Devils delighted with gutsy draw [Marloborough Express]

Retaining the shield was all that mattered to Marlborough and most of the 600-plus who turned up to watch, and the result was important at a time when the identity of the Red Devils jersey was increasingly in danger of sliding into obscurity without a meaningful competition to play in.

There was no mistaking the delight on the Marlborough players' and coaches' faces when the final whistle went and all involved in the successful three-week campaign can rest easy during the summer, knowing they have kept the great traditions of this coveted old trophy alive.

The scoreline in a tryless match was something out of the 1960s and the game was also a bit like that – hard fought and close all the way, without much flow.

Red Devils skipper and No 8 Reyne Volavola summed up his team's feelings at the end when he said, "This is what we've been looking forward to all year – this game, this match-up. It may not have been a win, but we keep the shield and that's all we were worried about. We're bloody stoked."

Marlborough's greater organisation and cohesiveness up front and perhaps some Nelson Bays over-confidence, thinking they had the game won before they did, were key factors in the shield being retained.

Nelson Bays created most of the try-scoring opportunities, but through a combination of errors, staunch defence and wrong options, were unable to convert any of them. Playing with a strong northwesterly favouring them in the first half, Marlborough almost scored from the kickoff when Nelson Bays halfback Kaide Whiting threw a wayward pass.

Two Daniel Hawkins penalties gave Marlborough a 6-0 lead by the seventh minute, but a fumbled kickoff from the second resulted in a penalty to Nelson Bays fullback Andrew Letham.

Nelson Bays then turned down a shot at goal inside Marlborough's 22, Whiting electing for a quick tap which did not net any points.

Hawkins landed his third penalty from as many attempts 23 minutes into the match, then the challengers squandered another scoring opportunity.

Lock Jarrod Aberhart ignored two unmarked players outside him deep in Marlborough's 22, only to be tackled and the move stopped. The game hardly got out of first gear in the first spell, with referee Liam Scanlon constantly resetting scrums and both teams committing too many errors.

Marlborough led by just six turning into the wind and Nelson Bays closed the gap to 6-9 four minutes after the restart from a Letham penalty goal.

However, they should have been ahead before that.

Flanker Willis Scott made a scorching run towards the posts, but dropped the ball on the line which summed up the visitors day. Just when it looked as if it was only a matter of time before Nelson Bays took the lead, Marlborough's forwards found another gear, muscled up and worked very well as a unit retaining possession.

Their main point of backline attack was via the mid-field duo of Onolevu Temo and Fo'ou Tiueti, both invariably making it over the advantage line when they took the ball up.

Midway through the second half came the turning point of the match. Nelson Bays hammered away at Marlborough's try-line, but the defence held, helped by opposition handling errors and eventually a penalty allowed the Red Devils to clear.

Letham landed a third penalty to tie the scores 11 minutes from fulltime.

Nelson Bays had a final golden opportunity to win.

Hot on attack and winning multiple phases under the posts, they had a perfect opportunity for a field goal. However, once again the Devils' superb defence held, Nelson Bays conceded a penalty and were marched 10 metres for backchat. Marlborough hung onto the ball over the closing minutes and wound down the clock to retain the shield.

Prop Fetu Ieremia, lock Stu Campbell, flanker Daniel Crockett and Volavola were at the heart of an outstanding forward pack and prop Tim Perry's scrummaging ability caused Nelson Bays plenty of grief. The Red Devils backs defended well for the most part and, even though there were few try-scoring opportunities for the home team, no-one cared as long as the shield was retained.

Marlborough coach Steve Crockett and his assistant Peter Jones were proud of their charges' performance. Crockett said a match preview he read in the Nelson Mail suggested Marlborough's best hope of winning was their pride and passion they had for the red jersey.

He agreed that was a telling factor in the end but said, "There was a bit more to it than that. We had to be organised and in the end we showed the sort of structure we needed to work away at.

"In the second half, they just needed to hang onto the ball and they did. They just stuck to it."

Standout for Nelson Bays was their strong running, hard tackling No8 Jake Cooley, with hooker James Mei strong with ball in hand. However, the error rate and Marlborough's tenacity mean the Seddon Shield stays safe in Marlborough for another summer.Scores: Marlborough 9 (Daniel Hawkins 3 pens) Nelson Bays 9 (Andrew Letham 3 pens). Halftime 9-3 Marlborough.

- The Marlborough Express