Billy Wallace competition Team of the 2017 Season

Above: This year's joint winner Ben Tupuola earned points in nine of his 19 games played this year, including six Billy Wallace competition Player of the Match performances. 

If you made up a team comprised of the best from the Billy Wallace Best & Fairest standings, what would it look like and how would they go? We reckon the fifth annual Club Rugby side – using the Dominion Post’s contributors 3-2-1 scoring for every Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup match this season – would be more than a handful for most teams.

As usual there are heavyweight performers up front, a mobile group of locks and loose forwards – who once again seem to dominate the points scoring – and an interesting mix of backs. And once again we’ve also named a reserves bench to complement our starting side.

Wainuiomata’s Ben Tupuola and Tawa’s Hemi Fermanis jointly won this year’s award with 23 points each, five ahead of Petone’s Lester Maulolo. It’s the second time for Tupuola who won it outright in 2014, while Fermanis joins older brother TJ (joint-winner in 2015) as a winner.

Our selection criterion is based on who was awarded the most points in each position throughout the season. For the most part, players in this team have been selected in the position that they played most of their games in. In the event of a tie, it’s the number of times a player was awarded points firstly, then when they most recently received points.

There are those players unlucky to miss out. No. 8 is a position that features prominently in the weekly points and it’s no real surprise the list of names – last year’s winner Peniasi Tokakece (Tawa), Sam Gard’ner (Wellington) and Teariki Ben-Nicholas (OBU) – behind competition joint-winner Tupuola at that position. Norths’ Antony Fox was an early leader and set the tone for the Porirua side but was caught on the last day by OBU’s Daven Candy who picked up two points in the final; though if we borrowed from the Goats’ playbook and went with a five-forward/two-back split on the bench then Fox would make it.

Another is HOBM’s Brandyn Laursen who amassed 12 points across the season but did so playing three different positions – first-five, second-five, and fullback. His utility value puts him on the bench however.

Unlike the Wellington selectors, three players from the champion Old Boys-University Goats make our side. Hulking prop Jonathan Fuimaono would captain our team, and is joined by teammates Candy and Dale Sabbagh.

Jubilee Cup runners-up Hutt Old Boys Marist have a quartet in our 22; prop Joe ‘Apikatoa and halfback Sheridan Rangihuna (despite his suspension) are starters, with Laursen and James O’Reilly on the bench.

Seven of the eight Jubilee Cup sides have a representative in the starting side. Oriental-Rongotai is the exception, but have two players in our reserves.

Three players ‘repeat’ from last year’s starting XV; Fermanis, MSP wing Mike Buckley, and Upper Hutt Rams back Joyner Key. Two more players, O’Reilly and Tokakece, drop back to the bench in this edition.

Like last year a trio of players from Hardham Cup sides make the side, all as starters. Poneke lock Cole Stewart’s sensational run of form during the second half of the Swindale where he was Man of the Match four times in five weeks sees him join Fermanis in the second row. Avalon’s Ben Peni’s early season exploits sees him hang on to the #12 jersey in a thin field, while veteran Key also makes the team though this year on the right wing where he played almost exclusively after being in midfield in 2016.

In all 183 different players received Best & Fairest points this year, which is seven more than in 2016. Eight players earned their only points of the year on Opening Day in Upper Hutt while two - props Finnbarr Kerr-Newell (OBU), who made this team last year, and Simon Malaealu (HOBM) - got their only points in the Jubilee Cup playoffs.

2017 was the 52nd year of the award, with Tom Lister – who recently passed away - from the Athletic club the first winner in 1966.

The 2017 Billy Wallace Best & Fairest Wellington club rugby Team of the Year, with their points accumulated in brackets with their club:

1. Jonathan Fuimaono (OBU – 10)
2. Valentine Meachen (MSP – 7)
3. Joe ‘Apikatoa (HOBM – 12)
4. Cole Stewart (Poneke – 14 – Hardham Cup player)
5. Hemi Fermanis (Tawa – 23 – joint-winner)
6. Parekura Lalaga (Norths – 15)
7. Daven Candy (OBU – 11)
8. Ben Tupuola (Wainuiomata – 23 – joint-winner)
9. Sheridan Rangihuna (HOBM – 12)
10. Dale Sabbagh (OBU – 8)
11. Mike Buckley (MSP – 11)
12. Ben Peni (Avalon – 8 – Hardham Cup player)
13. Lester Maulolo (Petone – 18)
14. Joyner Key (Upper Hutt Rams – 7 – Hardham Cup player)
15. Andrew Wells (MSP – 12)

16. James O’Reilly (HOBM – 6)
17. James Coburn (Tawa – 5)
18. Chris Middleton (Norths – 9)
19. Peniasi Tokakece (Tawa – 12)
20. Adam Deck (Ories – 6)
21. Brandyn Laursen (HOBM – 12)
22. Aukuso Tuitama (Ories – 9)