Wellington club rugby highlights of the past decade: Part 4

Above: Hutt Old Boys Marist wing Tupeni Kamakorewa steaming in for one of his two tries in his side’s 43-21 Anzac Day McBain Shield win over Petone last year. Possessing searing pace and benefiting from HOBM’s positive style of play, Kamakorewa was the top try scorer in the 2012 Swindale Shield.

A decade in review part 4: Part 4 of 4 looking back at some of the highlights of Wellington Premier Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup rugby over the past decade (2003-2012). Selected matches and performances below are revisited through the perspective of the Club Weekly.

19 June 2010: Popoalii flicks the switch in Jubilee Cup opener

Fresh from scoring a competition record 18 tries to help his side through to an unbeaten Swindale Shield winning run, fullback Buxton Popoalii ignited Northern United to a sizzling 45-23 win over Oriental Rongotai at Porirua Park when it looked to many that they might have been heading for their first defeat of the season. Trailing 10-23 midway through the second half, Popoalii and his electric Norths teammates flicked the switch and scored four unanswered tries and 35 points. As part of this match winning burst, Popoalii scored two tries and added a 45-metre dropped goal, while fellow points scoring sensation James So'oialo (206 points in the just completed Swindale Shield) also scored a try as part of a 17-point personal haul.

2 April 2011: Upper Hutt snatch victory off Petone at the death

Upper Hutt’s 27-26 win over Petone was the talking point of the second round of Swindale Shield matches in 2011. Upper Hutt fullback Jason Woodward was the hero of the hour, calmly stepping up and slotting the match winning penalty with just minutes remaining. The drama didn’t end there though - Petone then missed two clear chances to snatch victory right on fulltime.? First, second five-eighth Michael Lealava'a lined up a penalty attempt from 30 metres out, only for his kick to sail wide. Second, Upper Huttt failed to clear into touch and Petone swung back on to attack. This time first five-eighth Hayden Cripps lined up a dropped goal. But this went astray too and Upper Hutt held on for the tightest of wins.

23 April 2011: Replacement Fili stuns Upper Hutt

For 70 minutes of this contest Upper Hutt, on their Old Timers' Day at a packed Maidstone Park, played committed 15-man rugby and were well on top of MSP. But at 6-15 down and staring at their first defeat to Upper Hutt at Premier level since 2002, enter Marist St. Pat's super-sub Fa'atonu Fili in his last outing for the club for 2011 before jumping on a plane the next day for a stint in Japan. With his first touch of the ball Fili kicked a penalty into the corner to set up MSP’s best chance for points in the entire second half. Following the lineout, Fili attacked the advantage line and turned the ball back on his inside for left wing Jope Nabou who scored a try. Fili added the extras and MSP now trailed 13-15. With their tails up, MSP charged back up field and With the clock showing 80 minutes they were awarded a penalty. Fili, cool as a cucumber, sent the kick through the uprights to give MSP a 16-15 win.

28 May 2011: Mamea family fire Wainuomata to historic win at Evans Bay Park

It was a Mamea family triple act at Evans Bay Park, with wing Isaiah, midfielder Tau and blindside flanker Genesis, helping to fire Wainuiomata to an emphatic 44-27 win over Marist St. Pat's and to a guaranteed spot in the upcoming Jubilee Cup round. The Mameas, along with openside flanker Greg Lealofi, were at the heart of the six tries to four win for the green and blacks to seal a historic berth in the top eight in their fifth season since earning re-promotion to the Premier grade at the end of 2006. Two of the Mameas, Isaiah (2) and Tau, and Leolofi scored tries, while Genesis was a powerhouse throughout as Wainuiomata earned their first ever win over MSP in the modern era in five attempts.

2 July 2011: Grigg carves up Norths

Up and coming Petone second five-eighth Nick Grigg scored a blistering 50-metre solo try against Norths on their home patch at Porirua Park. Grigg literally ran through half the Norths team off the top of a Petone lineout on halfway. He got the ball going forward on the advantage line, glided into a hole, sidestepped, swerved and finally out sprinted the defensive cover, that included Alapati Leiua, to score one of the tries of the 2011 season. Grigg’s first half try wasn’t enough however as Norths stormed back to upstage Petone 25-23. Hurricanes centre Leuia evaded the bootlace tackle of Petone flanker and New Zealand U20 World Cup winner Brad Shields to score the winning try with about three minutes left on the clock.

