Tawa Premiers win Team of the Year award

The Tawa Premiers won the Team of the Year accolade at the WRFU end of season awards on Saturday night.

The Tawa Premiers celebrated their second Jubilee Cup win at Jerry Collins Stadium in early August after beating Marist St Pat’s 24-20 in the final. The win completed a stirring late season revival that saw them lose their first three round-robin games and be firmly stuck to the bottom of the ladder only to launch a six-game winning streak all the way to the winner’s dais at Porirua Park.

Long-serving wing Junior ‘Jet’ Togia was the hero of the final with a two-try haul, before a committed defensive effort held off a MSP comeback. Tawa’s first year coaches Willie Lafaele and Doug Fletcher were the Club Coaches of the Year.

The Tawa side edged other nominees the Old Boys University Green Colts and the Wainuiomata Women’s side who both won their second round Championships.

Tawa No. 8 Peniasi Tokakece collected the Billy Wallace Trophy for winning the club rugby Best and Fairest competition.

In other club awards, the Western Suburbs won the Junior Merit Award for the club with the highest aggregate points per team, the Avalon Premier Reserves won the AJ Griffiths Memorial Trophy for the team with the highest average aggregate points per game and Oriental-Rongotai won the Sir William Perry Memorial Trophy for the club that has the highest average aggregate of championship points per team. OBU won the Dewar Shield, Awarded to the club scoring the highest aggregate of championship points per team.

The junior and senior volunteer of the Year awards went to Dale Wall (Wellington U13s) and Mike Woollett (Petone).

Amongst the representative awards, the Wellington Women’s sevens team won the Team of the Year for finishing runners-up to Manawatu in the National Sevens tournament in January, and Charles Aliva was the Representative Coach of the Year. Kat Whata-Simpkins won the Women’s sevens Player of the Year.

Avalon hooker Asafo Aumua won both the Al Keown Memorial Cup for being the best performing player in the 2016 Wellington Rugby Academy and the Most Promisng Player of the Year awards. Other nominees for Most Promising Player of the Year were Ale Fidow (Ories), Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wainuiomata) and Isaia Walker-Leawere (Poneke).

The Wellington Lions and Wellington Pride Players of the Year were loose forward Brad Shields (Petone) and halfback/first five-eighth Acacia Te Iwimate.

Award winners:

Club Team of the Year: Tawa Premiers

Club Coach of the Year: Doug Fletcher & Willie Lafaele, Tawa Premier Co-coaches

Billy Wallace Memorial Trophy: Peniasi Tokakece (Tawa)

WRFU Junior Volunteer of the Year Award: Dale Wall (Wellington Under 13s)

WRFU Senior Volunteer of the Year: Mike Woollett (Petone)

Junior Merit Award: Western Suburbs

AJ Griffiths Memorial Trophy: Avalon Premier Reserve

Sir William Perry Memorial Trophy: Oriental Rongotai

Dewar Shield: Old Boys University

Sideline Environment Award: Rimutaka Junior Rugby Football Club

Referee of the Year: Richard Gordon

Al Keown Memorial Cup: Asafo Aumua (Avalon)

Ken Comber Memorial Cup: Piri Paraone (Petone)

Wellington Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year: Jackson Garden-Bachop (Northern United)

Women's 7s Player of the Year: Kat Whata-Simpkins (Avalon)

Men's 7s Player of the Year: Tomasi Alosio (Hutt Old Boys Marist)

Most Promising Player: Asafo Aumua (Avalon)

Women's Player of the Year: Acacia Te Iwimate (Wainuiomata)

Bill Freeman Memorial Trophy Representative Coach of the Year: Charles Aliva

Representative Team of the Year: Wellington Women's 7s

Wellington Lions Player of the Year: Brad Shields (Petone)