Petone Colts gunning for four-peat in Hawke’s Bay Sevens this weekend

The Petone Colts will be gunning for a four-peat of Paladin Sports Hawke’s Bay Sevens titles this Saturday at the annual tournament hosted by the Central Hawke’s Bay Rugby and Sports Club in Waipukurau.

The Petone Colts are proud holders of the Angus Cup, having won it consecutively in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Last year they beat Palmerston North Boys’ High School 27-12 in the Colts final, after defeating Havelock North 17-14 the previous year.

The Villagers will be sending up four teams in total, their Colts, two Men’s sides and their Women’s team that has recently been re-formed.

As well as the Petone teams, two Poneke entries (Men’s and Colts) and one from the Wellington Axemen (Men’s) are making the trip from Wellington to Central Park, as well as several teams from Wairarapa-Bush, Wanganui and Manawatu joining a mix of Hawke’s Bay clubs and sides.

Other clubs and teams taking part in the Men’s competition include, recent New Zealand Marist Club 7s champions Napier Old Boys Marist, recent National Club 7s contenders Napier Technical and Ngamatapouri (Wanganui) and other Hawke’s Bay Premier clubs, hosts Central, Napier Pirate, MAC, Havelock North, Taradale, Tamatea and Hastings Rugby and Sports.

Three schools, Palmerston North Boys’ High School (two teams), Lindisfarne College and Manakura are contesting the Colts competition along with several club sides including Martinborough from Wairarapa-Bush.

Petone and two-time defending champions Feilding Old Boys Oroua (Manawatu) will join several local contenders in the Women’s competition.

Play starts at 9.40am with the final round of pool matches scheduled to conclude at 2.50pm. The knockout rounds then kick into gear, with the final match of the day, the men’s final, at 7.20pm.

Defending champions are Napier Pirate (Men’s), Feilding Old Boys Oroua (Women’s) and Petone (Colts). The Men play for the Ian Baker Cup, the Colts for the Angus Cup and the Women for the Jiangsu Jersey.

Players of the Tournament are selected in each of the three competitions, with some well-known players having been acknowledged here in recent years, including Peniasi Tokacece (Men’s 2013), Tamati Samuels (Men’s 2014), Trinity Spooner Neera (Men’s 2015), Tiaan Falcoln (Men’s 2016), Brayden Iose (Colts 2016), Kendall Templeman (Women’s 2014), Hayley Hutana (Women’s 2015) and Selica Winiata (Women’s 2016).

The Hawke’s Bay Sevens was first played for in 1984, with Hawke’s Bay club Taradale the inaugural men’s winners. The first non-Hawke’s Bay side to claim victory in the Men’s tournament was Tawa in 2007, with Feilding also winning in 2009. As well as Petone winning the Colts three years in succession, Wellington’s Avalon claimed the Women’s tournament in 2014 and a visiting Chinese side Jiangshu the year before in 2013.

Confirmed Pools and draws and some more key information about the tournament will be published here later this week.