The Hawke's Bay Ross Shield rugby team after completing their unbeaten run for the season. Photo/Supplied
True the individual brilliance is there, but most importantly the Hawke's Bay Ross Shield rugby team is a supportive unit who play as one.
The Russell Hewitt-Billy Te Hiko-coached side completed their season with a 41-14 win against the Hawke's Bay Barbarians at Park Island on Friday. The Barbarians team
was selected from primary school students who could not make the Ross Shield tournament weight of 56kgs as well as players from the tournament who didn't make the Hawke's Bay team.
This victory, which gave the team the Errol Hantz Challenge Trophy, followed a 62-7 win against the Southern North Island Primary Schools team in Dannevirke the previous weekend in the battle for the Michael Taaffe Challenge Trophy. Hantz and Taaffe are both Hawke's Bay Ross Shield life members and are affectionately known as the two "godfathers" of Ross Shield rugby.
Friday's match was played in ideal conditions and the Hawke's Bay Ross Shield team took an early 5-0 lead courtesy of a try to loosie Xavier Dunn. The Glen Varcoe-Mark Solomon-coached Hawke's Bay Barbarians led 7-5 after a converted try with 15 minutes of the first half remaining to centre Taufaeteau Kaufononga. Fullback Cohen Batterham slotted the conversion.
Within two minutes of the re-start the Hawke's Bay Ross Shield team regained the lead through a try to winger Te Aotaki Edmonds which followed a superb run from midfielder Kyan Lowe. The Barbarians replied with a try to winger Calvin O'Rourke after a scorching run down the touchline.
