High School Old Boys No 8 Siosiua Moala gets the ball away before being tackled at the Poverty Bay Football Union's Tiny White opening day hosted by Ngātapa. Moala was named winner of the Tiny White Medal for overall Most Valuable Player after his side won 20-12. Photo / Paul Rickard
High School Old Boys No 8 Siosiua Moala gets the ball away before being tackled at the Poverty Bay Football Union's Tiny White opening day hosted by Ngātapa. Moala was named winner of the Tiny White Medal for overall Most Valuable Player after his side won 20-12. Photo / Paul Rickard
A week-one upset and a Tiny White Medal winner made it a memorable opening day of the Poverty Bay club rugby competition for High School Old Boys on Saturday.
Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys (HSOB) stunned reigning champions East Coast Farm Vets Young Māori Party (YMP) 20-12 in aPremier game hosted by Ngātapa at their Paddy’s Park ground.
HSOB scored three tries to YMP’s two and came back from a 12-3 deficit to snatch the points against a team who won every game of their 2025 Lee Bros Shield-winning season.
To cap their victorious start, HSOB powerhouse No 8 Siosiua Moala won the Tiny White Medal as the overall Most Valuable Player on the day – an accolade named after the All Black and Poverty Bay great Richard “Tiny” White who played his club rugby for HSOB.
Kahu Scaffolding Tapuae won the other Premier game at Ngātapa on Saturday, beating the host club 33-7 after leading 19-0 at the break.
Poverty Bay Heartland head coach Paoraian Manuel-Harman shone at first five-eighths for Tapuae, who are looking to regain the title they won in 2024.
Ngātapa centre George Twigley makes a strong run in his side's Premier grade rugby match against Tapuae at Ngātapa on Saturday. Tapuae won 33-7. Photo / Paul Rickard
Week 4 of the Ngāti Porou East Coast men’s club competition was cancelled due to the forecast as ex-tropical cyclone Vaianu closed in on Tairāwhiti.
Tapaue's Eneriko Tupou dives over to score in his side's 33-7 defeat of Ngātapa at the Tiny White opening day for Poverty Bay Premier club rugby at Paddy's Park, Ngātapa. Photo / Paul Rickard
Scoreboard
Poverty Bay Premier Grade, Week 1: Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys 20 (Josaia Bosaka Tikicidre 2, Cohen Loffler tries; Loffler con, Te-Reimana Gray pen) East Coast Farm Vets Young Māori Party 12 (Jesse Kapene, Legend Winiata tries; Kelvin Smith con). HT HSOB 3 YMP 12.
