Trailblazing Premier Women win Rebecca Liua'ana Trophy
Our Premier Women have again made history by winning the Rebecca Liua'ana Trophy for the first time in the club's history.
Our side finished the round with 6 wins and one loss, with the only defeat coming in the first round to Petone whom they shared the title with.
On the final round of the competition they travelled to Porirua to face Northern United who at that point sat atop the points table. Match report from Club Rugby:
Steady drizzle greeted both teams at Porirua Park as Norths took on MSP with plenty on the line. There were plenty of nerves early on, but Norths were first on the board when Syntyche Tuimaolo sniped over in the corner, and they extended their lead when indecision by MSP saw Shaye Whareaorere crash over.
Knowing that a win was all that mattered, Norths were effective at keeping the ball away from the opposition and their dangerous backline especially. It was 30 minutes before MSP had their first real chance and they took it with Georgia Daals crossing, and that was followed by Maia Broughton to narrow it.
MSP continued their period of dominance after the resumption when Marcelle Parkes crossed from short range. Norths tied it up through fullback Mariah Chadwick but from that point the scoring was all MSP as Parkes, Broughton, and Daals each scored their second. Parkes after a Norths error following a downfield kick, Broughton darting over after some sustained pressure, and Daals in the final play of the game when after hacking the ball through she won the race against the ball to the dead-ball line.
The final score was 38-17 to Marist St Pats and the trophy was presented immediately following the game. The team will now turn their attention to the Tia Paasi Memorial Cup second round competition.
Marist St Pats congratulates our players, coaches and management on this historic achievement for rugby at our club.
In the Swindale Shield, our Premier Men bounced back with a 27-26 victory on a sodden Polo Ground.
A first half try to Iosefo Aukusitino saw the Red Machine take a 13-5 lead into the break after controlling most of the possession and territory. Tries to Isaia Petelo and James Tuiatua in the opening 15 minutes of the second saw the team jump to a 27-5 lead.
With the rain pouring down and the field turning to mud, Oriental-Rongotai took their opportunities to narrow the scoreline with a try on full time bringing the result to within one point.
Earlier on Polo Ground, our Premier 2 Men beat Oriental-Rongotai by 22-17; the Colts got back in the winners column with a 14-12 victory over Poneke.
Elsewhere around Wellington, the Under 85s and Internationals kept the club without a loss on the day both finishing with draws. The Presidents result was not available at time of publishing.
Our Netball sides both enjoyed big wins with Netball 1 beating SMOG by 50-12 and Netball 2 beating Wellington Wildcats by 40-15.
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