Nelson club repeat as Turf Hotel Tasman Club 7's champs

http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/sport/5962753/Repeat-title-for-Nelson

The Nelson Rugby Club are once again the best sevens team in the top of the south, brushing off the challenge of Stoke in the final of the Turf Hotel Tasman Club Sevens tournament at Trafalgar Park on Saturday.

For the third year in a row the two sides met in the decider, with Stoke winning in 2009 and Nelson last year.

After the first half of Saturday's final it could have gone either way, the score tied at 17-all after 10 minutes despite Stoke losing the inspirational Shawn Begg to a yellow card following a scrap with Nelson's Andrew Goodman.

However Makos captain Goodman stamped his authority on the match after the break, scoring one and setting up Saki Tuni for another to give his side breathing space.

Stoke pulled one back through the lively Eliot Smith, before Willis Scott restored the margin and Goodman rounded out an impressive effort by scoring his third on the buzzer and securing the 43-22 victory.

"Always nice to beat Stoke, and always good to win championships, isn't it," Nelson coach Peter Grigg said.

He said experience and fitness were probably what helped his side overcome a typically tough Stoke outfit.

"Our fitness is generally pretty good, the boys have kept on training."

Grigg highlighted the efforts of Jake Cooley and Tuni throughout the day, saying the former was highly confrontational and held the ball in the tackle effectively, while Tuni showed good pace and skills.

Robbie Malneek and Vaito Asomua also scored for Nelson in the final, as did Brenton Connell and Sione Holani (two) for Stoke.

Stoke beat Huia 35-7 in one semifinal, while Nelson beat Nelson College 27-17 in the other.

Grigg coaches both sides involved in that semi, while Malneek also assists with the schoolboys.

For the semi, Grigg worked with the older players, while Malneek rested the boots for the duration and coached the youngsters.

"It was good, I knew we were going to get a team in the final," Grigg said with a laugh.

Tasman coach Gary Stevens and manager Mike Kerrisk will now choose a squad to train for the South Island sevens championship in Timaru at the start of next month, with the goal of a top three finish and a trip to the nationals early next year.