Moutere women crowned Tasman rugby champs

There was both ecstasy and agony for Marlborough rugby teams involved in Tasman Trophy play-offs over the hill in Nelson today.

On the positive side, the Moutere women’s team pulled off a decent-sized upset, beating the favoured Waimea Old Boys side 10-6 in the Nelson division one competition final at Trafalgar Park.

However, Central, the only Marlborough-based men’s side to reach the Tasman Trophy semi-finals, were comprehensively shaded by Kahurangi in Motueka, going down 36-8.

The Magpies women illustrated how finals footy should be played. They created a few chances, took a couple of them superbly, then defended with every ounce of their energy as the home side camped on the Moutere line for a decent chunk of the second spell.

Waimea opened the scoring through a couple of penalties from Eve Findlay, leading 6-0 at the half hour mark. However, Moutere had the final say just before the break. Young right winger Eleri James-Sitters sliced through in midfield to dot down under the bar.

It was not long into the second half before James-Sitters was at it again, producing a scything run out of defense to create a try for fellow Marlborough Girls’ College winger Fiaalii Solomona.

Ahead by four, it was time to dig deep on defense and the entire Moutere side did just that as Waimea, led by experienced Tasman Mako player Jess Foster-Lawrence, threw everything at them.

Hannah Gillespie, Moutere hooker and club stalwart, said her body was “a bit sore” afterwards but was thrilled with the victory, which she underlined was achieved through a total team effort.

“It was a pretty intense game, the teams were evenly-matched so it was a grind” she said.

“It was our defense that actually won the game for us … to not let them score a try for the full 80 [minutes] was massive.”

Moutere had lost to Waimea on the three occasions they had met this season, but Hannah said there was a different attitude on defense this time around.

“Just moving up and putting pressure on them right from the get-go … moving up together and forcing them into mistakes ... making our individual tackles.

“I think they thought they had the upper hand after they beat us last weekend, but we were all up for it this time around.

“The girls were over the moon at the final whistle,” she said.

This was the third Tasman title for the Moutere women, who also won in 2017-18.

The victory was especially fulfilling for some of the Magpies who have been around the scene for some time, such as Hannah, Niska Scott, Pippa Andrews and Kelly Couper.

“Some of us have been going since 2016 so it feels pretty sweet after all the hard work that has gone in,” added Hannah.

The emotions after the men’s semi were obviously on the opposite side of the spectrum.

Central scored first on a mud-covered Memorial Park, through hooker Quentin MacDonald, but that was where the good news ended. The home side responded quickly with a converted try and, although Central booted a penalty to reclaim the lead, three more tries to Kahurangi before the break pushed the men in black to a 24-8 lead and gave them a firm grip on the game, especially with the field cutting up and continuity becoming difficult to maintain.

Kahurangi extended their lead soon after oranges to 29-8 and, although the Blues did well to deny them further points until the final minutes, the visiting team’s attempts to play catch-up rugby were doomed to failure.

Kahurangi’s powerful scrum was a vital weapon on the slippery deck, earning penalties and pressurising Central’s ball. The Blues persevered with one-off running, their ball-carriers often easy targets for the well-organised and hungry Kahurangi defense.

The home also employed a clever kicking game, mainly through first five Willie Havili, who had a big influence on the result.

In the other semifinal, Marist booked a place in the final by beating Waimea Old Boys 38-17.

Meanwhile, the Marlborough Boys’ College First XV ensured their long trip to Timaru was not wasted with a 52-0 win over Roncalli Aoraki Combined today.

The bonus point win keeps MBC in the race for a high play-off placing.

Other Miles Toyota championship results today: Christ’s College 58 Waimea 14, Rangiora 47 Mid Canterbury 10, St Thomas 26 Christchurch 23,

In Marlborough division two action today, Awatere handed Central their first loss of the season, Waitohi beat Moutere 18-15 and MBC Old Boys accounted for Renwick 24-17.