games in Vietnam. Following that event comes a Trans Tasman showdown in May followed by September's World Championships in Brussels.

 

Results of day four of the Oceania Petanque Tournament in Rotorua:

Triples:

Men: New Zealand 15, New Caledonia 7; play-off for bronze Tahiti 13, Tahiti 3

Women: New Caledonia 15, New Zealand 8; play-off for bronze Australia 13, Tahiti 12

 

Overall standings:

New Zealand 1st (5 gold), Tahiti 2nd (3 gold) and New Caledonia 3rd (2 gold)

 

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