Club Rugby Hat-tricks Part 1: The 2009 Swindale Shield

Above: Alapati Leiua scored four tries for Northern United against the Wests Roosters in this tenth round Swindale Shield match in 2009.

The tries came thick and fast throughout the 2009 Swindale Shield.

Of the 98 Premier Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup individual try-scoring hat-tricks and the 27 Premier 2 Hardham Cup try hat-tricks in Wellington club rugby in the decade between 2006-15, few could top some of those scored throughout the first round competition in 2009.

In the first half of the 2009 season, a group of players seemingly caught white line fever all at once.

Between the first and the ninth rounds of the Swindale Shield 2009 scoreboards ran particularly hot - with one individual six-try haul, two five-try hauls, four four-try scoring sprees as well as half a dozen more run of the mill hat-tricks.

It all started in the opening round Gala Day at Trentham Memorial Park when Petone wing Fraser Middleton ran in four tries as part of his side’s 13-try 86-9 win over Avalon.

Week two was tightly contested across the board, before MSP fullback Brendan Watt and Poneke recruit Charlie Ngatai got in on the action in the third round.

Then Wellington Lion Watt scored five of this team's eight tries in a 55-3 win over Tawa at Evans Bay Park and Ngatai dotted down four times in Poneke's 76-0 defeat of Old Boys-University across the road at Kilbirnie Park. Poneke wing Ambrose Plaister also scored three tries for Poneke against OBU. It was a like a golf tournament at Evans Bay, with the frequent roar of the crowd at each venue heard by the other throughout the 80 minutes.

The following week Oriental-Rongotai wing Julian Savea teed off with five tries.

Savea enjoyed having the sun on his back, scorching in for a 25-point haul against Old Boys-University at Nairnville Park. Ories won the match 78-17, with kicker James Proctor nailing nine from 12 conversions. Savea would make his Hurricane debut two years later in 2011.

In the same round, then current Hurricanes squad member Robbie Fruean and 2010-2014 Hurricane Alapati Leiua each helped themselves to hat-tricks in Northern United’s 106-0 win over Avalon.

Marist St Pat’s outside back Mike Kingsbeer set the competition alight the following week, scoring six tries against Wainuiomata.

Former Hutt Old Boys Marist Jubilee Cup winner Kingsbeer’s six try haul came as part of MSP's 88-3 win at Evans Bay Park.

He started the game at centre and then moved to fullback, benefiting from a slick backline that included second five-eighth Joe Wright, in-form wing Watt and first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili. Watt also scored two of MSP's 13 tries to lift his season tally to eight alongside Kingsbeer, while Fili added 10 conversions.

The 2009 Swindale Shield reached its halfway point the following Saturday and Ories centre Paulo Aukuso celebrated with a hat-trick in his team’s 75-0 win over Avalon.

Poneke wing Marika Kau and blindside flanker Daniel Ramsay scored hat-tricks in Poneke’s 66-5 week nine win over Avalon in wet, windy conditions.

Week 10 saw Northern United beat the Wests Roosters 58-6 and Alapati Leiua scored four tries in this game at the Cage.

Leiua lifted his tally to 16 tries in 10 matches thus far in the 2009 season and to 25 tries in 20 Premier starts for Norths.

Norths and Petone went on to share the first round Swindale Shield the following week. Elsewhere, big Upper Hutt No. 8 Mathew Luamanu closed his side’s first round campaign with a hat-trick in a 28-30 defeat to Old Boys University.

Ories centre Aukuso bagged four tries in a 52-7 Jubilee Cup round 2 win over Tawa, before Petone centre Greg Walker and first five-eighth Hayden Cripps each scored hat-tricks in Petone’s 12-try 68-7 win over Tawa. Cripps scored his three tries inside the opening 25 minutes as Petone raced to a 51-7 halftime lead.

Poneke qualified top and Petone second for the 2009 Jubilee Cup finals. But both were beaten at home in their semi-finals and MSP went on to beat Norths 21-16 in the final.

Norths centre Leiua was the leading Swindale Shield/Jubilee Cup try-scorer in 2009 with 21 tries, ahead of MSP’s Watt with 13, Petone’s Middleton with 12, Ories’ Aukuso, MSP’s Kingsbeer and Poneke’s Kau with 11.

Most tries in a Swindale Shield, Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup match 2006-2015

6 tries:

Mike Kingsbeer (Marist St Pat’s)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 5
Marist St Pat’s 88 – Wainuiomata 3

Tauaosi Tuimavavae
2013 Swindale Shield Round 3
Poneke 102 – Rimutaka 0

5 tries:

Brendan Watt (Marist St Pat’s)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 3
Marist St Pat’s 55 – Tawa 3

Julian Savea (Oriental-Rongotai)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 4
Oriental-Rongotai 78 – Old Boys-University 17

Ajay Va’alepu (Northern United)
2011 Jubilee Cup Semi-final
Northern United 29 – Poneke 3

Dean Brunsdon (Northern United)
2013 Swindale Shield Round 11
Northern United 85 – Rimutaka 0

4 tries:

Mike Pehi (Hutt Old Boys Marist)
2006 Swindale Shield Round 1
Hutt Old Boys Marist 32 – Upper Hutt 29

Anare Koliavu (Northern United)
2008 Swindale Shield Round 11
Northern United 92 – Avalon 3

Fraser Middleton (Petone)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 1
Petone 86 – Avalon 9

Charlie Ngatai (Poneke)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 3
Poneke 76 – Old Boys University 0

Alapati Leiua (Northern United)
2009 Swindale Shield Round 10
Northern United 58 – Wests Roosters 6

Paulo Aukuso (Oriental-Rongotai)
2009 Jubilee Cup Round 2
Oriental-Rongotai 52 – Tawa 7

Buxton Popoalii (Northern United)
2010 Swindale Shield Round 8
Northern United 59 – Johnsonville 10

Johnny Teleaga (Northern United)
2012 Swindale Shield Round 11
Northern United 75 – Rimutaka 0

Telea Seumanutafa (Northern United)
2012 Jubilee Cup Round 4
Northern United 31 – Hutt Old Boys Marist 18

Te Wehi Wright (Old Boys-University)
2012 Hardham Cup Round 4
Old Boys University 34 – Northern United B 10

James Kusel (Hutt Old Boys Marist)
2013 Swindale Shield Round 8
Hutt Old Boys Marist 50 – Poneke 22

Siaosi Finau-Lealiifano (Tawa)
2013 Jubilee Cup Round 2
Tawa 55 – Petone 14

Nick Grigg (Petone)
2015 Swindale Shield Round 8
Petone 61 –Paremata-Plimmerton 11