MVP honours to Ngatapa’s Westrupp

Ngatapa’s Poverty Bay Premier club rugby season may have come to an end in the semifinals but they did get to celebrate an individual honour — Khian Westrupp winning the competition’s Most Valuable Player award. It was Westrupp’s first Poverty Bay Premier season after playing for Uawa and Ngāti Porou East Coast last year, including the Heartland Championship Lochore Cup final. He made the Poverty Bay Wekas squad for the 2023 Heartland Championship. Picture by Paul Rickard

Ngatapa forward Khian Westrupp’s first season of Poverty Bay club rugby ended on a high as the Premier competition’s  Most Valuable Player winner.

MVPs were chosen by neutral parties in Week 1; clubs selected MVPs from their own teams using a 3-2-1 points system through Week 2 to 6 ; and neutral selectors took over for the remainder of the season.

Westrupp, who played 10 games for Ngāti Porou East Coast last year before shifting to Ngatapa from Uawa, made his Premier debut during the Tiny White opening weekend.

He made an impact, claiming his first two points on the MVP ladder in Ngatapa’s season’s-opener against Waikohu.

In Week 4, he earned maximum MVP points in a 24-7 loss to OBM.

Another two points were gained in Weeks 6 and 7 and one more in Week 8, reflecting the former Gisborne Boys’ High School student’s consistency week after week.

At this point of the season, YMP full back Andrew Tauatevalu was leading the Taste One-sponsored MVP race, with Westrupp right behind him.

The 21-year-old picked up three points in Week 9 which was to be the last competition weekend as Week 10 was cancelled due to the regional state of emergency.

Westrupp, who feels "most comfortable" in the no.6 jersey, wasn’t expecting to be “up there in the points” in the MVP series.

“It was an awesome season and it was awesome to hear that I had won MVP,” Westrupp said, “especially it being my first season playing club rugby in Gizzy and with all the great players here.”

He had plenty of support throughout the season which inspired him week after week, and he also noted Tauatevalu as being unfortunate not to be able to add to his points when High School Old Boys defaulted to YMP in Week 8.

“Andrew is a very good player. The points were tight the whole season but it was just unfortunate that we didn’t get to play our last game of the season where it could have gone either way so a shout out to him.

“I had a lot of support from my friends, family who would push me to keep playing hard, especially my dad, who would call me every Friday before our game,” Westrupp said.

The rugby year is far from over for Westrupp.

His performances caught the attention of Poverty Bay head coach Miah Nikora who brought him into the Wekas squad for the 2023 Heartland campaign.

“Khian has had an awesome season,” Nikora said. “He has been really consistent in his performances and his selection is well deserved.”