30 July 2011: Va’alepu scores five tries in Jubilee Cup semi-final

Norths blasted past home team Poneke in the second half of this Jubilee Cup semi-final to win 29-3 after having led just 7-3 at halftime and turning into a stiff, cold breeze for the second 40 minutes. Left wing AJ Va'alepu was the individual star of the show in scoring all five of Norths' tries - the most in any game of Wellington Premier club rugby since MSP fullback Mike Kingsbeer scored six tries in one match against Wainuiomata back in round five of the 2009 Swindale Shield. After running on to a grubber kick to score his first try in the first half, Va’alepu was on the end of the chain to score his next three before scoring his last from an intercept to send Norths into their fourth straight Jubilee Cup final.

7 August 2011: Dynamic Ories capture Jubilee Cup in style

A superb all-round team effort paved the way for Oriental-Rongotai to win its first standalone Jubilee Cup title and first since the war when it combined with Poneke for several seasons. Ories ran in five tries to blitz two-time defending champions Northern United in a dynamic exhibition of grassroots rugby. In an exhilarating 20 minutes of play either side of halftime, Ories came from 13-6 behind to score four electric tries and take the game away from Norths. With barely 10 minutes up on the scoreboard clock in the second half, Ories had scored their third and fourth tries and kicked a penalty to open up a 33-13 lead and it was effectively game over. All four tries had the huge crowd on its feet and with the weather having turned windy, wet and cold from the south just before halftime Ories set about protecting their big lead. The 2011 final was also notable for being broadcast live on Sky Television for the first time.

14 April 2012:? Woodward’s winning conversion heartbreak for Wainuiomata

Upper Hutt fullback Jason Woodward brought the house down at Maidstone Park with the last act of the game by kicking the match winning conversion and giving his side an Old Timers' Day 25-23 victory over Wainuiomata. Woodward had kicked terribly all day, missing four from five of his previous kicks, as he lined up the winning conversion from about 15 metres inside the right hand touchline. The place erupted when the flags went up. It was heartbreak for Wainuiomata, who had at least deserved to escape with a draw after leading throughout and dominating up front against a lacklustre Upper Hutt who were rarely in the match in the first half. With Piri Weepu on board at first five-eighth, and their physical pack in control in the set-pieces, Wainuiomata had scored two unanswered tries to lead 17-3 at halftime.

25 April 2012: Eagles outside backs on fire in McBain clash

Playing to a bumper Petone Recreation Ground crowd, HOBM soared to the outright lead in the Swindale Shield standings and retained the McBain Shield by emphatically beating Petone 43-21. A super-slick HOBM had too much pace for the Villagers, running in six tries to two. In an entertaining match, all six were scored by numbers 11,14 and 15. Left wing and former New Zealand Sevens player Leka Tupuola scored a second half hat trick, right wing Tupeni Kamakorewa crossed for a brace and fullback Glen Walters scored the other. HOBM went on to win the first round Swindale Shield title, Kamokerewa and Tuaploa scoring 19 tries between them in 11 games and Walters topping the points scoring charts with 117.

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21 July 2012: No stopping Ardie Savea

Fresh from playing for the All Black Sevens and also making his Hurricanes debut on the wing in a non-competition match against the Reds, Ardie Savea quickly stamped his mark on Wellington Premier rugby for his Oriental-Rongotai side. Savea played in 10 matches on the wing and at openside flanker, scoring seven tries and jointly winning the 2012 Billy Wallace Best and Fairest competition with Wainuiomata’s Shahn Eru. In this match against Tawa he scored? two stunning individual tries in Ories' runaway seven tries to one 43-5 victory at home at the Polo Ground. Ories scored their first three tries, including Savea's first and a 75 metre intercept try to Ambrose Curtis, in the first half and still led 19-0 after about 50 minutes. Tawa replied with their only try, before Savea and Ories put on the afterburners over the final quarter and won handsomely.

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