Marlborough Division Finals
Marlborough Express
Crafar Crouch Waitohi broke a two-year grand final jinx to beat Awatere 13-9 in the Wadsco Marlborough premier club rugby final – rated by many as the best final in years – at Lansdowne Park in Blenheim on Saturday.
Waitohi held on desperately in the finish, defending wave after wave of Awatere attacks until the Tussock Jumpers lost the ball forward just a few metres from the try-line, to their despair and Waitohi's utter delight.
The match had everything you would want from a club final between two evenly matched teams, playing with intensity and spirit even if it wasn't always accurate.
Conditions for rugby were ideal, with little wind on a field which held up well. There were near-misses at both ends, courageous defence, daring attack, excellent refereeing from Dean Bishop and colourful, loud and boisterous supporters from the respective camps packing the main grandstand.
Both sides had opportunities to sew the game up. Waitohi first-five Daniel Hawkins, a standout in the match, missed a couple of penalty goal attempts he would normally have landed. At the other end, replacement Awatere wing David Pope had the mortification to see one long-range penalty goal attempt cannon back infield off the cross bar and another do the same off an upright as the game ebbed and flowed.
There was just one try in the match – and it was a beauty, engineered by Waitohi's star players James Giles, Hawkins and flanker Vernon Fredericks, and it knocked the stuffing out of Awatere for some time.
The Tussocks dominated the opening stanzas, and a Glenn Blackmore penalty gave them a 13th-minute lead after a frantic opening. Waitohi suffered a serious blow in the fifth minute when their player/assistant coach, Nathan Peipi, was knocked out attempting to tackle his Awatere opposite, Keiran Hickman, and had to be assisted from the field. Scott Ivamy replaced him and he soldiered on through the match despite an obviously injured ankle.
Awatere almost scored again following Blackmore's penalty when halfback Hamish Murray broke clean through, but a foot in touch ruled out Sean Crockett's try.
Then, against the run of play, Waitohi's outstanding halfback, Giles, put Fredericks into a hole. The loose forward stormed upfield and passed inside to Hawkins. Just when he looked to be about to score himself, wing Nathan Steele pulled off a brilliant tackle only for Hawkins to transfer the ball to Giles in support for a fine try which Hawkins converted.
The momentum swung firmly Waitohi's way and Hawkins increased the lead to 10-3 in the 33rd minute with a penalty.
The Tohis continued that momentum early in the second spell, but Hawkins was astray with two wide-angled penalty goal attempts, and back came the Tussock Jumpers.
Resplendent with his dyed green-and-gold hair, Pope hit the post with his first penalty attempt, but nailed another from close range shortly afterwards. He hit the post before nailing a cracker from 45 metres out, making it 9-10 with five minutes to play.
Ad Feedback Waitohi hit back almost immediately and looked to have made the game safe when Hawkins landed a pressure penalty, but the job was far from done.
Awatere coach Chris Ryan had talked during the season about throwing the kitchen sink at the opposition and that's exactly what they did over a pulsating last few minutes. Phase after phase, Awatere smashed at the Waitohi defence, but, just when it seemed Awatere would finally break through, a spilled pass signalled the end of the match to the huge relief and delight of the Waitohi players and supporters.
No-one begrudged Waitohi their victory. After all, they had lost the previous two grand finals, had gone through the season unbeaten and won every trophy up for grabs. They did it the hard way with less ball and territory and can thank their defence for the win.
Awatere players and supporters were gracious in defeat, and they, too, could be proud of the part they all played in a brilliant rugby occasion, certainly one of the most exciting this writer can recall in 21 years of covering grand finals.
The match wasn't perfect from a purist's point of view. There were errors under pressure, wrong options, missed scoring opportunities, but no-one could doubt the passion and pride of both teams and the fabulous spirit of the match with not one flare-up between the two country arch-rivals.
Waitohi's win was built on guts and determination for the most part, a real team effort, but in the wash-up, the individual brilliance of Hawkins and Fredericks, with a helping hand from Giles, produced the match-winning play. Those three were outstanding, but skipper Les Ivamy, locks Willie Karena, Rory Wright and his replacement, player/coach Troy Looms were also at the heart of the victory.
Awatere gave every bit as good as they got and none played better than their champion halfback and captain, Hamish Murray. In a super forward effort, the Crockett brothers, Sean and Matt, loose-forward Gareth Archer and prop Kurt Lindsay threw themselves fearlessly into the fray and wing Steele's speed saved a couple of tricky situations on defence. Keiran Hickman gave his all in midfield.
Long after the match finished, players and supporters and their families from both camps mixed with each other in front of the main grandstand reflecting on and celebrating a wonderful Marlborough rugby occasion.
Scorers: Waitohi 13 (James Giles try, Daniel Hawkins con, 2 pen) Awatere 9 (Glenn Blackmore pen, David Pope 2 pen). Half-time: Waitohi 10-3.
What they said
Victorious Waitohi captain Les Ivamy: "I've been playing a while. That's got to be tops for me. It's why I play rugby. A great bunch of fellas. They stuck in there and deserved it. Awatere are a great team. They played with a lot of passion, a lot of heart and our boys had to stand up and we came through."
Waitohi player/coach Troy Looms: "They probably had 80 per cent of the ball and 80 per cent of the territory. It was nerve-racking with us giving penalties away. We just had to back our D (defence) which we've done all year. This was the goal. We've got it. All the boys have worked hard all year. I guess it goes on my CV and I can go away to England in a couple of months a happy man."
Awatere skipper Hamish Murray: "It could have gone either way. Awatere have come a long, long way in the last four years. There were opportunities both ways today. Waitohi played well and set the benchmark all season. A real credit to them. A good country rugby final and they say you have to lose a final to win a final."
Awatere coach Chris Ryan: "It was a great game. Both sides made a few mistakes but both teams wanted it. We crawled our way back into the game after it looked as though it was getting away from us at one point and we got pretty close. It would have been nice to have scored a try, but it just didn't quite happen today."
Kaikoura captain Phil Guthrie: "Pretty rough start. We had to fight for everything, but eventually we got on top of them. We've got a bit of potential and hopefully this is a stepping stone to premier level again."
Trophy winners
Premier: Waitohi: Hannan Shield (first round winners), MRFU Cup (round two winners), Citizens Cup (over-all points), Lindsay Watson Memorial Challenge Cup, MRFU Champion of Champions Trophy.
Division two:
BK McGrath Trophy (round one winners): Harlequins
Dwyer Memorial Cup (round two winners): Kaikoura
Hester Cup (over-all points): Harlequins
Noble Adams Cup (Champion of Champions): Kaikoura.
Under 16:
Robin Hammond Trophy (competition points): Moutere, Ian Hammond Trophy (Champion of Champions): Moutere.
