Early on Monday afternoon, he announced Tapuae will play Gisborne YMP in both the Women’s and Premier Lee Brothers Trophy finals at Lambton Square, at 12.30pm and 2.30pm respectively, and Athletic will play Nūhaka in the Senior Lew Patterson Cup final at Athletic Park, starting at 1pm.
There were separate venues on Saturday as Tapuae won their way into a Lee Brothers Shield final for the first time with a 32-10 over Te Karaka hopefuls Waikohu in one Premier semifinal, and in the Senior semifinals Athletic beat Tapuae’s second side 41-17, and Nūhaka guaranteed an all-Wairoa Lew Patterson Cup final by beating Gisborne side Ngātapa 47-0.
In the Premier final, Tapuae will go for a third win over defending champions Gisborne YMP this year, and in the Women’s final, Tapuae will play Waengapu Stallions.
The Premier semifinal was not only big for the town but also coach Paoraian Manuel-Harman, a former Hawke’s Bay Premier club player, with Magpies Ranfurly Shield defence experience.
He had spent 10 weeks on the sideline after fracturing the tibia in his left leg 65 minutes into the first-round match against YMP, but was back on the field at fullback for a pre-planned 60 minutes just in time for the business end of the season.
Leading 22-5 at halftime, Tapuae dominated in the forwards and ran some good ball to score six tries, with two each to prop Thomas Ormond and wing Kyoni Te Amo, one a runaway effort stepping at least four players on a race of over 50m to the line. The others went to lock Duran Smith, and Iowane Filimone off the bench.
Manuel-Harman said it rained heavily in the second half, but his team readjusted and it was an encouraging performance heading into what promises to be one of the biggest days in Wairoa rugby in years, and a big boost to the district amid the ongoing traumas from the February 2023 Cyclone Gabrielle and the June 26 flood.
There was big excitement at Nūhaka Domain as century-old Nūhaka signalled their own role in the surge of rugby in the storm-ravaged Wairoa communities this year.
“We have had such a good season and the majority of players returned from last season,” said team manager Elana Evans. “It is pretty much the same team from last year when we were knocked out in the semifinal stage.”
Nūhaka and Ngātapa initially looked evenly-matched, as vehicles circled the domain and rugged-up supporters had their backs to the stiff southerly, and after opening the scoring with a penalty goal to Blayze Waiari-Taylor, the home side was in charge by halftime despite facing the wind first, and the pressure on the Ngātapa defence was unrelenting.
Wing Māori Rokowiri scored two tries, one a runaway effort and the second after a great sequence of play which marked Nūhaka as a serious challenge to Athletic in their final.
Team coach Rongomai Wairau said as the score mounted: “It is all about shape at the moment. The ball is getting looked after and the ball retention is good.”
The locals were there in numbers despite the weather, and included life member Ted Whaanga, who first played for Nūhaka in 1953.
The games won’t be the end of rugby in Wairoa for the season, with the sub-union representative side set to take part in a tournament in Wellington and favoured also to retain the Barry Cup after a successful season defending the trophy in its centenary year in 2023.
