No 8 Uini Fetalaiga won three awards at the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union awards on Saturday, including Heartland team Player of the Year. Photo / Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union
No 8 Uini Fetalaiga won three awards at the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union awards on Saturday, including Heartland team Player of the Year. Photo / Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union
Powerhouse No 8 Uini Fetalaiga’s impact on the Heartland Championship was underlined with a trophy treble at the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union awards on Saturday.
The Auckland-based loan player won the Paul Sceats Memorial Trophy for Heartland Player of the Year, was the Erle Tucker Most Valuable Player winnerand was also named the squad’s Best Forward.
It takes three South Canterbury players to stop Poverty Bay's Uini Fetalaiga in a thrilling match at Rugby Park, which Poverty Bay won 41-35. Photo / Paul Rickard
Fetalaiga, who played his club rugby for University Premier Vipers, was outstanding with ball in hand as the Poverty Bay Weka bounced back impressively from a poor 2024 Heartland season to make the Lochore Cup playoffs for the fifth-to-eighth-placed teams.
He helped give the Weka impetus and go-forward as they racked up four wins from their eight matches, including a memorable 41-35 home-ground defeat of South Canterbury, and went on to narrowly miss making the Meads Cup for top four.
They were also involved in a humdinger of a Lochore Cup semifinal against North Otago in Oamaru – the home side sneaking home 48-46.
Halfback Henry Saker was named Best Back for the Poverty Bay Heartland team. His passing game, attacking skills and combination with first five-eighth Tayler Adams were pivotal. Photo / Paul Rickard
Another loan player, Henry Saker, was also pivotal to the Bay’s turnaround and was named Best Back at Saturday’s awards, held at the Electrinet Park Golf Club – next door to the Weka fortress of Rugby Park.
Hooker Ngahiwai Manuel breaks away from the South Canterbury defence. Manuel was named winner of the Heartland squad's Best & Fairest Cup. Photo / Paul Rickard
Hooker Ngahiwi Manuel, another standout over the season, won the PBRFU Best & Fairest Cup.
Weka coach Paoraian Manuel-Harman, in his first season at the helm, won Coach of the Year, while co-captain and loose forward Keanu Taumata won Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Māori Player of the Year.
Co-captain Keanu Taumata won Tūranganui-a-Kiwa Māori Player of the Year at the Poverty Bay union rugby awards. He is also a finalist for Heartland Player of the Year at the NZ Rugby Awards. Photo / Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union
Taumata’s season was cut short by injury. But for that, he would have made the Heartland XV squad for its tour to Samoa and he has been named a finalist for the Ian Kirkpatrick Medal for Heartland Player of the Year in this year’s New Zealand Rugby Awards.
Poverty Bay co-captain and prop Lance Dickson goes low in a collision with a South Canterbury defender. Dickson's contribution to the Weka team culture was acknowledged with the Peter Brown Memorial Trophy. Photo / Paul Rickard
Prop and co-captain Lance Dickson, another injury casualty during the season after racking up the milestone of 150 Premier club matches for OBM, won the Mana Tangata Peter Brown Memorial Trophy for the player who most displays the values of and contributes to a positive team culture.
Age group and special awards were also presented. The age-group players of the year were Rerewa Hawea (Under-14 boys); Maddy Symes (U16 boys); Kara Korau (U16 girls); Tomasi Mataele (U18 boys); and Latrell Walker (U20 men).
After a successful first season as head coach of the Poverty Bay Heartland squad, Paoraian Manuel-Harman was named Coach of the Year at the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union awards. Photo / Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union
PBRFU prizegiving results
Age Grade awards - Under-14 boys, Team Spirit: Daniel Smith
