Big rugby week in Central Hawke’s Bay

Napier appears to be steamrolling the way to another Ross Shield Hawke’s Bay Primary Schools rugby tournament title.

The team has had three big-wins passing the halfway stage of the five-day competition that ends in Waipukurau on Saturday.

Unbeaten team Napier under way in their Friday afternoon game against Hastings East at the Ross Shield Hawke’s Bay Primary Schools Rugby Tournament in Waipukurau. Photo / Rachel Wise

A boys tournament for more than 80 of its 122 years, played among six district representative teams stemming from the sub-unions network of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union, it has been dominated by Napier for the past two years.

Going for three in a row, they beat Wairoa 80-0 on Tuesday, Dannevirke 48-0 on Wednesday and 2024 hosts Central Hawke’s Bay 50-7 on Thursday.

After playing Hastings East on Friday, followers are expecting the title to be decided on Saturday in Napier’s match against Hastings West. That team, in the first three days, had beaten Central Hawke’s Bay 20-7, Hastings East 17-0 and Dannevirke 28-8.

Central Hawke’s Bay beat Dannevirke 38-10 in the opening match on Friday, guaranteeing they will retain the Life Members’ Salver for competition among the tournament’s three country sub-unions, having beaten Wairoa 29-24 on Wednesday.

The Wakely Shield tournament, a lower weight competition, starts in Taradale on Monday.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.