MSP Internationals

MSP Internationals Match Report

MSPI 26 vs Wellington Axemen “Got You Uso” 37
Venue: Macallister Park
Date: 02 May 2026
Weather: Beautiful
Temperature: Warm

Training

With Head Coach Booza absent from Wednesday’s training session due to HR matters, the remaining coaching staff led the team through their preparation, focusing on executing the game plan and building cohesion.

First Half

Due to an ongoing referee shortage in the Wellington region, Reserve Grade teams are required to supply their own officials. With no volunteers from GY Uso, Coach Turtle stepped up to take the whistle and handled the inevitable sideline commentary with resilience.

With traffic delays affecting the match build-up, kickoff was pushed back by 20 minutes—an unsettling start to what promised to be an exciting fixture.

“Get on with it, boys!”

MSPI elected to play with the wind at their backs. GYU kicked off but failed to reach 10 metres, and the Internationals opted for a scrum to launch their opening attack. Several phases looked promising before a turnover allowed GYU to counter and score early.
7–0

MSPI responded with controlled phase play and were rewarded with a scrum inside the opposition 22. A well-executed set piece saw the midfield punch through to score under the posts.
7–7

GYU quickly regained momentum, playing with flair and width to score again.
14–7

The Internationals struggled in the lineout—normally a key strength—which handed GYU valuable possession and momentum.

At the 20-minute mark, a seasoned veteran with over 200 Premier games entered the field, providing a noticeable lift in energy and leadership.

Frustration grew when a clear MSPI try went unawarded, with the referee instead calling a lineout. A lack of confidence from the touch judge contributed to the decision—one that proved costly.

Against the run of play, GYU intercepted inside their own 22 and scored under the posts.
21–7

Moments later, weak defensive reads from MSPI allowed GYU to extend their lead further.
26–7

Despite the scoreline, the Internationals showed resilience. Sustained attacking phases led to a deserved try by “Dom the Vegetarian,” closing the gap going into halftime.
Half-time: 26–12

Second Half

Following a stern halftime address from Coach Booza, the Internationals returned with renewed intensity and defensive resolve.

Although the restart didn’t travel far, MSPI’s defence tightened significantly, applying pressure and slowing GYU’s attack.

However, ongoing lineout issues continued to disrupt attacking opportunities.

MSPI maintained possession and built sustained pressure. Executing their principles effectively—go forward, support, continuity, and pressure—Batesy finished a strong blindside move to reduce the deficit.
26–17

Momentum continued to shift. After forcing errors from GYU, MSPI attacked relentlessly, eventually leading to Adam Perkins scoring in the corner.
26–24

With 7 minutes remaining, MSPI took the lead and looked in control.
26–24

However, a critical lapse followed. A scrum inside the MSPI 22 saw GYU’s No. 8 break off and score under the posts.
29–26

In the closing minutes, while MSPI pressed hard, GYU capitalised on an intercepted pass, running 50 metres to seal the game.
Final Score: 37–26



Post-Match Reflection

From a high-level perspective, there are encouraging signs:

Several players delivered standout performances
The team showed the ability to apply sustained pressure
Strong attacking phases demonstrated the potential within the squad
However, ex*****on errors and key moments ultimately cost the game.

Focus for this week:

Better alignment
Improved training intensity
Fixing critical errors while building on positives
Special Mentions

Two new debutants
Turtle for once again refereeing under pressure
Stick for stepping away from the “brainstrust” to focus on playing (and a potential foot modelling career)
Man of the Match

Dom “The Vegetarian Clown”

Extras No One Asked For

Sideline experts providing insightful commentary on:

Offside calls
Knock-ons
Head-high tackles
Final Note

Referee shortage is real—step up and get involved:

📞 0800 REFEREE
“Keep Wellington rugby moving”

Mike “Stickman” Bridges – BT

Mike is stepping down from the Brains Trust.

What he’s done for this team is hard to overstate.

He helped shape the identity of the Internationals, from our kit and off-field standards, to building a social media presence that set the benchmark. He brought energy, ideas, and people into this group that have had a lasting impact.

A big part of where we are today comes from his work behind the scenes.

He’s not going anywhere, still part of the team and still involved, just stepping back from the BT role.

Appreciate everything you’ve done, mate.

We’ve completed interviews for his replacement and will be making an announcement soon.

MSP Internationals Match Report
MSPI 17 vs Para-Plim Punters 42
Venue: Kilbirnie Park 3
Date: 18 April 2026
Weather: Wet, windy and miserable
Temperature: Mild
Reporter: David "Turtle" Isaia
Training & Match Review – Internationals vs Punters

Training on Wednesday focused on revisiting the basic fundamentals of the game and how the Internationals planned to implement their shape.

First Half

After winning the toss, the Internationals elected to play with the wind at their backs. The plan was to use the conditions to kick for territory and pressure the Punters into making mistakes in their own half. The Internationals kicked off but unfortunately kicked the ball out on the full, which handed early momentum to the Punters.

Despite playing into a strong wind, the Punters kept the ball in hand and played effectively within the tramlines. Poor defensive efforts from the Internationals allowed the Punters to dominate, making it a tough watch for the loyal supporters in difficult weather conditions. By the 20 minute mark, the Punters had secured the bonus point with several well-executed team tries.

The Internationals did manage to respond with a close range try by Jack under the posts, offering a brief glimmer of hope. However, overall, the first half lacked positives and was arguably one of the poorest first half performances in MSPI history.

