“Performance-wise, I could not have asked for much more from them over their four games in the tournament,” coach Bonny Seymour said.
“That’s especially the case when you consider that most of the guys did not know each other that well, and yet they gelled together so well.”
Seymour said they had only had three hours of practice time together.
“It was an A-plus result for them, really.”
He picked out captain Allies Rangihuna in midfield as one of his most influential players, along with fellow midfielders Hamish Swann and Ollie Egan, and striker William Matthews.
“A lot of what the boys achieved came down to the work of our manager, Rachel Matthews, too, and the help from Nick Scanlan, my co-coach.
“Nick told me he was impressed by the performance of the team.”
The under-13 boys will be in action again this Sunday in Napier in another mini-tournament, this time against Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay.
“It’s all part of our build-up to the main tournament of the year for us, the Central Region Curtis Cup in Napier in October,” Seymour said.
“The way the team played at the weekend was certainly good preparation.”
• Mini Tupara was born and bred in the small settlement of Waituhi, northwest of Gisborne and began playing hockey as a child in the paddocks of Waituhi with her whanau.
Mini Tupara became a well-known hockey player and coach. She and her husband George bought a bus to transport the children of Waituhi to hockey games in Gisborne.
Mini Tupara died in 1970 but her legacy is continued by her mokopuna from Waituhi who continue to grace the field and support hockey as she did.
• Noel Morrow was born and grew up in Gisborne, and he played hockey from an early age, beginning at Te Hapara.
Throughout his years he played hockey for his local club High School Old Boys and Poverty Bay.
Noel Morrow died in 2011.
