OBU win four gongs at inaugural club community awards

Jubilee Cup champions Old Boys University won four gongs at the inaugural WRFU Community Rugby Awards on Friday night.

Old Boys University’s Premier team won the Team of the Year Award for winning 11 of 13 matches and winning the Swindale Shield and for capturing the coveted Jubilee Cup for the second time in three years. They also ended the year holding the Bill Brien Challenge Trophy and the Andy Leslie Trophy, as well as several more interclub trophies.

Playing positive rugby, OBU set the single-season team try scoring record since 2005, scoring 130 tries in 22 games. In 2010 Northern United scored 122 tries in 20 games.

OBU’S Premiers beat out the unbeaten Oriental-Rongotai Women’s team and the champion Petone Colts side.

OBU premier coach Jamie Williams took out the Club Coach of the Year award, the club was awarded the Dewar Shield for aggregate competition points across all grades, and the Colts side capped things off by winning the Griffiths Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship.
 
Oriental-Rongotai wing Ayesha Leti’Iiga became the first recipient of the Wellington Women’s Club Player of the Year Award.
 
Leti’Iga scored an Ories club record (men’s and women’s) 26 tries in the single season.Her hat-trick in the Women's final brought her season tally to 26, one ahead of Jane Bryce's (now with MSP) record in 2015. According to our records, the top five all-time single season try scorers are ((Men's Premier and Women's) are: 26 Michael Knight (Wellington FC) 1970; 26 Ayesha Leti-l'iga (Oriental-Rongotai) 2017; 25 Mike Clamp (Petone) 1981; 25 Jane Bryce (Oriental-Rongotai (2015); 23 Buxton Popoalii (Northern United) 2010.

Tawa prop Ben Aumua-Peseta (Tawa) was crowned the first Les Mills Wellington Age Grade Player of the Year.
 
Mike Dilnott was awarded the newly created Lifetime Contribution to Wellington Rugby Salver. Dilnott has made an immense contribution since arriving in the province as a young referee in 1982 and immediately becoming an active member of the Wellington Rugby Referees’ Association.
 
He has held a range of posts within the association and been on the executive since 1995, providing tireless service to the current day. In more recent times he has been a popular and excellent liaison officer for a range of visiting local and international teams to Wellington.
 
Poneke Football Club also created a slice of history as the first winners of the Club Community Award, in association with the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc.
 
The award reflects the contribution of clubs to the community in which they operate and Poneke’s work in setting up the Toitu Hub in their Kilbirnie clubrooms was recognised for playing a major role in promoting positive community engagement in the Eastern Suburbs.
 
The facility and service created at Toitu will serve both rugby and the wider community for generations to come.
 
On the opposite side of town, Western Suburbs junior club took home the highly valued Burger King Positive Sidelines Award as judged by opposition teams based on the conduct of players and supporters.
 
In other awards, Tawa’s Hemi Fermanis and Wainuiomata loose forward Ben Tupuola were awarded the Billy Wallace Trophy as judged by The Dominion Post’s rugby writers who awarded players points on a 3,2,1 basis throughout the Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup competitions.
 
Old Boy University’s Georgia Daals was named Wellington Women’s 7s Player the Year, while Upper Hutt’s Hayden Schrijvers scooped the equivalent men’s award.

The full list of winners at the 2017 Wellington Community Rugby Awards were:

• Sir William Perry Memorial Trophy: Oriental-Rongotai
• Griffiths Memorial Trophy: Old Boys University Colts
• Junior Merit Award: Wellington)
• Dewar Shield: Old Boys University
• Women’s 7s Player of the Year: Georgia Daals (OBU)
• Men’s 7s Player of the Year: Hayden Schrijvers (Upper Hutt Rams)
• Referee of the Year: Richard Gordon
• Burger King Positive Sidelines Club Award: Western Suburbs
• Junior Rugby Volunteer of the Year: Roseanne Mahuri-Tukukino (Rimutaka)
• Club Community Award: Poneke Football Club
• (In association with the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association Inc)
• Senior Rugby Volunteer of the Year : Christina Edmonds (Upper Hutt Rams)
• Club Coach of the Year: Jamie Williams (OBU Premier)
• Club Team of the Year: OBU Premier
• Les Mills Age Grade Player of the Year: Ben Aumua-Peseta (Tawa)
• Women's Club Player of the Year: Ayesha Leti-Iiga (Oriental-Rongotai)
• Billy Wallace Memorial Trophy
• (Men's Club Player of the Year): Hemi Fermanis (Tawa), Ben Tupuola (Wainui)
• WRFU Lifetime Contribution Salver: Mike Dilnott (Referees’ Association)