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Melville beat Upper Hutt Rams in final to win National Club Sevens

Sevens Rugby | 07 February 2016 | Steven White & Adam Julian

Above: Upper Hutt Rams captain Murphy Taramai tears up the sideline in his side’s 28-5 Cup semi-final win over Awanui at the National Club Sevens on Sunday. Taramai, who departs for North Harbour soon, signed off with a 24-34 loss to Waikato club Melville in the final.

Waikato club sevens champions Melville are now New Zealand’s champions.

Melville have won the 2016 Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup with a 34-24 win over Wellington’s Upper Hutt Rams in the final played at a hot and dusty William Jones Park, Wainuiomata, this afternoon.

Initially both sides exchanged three tires each, but Melville pulled away in the second-half. Superior fitness and greater impact from the bench proved to be telling.

Reserve Charlie Lawrence sprinted 50-metres and linked with Legin Hotham to expand the score to 34-17, at which point the contest was over. Hotham had a memorable day. The son of the coach, Nigel Hotham, earlier scored two tries.

The Rams started strongly and tries to Jackson Garden-Bachop and Daniel Schrijvers had them ahead. However Melville kept in touch when Sake Ale scored a 65-metre solo try. Hayden Schrijvers scored Upper Hutt’s third try, but the Rams were held scoreless until the very end of the second-half when Sam Wasley scored a consolation five-pointer.

The Melville side featured four members of the Hamilton Boys’ High School team that won December’s Condor Sevens.

In the Cup Quarter finals Melville comfortably accounted for Marist St. Pats 31-5. It was 14-5 at halftime. Condor Sevens MVP Sevu Reece scored two tries and set up another. He also kicked three conversions.

In the semi-final against Awanui, Melville surged ahead 19-0 and hung onto to win 19-14. Reece and Hotham were standouts again, each scoring tires.

Northland's Awanui upset Auckland Champions Suburbs 17-12 in the Cup quarterfinals. Auckland reps Gareth Williams-Spears and Rocky Khan scored tries for Suburbs, but on fulltime Tsimeli Tagea dashed 75-metres and turned the last defender inside-out to score a dramatic winner for Awanui.

The Karaka - Rangtaua Cup quarterfinal was a tight contest with the former prevailing 15-12, while the Upper Hutt Rams enjoyed a convincing 29-0 win over Wanderers from Nelson. Jackson Garden-Bachop scored two tries. Garden-Bachop would score two tries and kick all four conversions, including two side-line efforts in Upper Hutt’s semi-final win against Awanui.

After losing at the Cup quarterfinal stage, Suburbs went on to defeat Nelson Wanderers 22-12 in their Plate semi-final. Wellington’s Marist St Pat’s, who met a 5-31 Cup quarterfinal loss to eventual champions Melville, beat Bay of Plenty’s Rangataua 19-14 in the other Plate semi-final.

Suburbs beat MSP 21-20 in the Plate final, but did so with their hearts in their mouths after MSP scored at the death but their playmaker Ryan Setefano missed the conversion from a handy angle.

Mount Maunganui, who earlier defeated Bay of Plenty rivals Tauranga Sports in a ‘battle of the bridge’ Bowl semi-final clash 19-17, went on to beat Hamilton Marist 31-10 in a one-sided Bowl final.

Defending champions and hosts Wainuiomata crashed out, losing 14-7 to Hamilton Marist in their Bowl semi-final.

Wellington clubs Old Boys-University and Poneke contested the Shield final, OBU averting the wooden spoon with a 31-17 victory.

Melville became the fifth club in as many years (not played for in 2012) to win the Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup, after Burnham (Canterbury) in 2011, Pakuranga (Auckland) in 2013, Rangataua (Bay of Plenty) in 2014 and Wainuiomata (Wellington) in 2015. Melville will now host next year's tournament in Hamilton.