Dannevirke team heads to Manawatū club rugby final

Dannevirke Sports Club's senior B rugby team has made it into the final of the Manawatū B grade competition for the Houlihan Cup.

Dannevirke will be up against College Old Boys in the final which will be played on field one at Arena Manawatū tomorrow at 1pm.

The two teams have clashed twice already this season with Dannevirke winning both the home and away games.

It's the second time in the past three years the team have made it to the final.

Coach Nigel Castles says he's very proud of the team's performance over the season which has seen them win all but two of their games, drawing one and losing one, and sitting at the top of the table.

"We just need to win one more game."

He says the players are heading into the game with confidence.

"They were probably more nervous before last week's semifinal match against Massey."

Castles said in the past Marist have proved to be Dannevirke's bogey team, beating them in the final two years ago, but Marist were knocked out last weekend by COB who won by a single point.

Sports club chairman Craig Boyden said it was a significant achievement for the team to make it through to the final and he was optimistic the players would bring the Houlihan Cup home.

"They are a very good team of players and the deserve to be in the final."

Having beaten COB already, Boyden believes the Dannevirke team will have the psychological advantage.

Boyden said the core team players had been together for a number of years with something like five of the forwards having played together while they were studying at Lincoln University.

"They are all farming boys and it turns out they have all come back to Dannevirke to farm.
I've heard of quite a few young ones coming back to Dannevirke.

"It's very heartening for the district and very good for the club."

Boyden said the club had only ever had two All Blacks one of whom was John Ashworth, who played for Old Boys in the days before the clubs amalgamated. Ashworth's son Shay is a member of the Senior B team.

The team: Sam Mann, Logan Augustine, Shay Ashworth, Nigel Walshe, Conor McIntyre, Liam Richardson, Trent Ransom, Taylor Lowe, Isaac Scott (captain), Grayson Feierabend, Sam Jones, Thomas Kuggelein, Mitch Nation, Nick Thorburn, Gillis Te Ture, Fergus Boyden, Sam Fell, Simon Pointis, Logan Massie, Riley Colinge, Sam McNair, Bradley Ingram, Matt McDougall, Dan Walding, Adam Roe, Bo Milner, Matt Roberts, Vaughn Wren, Sean Borlase, Bernie Dunlop.

Coaches are Castles and Graham McNair and managers are Mark Ransom and Hayden Walshe.

Two busloads of supporters are travelling to the game but it's likely there will be many more there to cheer the team on.