OK, Peter Harrison’s GBR Challenge won a Cup footie tournament against the VOR teams in Auckland, but if GBR Challenge’s hunger for victories off the water is matched by their hunger on it, we could go all the way.

Having won the team prize in the Manukau Half Marathon, the cycling/running combination of Mark Covell, Adrian Stead, Julian Salter and Ian Weighell came a hard fought second to the organising team in the Volvo Ocean Race Orienteering Competition.

On Monday night, football was the focus, as the GBR Challenge boys took on teams from Volvo competitors Djuice Dragons, Tyco, Assa Abloy and Amer Sports as well as a few organisers and local teams. But it was the GBR boys that showed the power of good teamwork and no shortage of fitness to finish first and third in the 12-team Volvo Ocean Race Tournament. It could so easily have been an all GBR final after both GBR A and B teams won their respective groups, but the organisers decided to make them play each other in the semis.

A, yet to concede a goal in the whole event, went out to a ‘Golden Goal’ by Jim ‘The Truffle Shuffle’ Turner in extra time after it was tied at 0-0 after full time. This set up a tense final with the New Zealand Tourist Board and after the NZ Tourist Board came back from 1-0 down it was fittingly down to team captain Jules Salter to fire a screamer into the top right corner with the last kick of the game.

Team founder and boss Peter Harrison, himself a director of Chelsea Football Club, would have approved of the commitment and intensity shown by his lads – even if they lacked the ball skills of Zola and Hasselbaink. He will also be pleased to know there were no injuries and everyone was sailing at 0800 today.

It was a fun event for all involved and great to meet up with friends who head back into the Southern Ocean this Sunday. Congratulations to Mal, M-J, Sirloin, Jules, Budgie, Steve and Jim on a great team effort. Let’s hope collecting silverware becomes a habit for GBR Challenge.