Kamo player/coach Cameron Goodhue (centre) couldn't lead his team to another premier men's rugby final as they went down to Old Boys Marist 34-12. Photo / Tania Whyte
Kamo player/coach Cameron Goodhue (centre) couldn't lead his team to another premier men's rugby final as they went down to Old Boys Marist 34-12. Photo / Tania Whyte
Waipū and Old Boys Marist will contest the 2019 Northland Bayleys premier men's club rugby final at the Northland Events Centre on Saturday.
The two finalists were decided from two enterprising semifinals which saw Old Boys Marist (OBM) at home beat last year's champions Kamo 34-12, while Waipū thumped Wellsford57-7 in Waipū.
OBM first five Daniel Hawkins led his team well, scoring 14 points in a try, three conversions and a penalty. With four others also scoring tries, OBM did enough to repel the advances of Kamo, who only scored two tries and a conversion.
Old Boys Marist No 8 Aorangi Stokes (with ball) has been a leader for his side all season. Photo / Tania Whyte
The fixture between top qualifiers Waipū and fourth-placed Wellsford posed an intriguing contest after the teams clashed in a tight 22-18 win for Waipū in April.
In the end, Waipū recorded their biggest winning margin of the 2019 competition and their second-highest total, just behind their 59-20 win over Mid Northern in April.
Any mention of a Waipū blowout would have been rubbished after the third minute of the game at Caledonian Park as Wellsford's Neil Warnock crashed over near the posts after a lineout five metres from the Waipū tryline.
The next five minutes actually pointed to a potential Wellsford win as fullback Matty Wright was dynamic from the back and almost set up another try with a blistering break down the right-hand side.
However, once Waipū crossed Wellsford's line after 10 minutes, the game was one-way traffic with the home team scoring a further three tries to lead 26-7 at the halftime break.
Waipū's forwards were the difference on the day as their pack dominated their southern opposition, who could find little solace in their set-piece. Thanks to the work done by the men up front, Waipū's backline were able to employ their dangerous runners, first five Wiseguy Faiane and fullback Pisi Leilua chief among them.
The second half played out much like the first, Waipū dominating possession and Wellsford squandering what little they had. The visitors showed good fight throughout but when they let the home side score two quick tries in the last three minutes, it showed Waipū had broken the back of their defence.
Waipū reserve halfback Emil Pittman, pictured in the match against Kamo on June 22, was dangerous when he came on in the second half on Saturday. Photo / File
The premier side's win came after a nail-biting two-point victory for the Waipū reserves over Kamo and will see both sides contest finals in 2019, a fact not lost on Waipū premier coach Graham Dewes.
"For us, as a club, it's been a success because my goal at the start of the year was to get both teams in the final," Dewes said.
"We are such a small club so whatever happens next week, we've ticked off the big boxes."
Lacking a win in the premier competition for 143 years, Dewes said getting over the line on Saturday against OBM has always been in the back of his mind, especially after losing last year's final.
"I'm only bringing it up now in the business end but we've just been focusing on each game week by week knowing that we have to tick off the small boxes just to get to that final."
Dewes said it was his side's teamwork that won them the game against Wellsford and he suspected a similarly dominant performance would be needed to overtake a strong OBM side.
Wellsford coach Stu Oldfield said he was well aware going into the game it was going to be a tough contest, especially at the set-piece.
"We knew it was going to be a battle and we just didn't really get enough ball with our set-piece and what ball we did have, we never really cherished it enough to build phases to score," he said.
"We started well but it's maintaining that and I do think for a couple of the boys the moment got the best of them, but it's all learning."
Oldfield credited experienced fullback Matty Wright, who had been a big influence on an injury-ravaged Wellsford. After achieving his preseason goal of making the top four, Oldfield said the team were nicely placed for the 2020 season.
"We had a lot of injuries this year and to get to where we got, we're pretty rapt and it's been good to bleed these young guys through and throw them in the deep end."
