Hi ,

Rugby

It was another glorious sunny Saturday for Wellington club rugby. Wainuiomata was resplendent with clear blue skies, lush green fields, and the sun beaming down.

I decided to go to Mary Crowther Park to watch the first half of the Colts game, then drop down to William Jones Park for the second half of the Premier 2 game. Things change – the Colts game was so exciting, that I stayed on to the end. What a game. Wainui scored, Tawa scored. The game was hard and fast, then Wainui scored, Tawa scored. There was a picture emerging – more play, Wainui scored, Tawa scored. Then our Colts seemingly changed up a gear. Half time 33-19 to Tawa. Before the half time whistle had blown, I had made the decision to stay at Mary Crowther to watch a great game, played in fine spirit between two teams of future Premier players. The referee, Simon Mallon, was very clear with his explanations to players of both sides when infringements took place. Final score was Tawa 58, Wainuiomata 31. 

Contrary to my last report, Mary Crowther Park was in pristine condition for the game. At the end of the game, I was invited to say a few words to our Colts, which I was privileged to do. What a fine bunch of young men. When one has the opportunity to do this, it kind of restores your faith in the future of our great game.   

I then took the opportunity to chat with Grant, Wainuiomata Colts coach, about his boys and their ability to take the game to us and not give up. Also, there are some fine young men coming through for Wainuiomata. Wainui has an issue that we don’t seem to have to contend with: that of losing, or sharing, players with rugby league. Bottom line, at least the young guys are out there actively enjoying team sport!

On to William Jones Park. I walked in just as Josh, our Premier 2 lock, was screaming up in support of a try line movement in which the pass went astray. Hard luck Josh, but great positional play, as usual. A 59-14 win for our boys.

Then the Wainuiomata and Tawa Premiers took centre stage. There was a moment of silence for the loss of a Wainuiomata old boy. Very respectful. The game got underway and became a see-sawing event for 80 minutes. We led at the half time break by 22-16, but this game was far from over. One of the features was the scrum, where they would be even, then we would recede, then Wainuiomata would recede, but mostly both teams were very competitive. Backline moves were lightning fast, accurate, and worthy. There were a number of moments where we thought we had “done our chips”, but then our boys would rally and fight back. The weather played a huge part in bringing in a pretty good crowd, to watch a real good, competitive game worthy of a final!! Tawa 39 - Wainuiomata 38. 

Our captain Hemi Fermanis received two trophies from the Wainuiomata captain Campbell Cowie. The Chris Stirling Cup is played for in the first round between our clubs each year, as Chris played for Tawa and coached at Wainuiomata a little while ago. Chris is still very much involved in rugby. The Bill Brien Cup is played for each weekend with the winning side on the day taking it home. It only stays with a team if they continue to win – a great motivator. 

The Ducks came through with a resounding 61-7 win over Eastbourne on their Old Timers Day. I received a message from Richard Boag, Vice President WRFU, to say he had watched our Ducks on Saturday and commented “great team”.

This weekend sees our Premiers, Premier 2s, and Colts vs Norths at Jerry Collins Stadium in Porirua, our Ducks vs Pōneke at Kilbirnie Park, and Pressies vs Paremata-Plimmerton at Lyndhurst Park. Our Premiers will play for the coveted Sammy Saili Memorial Trophy. Sam was a young man who played for both clubs, and was a very good player and a mentor to a lot of young guys coming through. Sam was taken from us far too young and in his prime. RIP Sam.

Our Hurricanes take on the Chiefs at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon. My $1.00 is on the Canes to be at Sky Stadium next Saturday as well for the final. I don’t think the Brumbies will be the pushover the Blues encountered in Round 9. Either way, the Canes will be up for a glorious final. 

Junior Spotlight - Year 3/4 Tackle (sponsored by Leman Smeith)

This year, for the first time, the Tawa Y3/4 team (sponsored by Leman Smeith) headed to the Christian Cullen Rugby 7s tournament hosted by Paremata-Plimmmerton RFC at Ngati Toa Domain.

The team consisted of Zac, AJ, Alazar, Kopo, Tyler, Hanru, Kyan, Detroit, and Dallas.

First up, the team faced Johnsonville. Tawa did well defensively, though the more clinical Johnsonville team edged ahead to clinch the win.

Next up was a clash against a very strong Pare-Plim team. This panned out to be an extremely physical encounter, with Pare-Plim (the eventual Champions) dominating at the break down, which lead to a flurry of counter attack tries in particular.

Although the team was knocked out after the pool round and our third opponents (Stokes Valley) were a no-show on the day, ngā tamariki had a bonus game against the Upper Hutt Rams where they really worked well together, especially in the ruck and mauls, and tackling as well as scoring quite a few tries, both good team and individual player tries.

Coach Tyrone Brown was always on hand to provide support, guidance, and encouragement, and his organisation and 'snacks' were greatly appreciated by all.

This tournament was an invaluable experience for our young players and offered an excellent opportunity to refine their own skills and boost their team morale. They were up against strong and streamed teams, but held their own and should be proud of their efforts. The tournament was superb for the increased growth and development opportunity both as individuals and as a team.

Thank you to all of our whānau and friends that came out to support our team throughout the morning as well as Paremata-Plimmerton RFC and their appointed organising team and referees.

Throwback - Tawa vs Northern United

Check out this throwback from 2010:

 Kings of club rugby Northern United smash Tawa!

You'll see some familiar names in the article for both Norths and Tawa.

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See you at the Battle of the Bridge in Porirua!

Allan G Davidson

President & Life Member