Half-time score: 27–7

Second Half

Now playing into the wind, the Internationals showed more pride and began the half with improved intent. They held possession for extended periods, but strong Punters defense prevented the MSPI forwards from consistently getting over the gain line.

The Punters were penalised regularly and had a player sent to the sin bin. However, they used the wind well to pin the Internationals in their own half and continued to add points through structured team tries.

Late in the match, the Internationals managed to put together a well-worked try by Adam to finish the game on a positive note and regain some much-needed pride.

Insider Info – Team Chat Edition

According to the team chat experts, we actually played most of the rugby… just forgot the part where you score points. Unfortunately, we also gave away too many points too quickly, which meant the game was basically over before everyone finished warming up.

Effort wasn’t the problem — connection was. In the second half, when we finally clicked, we suddenly looked like a completely different team. Amazing what happens when people are on the same page.

Right now, some lads are doing two or three jobs, others aren’t sure what job they’ve got, and a few are just hoping no one notices. Not an individual issue — just a group alignment problem (very coach-like wording).

The solution is simple: we all need to turn up together and actually get it right.

Immediately after this message… multiple people left the chat.

So, it’s back to the drawing board for the Brains Trust. Plenty not to like, plenty to work on, and absolutely no shortage of opinions as we head into the bye round. Expect lots of chat, big plans, and hopefully a much sharper version of the team before the clash with the Axemen.

Fulltime score: 42-12

Special mention:

3 new debutants
- Wisley "Gypsy" Noro
- Josh "Please Stay" Hunter
- Ah "Spray" Men

Turtle for refereeing the fixture
Supporters for braving the elements

Man of the match:
Stick

Defeat against a solid punters outfit 🃏

Shout out to 3 more debutants 🍋‍🟩

We regroup over ANZAC as a number of lads hit Super Round or the Wahs 🦸‍♂️🍻

Punters up next 🎰

6 changes to the XV with a broken hand 🖖, a melon knee 🍈 and cowboy shiner 🐼 amongst it.

Key early season work ons include catching 🧺 and English 🤴🏼

Back by popular demand

MSP Internationals Match Report
MSPI 10 vs J'ville Cripples 40
Venue: Ian Galloway 1 (the cage)
Date: 11 April 2026
Weather: Clear blue Skies
Temperature: Too hot
Reporter: David "Turtle" Isaia
Photographer: Ben "where's your head at" Pearn

First half - With a good turnout to training on Wednesday the Internationals looked to stamp their mark on the grade in this first game hit-out. MSPI started the game with strong intent, charging uphill at the cage and dominating territory and possession in the first 15 minutes. Plenty of “to and fro” as both sides felt each other out. MSPI generally looked like the side that had read the team chat during the week.

After relentless pressure and on the 20-minute mark Adam “Give him the” Bird linked up with Stickman who ran through some weak Cripples defence to score. 5-0. The signs that it could be a day for the internationals looked promising.

As the Internationals piled on more pressure and were awarded a penalty in the Cripples 22. The Dragon took the quick tap but the ex*****on of the quick tap looked like a mini bomb which gave the opposition the ball back. A massive hit from the Stick woke the J’ville cripples up and after several phases of attack the cripples touched down on the 36th minute to go into the break 5 all.

Second half - With an inspirational speech from Coach Booza, MSPI came out for the second half a team possessed. The hippo took a head knock early and was replaced by our latest international recruit, Russian Oligarch Alexi.

Early pressure from the Cripples turned into points, pushing the score to 10–5, then 12–5 with an impressive sideline conversion from the J’Ville 10. With improved structure and multiple phases finally paying off the Cripples keeping the ball alive and living happily in the Internationals half.

The Cripples scored again straight under the posts increasing the lead to 19–5. At this stage, the Cripples looked comfortable.
MSPI looked dangerous and were camped in the cripples 22 for a period of time. Nate called for the fish set move which dates back to the prehistoric days, unbeknown to our veteran playmaker the fish call had changed (who changes a 20 year old move?) and the wrong lines were run by the Internationals midfield only to see the cripples intercept the pass and run 70 metres to score under the posts to take the score to 26-5.

The final quarter descended into a mixture of strong carries, tired legs, and “next try wins” vibes. The Cripples again made good meters and the defensive efforts from the internationals were encouraging but weak. The Cripples went on to score twice to extend the lead beyond any doubt to 40-5.

With time nearly up the Internationals launched a final attack with some entertaining play. Nate with ball in two hands ran across field to link up with the Stick running an acute line to score on full-time 40-10.

Plenty to like, plenty to work on — but most importantly, a thoroughly entertaining game of Code that left everyone tired, a few injured but happy the rugby season has arrived.

Debutants:
Welcome to the MSPI family:
• Adam “Give him the” Bird
• Brian (Charlie Faumauina’s twin brother) Toleafoa
• Alexi (Russian Oligarch) Fleuret
• Fox “Mulder” Cobb from the X-Files

Special Mentions:
Adam Perkins played his badge game and a welcome back to Sua. Dual reserve grader who also turns out for the Mixed Veges. The Vegetables are currently going through an identity crisis! Are we still Wests? Or are we OBU?
Pesa for providing efficient water support

Player of the day:
Sam Snell, who was everywhere all day, being the pest he is well known for.

Tough start against the Cripples 🩼