The crowd is jubilant after their win. Pictures by Paul Rickard
THE final went to extra time and TVC came out on top 24-21 — their first grand final victory since joining the competition in 1990. Above right, jubilant TVC supporters as referee Chris Wanoa ends the match.
NPEC Rugby Football Union chairman Campbell Dewes described the final as “fabulous .
. . the game had everything . . . no quarter was asked or given for 100 minutes. It was a celebration of Ngati Porou rugby that’ll be talked about for a long time.”
The focus now shifts to the Heartland Championship, with 30 players assembling in Hicks Bay this weekend for a training camp run by NPEC co-coaches Wayne Ensor and Troy Para, who were impressed by the performances of squad members in Saturday’s final. The squad will be cut to 26 for the Heartland Championship. The Coast have a warm-up game against Eastern Bay of Plenty in Opotiki on August 12, and possibly a second warm-up against Western BoP.
Pictures by Paul Rickard
