Petone Lift Jubilee Cup With Second Half Resurgence

Petone beat defending champions Northern United 21-20 in the Jubilee Cup final at Westpac Stadium on Sunday, lifting the Cup for the first time since 2000 and becoming the fourth different club in the last four years to win Wellington rugby?s most coveted silverware.

Recent Jubilee Cup finals have been extremely close run affairs, with the previous six finals all being won by a margin of no more than six points. So there was an air of inevitability when Petone fought back in this final from a 6-20 deficit early in the second half to find themselves trailing just 18-20 with ten minutes left on the clock.

Then in the 75th minute Petone were awarded a penalty from an attacking scrum, first five-eighth Earl Va?a was successful with the resulting 25-metre attempt on the angle, and Petone suddenly held a one-point lead.

Norths struggled desperately to retake the lead, but with time running out their efforts were in vain, and fast-finishing Petone held on for a memorable victory.

Earlier, a quick Petone tap penalty by Va?a backfired and could have come back to haunt them. Leading 6-3 at the time, Petone were hot on attack inside Norths? 22. Awarded a penalty, a kick for goal would have given them a 9-3 lead. But a spilt ball following the tap saw Norths counterattack and in-form prop Anthony Perenise was driven over for a try two phases later. First five-eighth Rob Aloe converted and instead Norths led 10-6.

A second converted try to Norths then gave then them a 17-6 lead at halftime. Bullocking prop-come-openside flanker Olly Sosene crashed over, and turning with the southerly breeze at their backs momentum was now with the Porirua based side. It got worse for Petone when Aloe kicked a second penalty immediately after the break to open up a decisive 14-point lead.

But the Villagers bounced back with a try to fullback Tu Umaga-Marshall up the left flank and then got to within two points at the 70-minute mark. Hammering away up the middle, they worked hard to provide space for their dangerous outside backs. Finally centre Temanu Martin put through a well-weighted chip kick for right wing Willie Moala to run on to and test the Norths cover defence. Moala, in a show of blinding speed, dived on the ball in the in-goal ahead of his opposite to score his tenth try of the season. Va?a converted from a tricky angle.

He then had a kick from closer in to win the game, and when it soared through the uprights Udy Street was awash with rugby joy.

As well as letting slip a 20-6 lead early in the second half, Norths will rue several scoring chances not taken in the first half, in particular two clear try opportunities (20th and 23rd minutes), both created by centre Siaosi Anamani, and two missed Aloe penalties (5th and 17th minutes).

Va?a, who also had a strong game in general play, was awarded the Jim Brown Memorial Medal as player of the final. For Petone both locks, captain Chris Molenaar and James Saolele, hooker Eugene Smith and openside flanker Sam Flintoff also had strong games, while blindside flanker Jacob Ellison and Anamani were prominent for Norths.


Jubilee Cup top points scorers (final tally):


Brad Cooper (Poneke) 218
Scott Leighton (Wests) 195
Sam Rasch (MSP) 166
Gene Johnston (Tawa) 101
Ben Aoina (Upper Hutt) 98
Cory Aporo (Upper Hutt) 93
Cameron Cross (Avalon) 87
Riki Flutey (Petone) 81
Rob Aloe (Norths) 81
Willie Lafaele (Tawa) 62
Earl Va'a (Petone) 58
Peato Lafaele (Norths) 53
Tamati Ellison (Norths) 52
Steve McColl (MSP) 51
Evan Belford 50
Willie Moala (Petone) 50


Jubilee Cup top try scorers (final tally):

Evan Belford (Poneke) 10
Willie Moala (Petone) 10
Junior Togia (Tawa) 9
Dan Stemp (MSP) 9
Siaosi Anamani (Norths) 8
Brad Baker (Upper Hutt) 8
Alex Telea (Petone) 8
Greg Tweddle (Upper Hutt) 8
Vila Apu?ula (Avalon) 7
Steve McColl (Poneke) 7
T Umaga-Marshall (Petone) 7
Cory Aporo (Upper Hutt) 7