The inaugural Northern United Club 10s tournament is this Saturday at Porirua Park, featuring two pools in the Open Men’s grade and a four-team President’s section
Teams from host club Norths, Toa, Paremata-Plimmerton, Wellington, and the Upper Hutt Rams are involved in the day-long tournament, which kicks off at 9.30 am, with finals commencing at 2.30 pm and the final scheduled for 4.10 pm. There’s almost six hours of continuous rugby scheduled.
Norths are fielding two teams with most of their leading players involved, while visiting Wellington clubs the Upper Hutt Rams, Paremata-Plimmerton and the Wellington Axemen are also expected to field the bulk of their squads as they prepare for the start of the Wellington Premier club rugby season at the end of March. The Upper Hutt Rams made their debut as the new amalgamated Upper Hutt and Rimutaka club last weekend in the New Zealand Club Sevens tournament in Auckland, making the Cup semi-finals. Toa are based in Elsdon, but play in the Horowhenua-Kapiti competition.
Tens rugby sees teams field five forwards and five backs and incorporates the best attacking elements of Sevens rugby while retaining more of the structure of the traditional fifteens game. Games are played in 10 minute halves.
The world's first 10 a-side rugby tournament is credited as being held in Malaysia in 1967. Major rugby tens tournaments include the COBRA Rugby Tens in Malaysia, (since 1967) the Hong Kong Tens (since 1986) and the hugely popular Cape Town Tens (since 2009).
Pool 1: Norths Blue, Toa, Upper Hutt Rams
Pool 2: Norths White, Paremata-Plimmerton, Wellington
Pool 3: Four President’s teams
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9.30 am Norths Blue v Toa
9.55 am Norths White v Paremata-Plimmerton
10.20 am President’s Team 7 v President’s Team 8
10.45 am President’s Team 9 v President’s Team 10
11.10 am Norths Blue v Upper Hutt Rams
11.35 am Norths White v Wellington
12.00 pm President’s Team 7 v President’s Team 9
12.25 pm President’s Team 8 v Team 10
12.50 pm Toa v Upper Hutt Rams
1.15 pm Paremata-Plimmerton v Wellington
1.40 pm President’s Team 7 v President’s Team 10
2.05 pm President’s Team 8 v President’s Team 9
2.30 pm: 1st Pool 1 v 2nd Pool 2 (semi-final)
2.55 pm: 1st Pool 2 v 2nd Pool 1 (semi-final)
3.20 pm: 3rd Pool 1 v 3rd Pool 2 (Bowl Final)
3.45 pm: 2nd from the 2.30 pm game v 2nd from the 2.55 pm game (Plate Final)
4.10 pm: 1st from the 2.30 pm game v 1s from the 2.55 pm game (Cup Final)
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