There is no denying Te Puna had a year to remember in 2019 - and there doesn't seem to be any slowing down for the club in 2020.
To top off Te Puna Rugby Football Club's successful year last year - when they won three Bay of Plenty 15s championship
National Club 7s Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup: Te Puna makes top two
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Te Puna's Jordy Stone was stand out as captain at last week's National Club 7s Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup. Photo / File
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Those eyeing the top prize, alongside Te Puna for the Bay of Plenty, were Ardmore Marist (Counties Manukau), Alhambra Union (Otago), Feilding Yellows (Manawatu), Havelock North (Hawke's Bay). Hutt Old Boys Marist (Wellington).
Kaitaia (Northland), MAC (Hawke's Bay), Marist Albion (Canterbury), Massey University (Manawatu), Northern United (Wellington), Oriental-Rongotai (Wellington), Saracens (Canterbury), Toa (Horowhenua-Kapiti), Timaru Old Boys (South Canterbury) and Waihī Athletic (Thames Valley).
Te Puna's sevens coach Marty Stevenson said while they were disappointed to have gone down in the final 7-26 to Ardmore Marist being the second best sevens club in the country was worth celebrating.
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In pool play Te Puna beat Hutt Old Boys Marist 19-7, Ardmore Marist 28-17 and MAC 22-12 before winning matches against Albion Marist 28-12 and Havelock North 31-10 in the semifinal.
Stevenson said every player worked hard in the lead up to the tournament and during it, but the final didn't play out in their favour.
"The whole team stepped up. Jordy Stone, he was awesome leading from the front, Etonia Waqa was our top try scorer ... and Rewita Biddle was named in the tournament team," Stevenson says.
For Stevenson, coaching the Te Puna sevens side was his first role as a head coach of a senior team. He enjoyed the process, something he puts down to the positive culture of the club and the closeness of the players.
"They're an awesome bunch."
He played at the Bay of Plenty sevens champs last year but didn't put the jersey on at nationals. At 30, he says he's too old for the game and wants to leave it to the younger players', with all the speed. But he didn't have a problem with his older brother Greg, 32, playing in the tournament.
"My playing days are slowing, I'll still play 15s this year," Coach Stevenson says.
He says the sevens season helps keep the boys fit for the 15s season and he's confident they'll be a strong contender for the Baywide competition again this year.
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"I think they'll be the team to beat."
Stevenson first played for Te Puna as a junior and after going away to university in the Manawatu region he returned to Te Puna to play as a senior in 2012. It's a club he loves and enjoys being part of - so much so he lives just down the road from the grounds.
"It is a good whānau club, it has definitely got a good vibe to it."
And it's that, Stevenson believes, which helps the club's successes.
"It definitely starts with the culture.
Te Puna's results:
Pool play:
Te Puna 19 vs Hutt old boys Marist 7.
Te Puna 28 vs Ardmore Marist 17.
Te Puna 22 vs MAC 12.
Finals:
Quarter final: Te Puna 28 vs Albion Marist 12.
Semifinal: Te Puna 31 vs Havelock North 10.
Final: Te Puna 7 vs Ardmore Marist 26.
Te Puna team list:
Jordy Stone (captain).
Sharman Johnson.
Tana Tuhakaraina.
Etonia Waqa.
Greg Stevenson.
Rewita Biddle.
Ryan Henstock.
Epeli Lotawa.
Mitch Holton.
Josh Kingsbury.
Les McIlroy.
Hunter Mokomoko.
Coach: Marty Stevenson.
