Sevens: Ioasa's men lay nationals platform

The Hawke's Bay team which won the Central Region Sevens tournament in Levin with an unbeaten run on Saturday. Front row from left: Penikolo Latu, Jonathan Ruru, captain Billy Ropiha, Ellery Wilson and Mason Emerson. Back row from left: Marino Mikaele-Tu'u, Sisa Vosaki, Neria Fomai, Kaleb Whakataka, Lewis Marshall.

Central Region Sevens, Levin

Take a bow coach Tafai Ioasa and your Hawke's Bay Sevens team.

A year after Ioasa's Aerospread Hawke's Bay side failed to qualify for the national tournament with a sixth placing at the Central Region qualifier Hawke's Bay won the Central Region tournament at Levin's Playford Park in emphatic fashion on Saturday to book a berth in the January 16 and 17 nationals in Rotorua.

Unbeaten Hawke's Bay beat Manawatu 26-17 in the final after beating Wanganui 19-0 in their semifinal following a 29-10 win against Manawatu, a 29-7 victory against Taranaki and 35-5 drubbing of Poverty Bay in pool play.

"There was a neat buzz within the squad. The job of qualifying for nationals is done and while everything isn't entirely wiped the boys know we start again as we prepare for Rotorua," Hawke's Bay manager David Russell said.

"We don't want to go to Rotorua to make up the numbers. We want to be highly competitive," Russell stressed.

"While we went up a notch or two from our hit-out tournament in Dannevirke four weeks ago when we fielded two teams we're not kidding ourselves. We know we have to keep climbing."

Russell pointed out they can take 14 players to an inter-provincial tournament in Mount Maunganui before finalising their 12-strong squad for the nationals.

While Russell didn't name the players he said another two could come into contention for Rotorua.

Magpies Trent Boswell-Wakefield and Tony Lamborn, if he could be released from his Hurricanes pre-season training duties, would be welcome additions.

They would both beef up the squad's physicality and Boswell-Wakefield would improve the aerial play, one major area which requires polish before nationals.

Magpies' outside back Shannan Chase missed the Bay's last three outings in Levin with a thigh injury and fellow Magpie Jonah Lowe collected a dislocated finger in the final. Both are expected to be fit for the Mount Maunganui trip.

"Everyone put their hands up for nationals selection. We only had a bench of four players for our last three games and their workload produced was a credit to their high fitness levels," Russell added.

Hawke's Bay will be joined by Manawatu, Wellington, Wanganui and Taranaki as the Central Region men's representatives in Rotorua.

Poverty Bay, Wairarapa Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti missed out.

Hawke's Bay's Laurae Blake and Krysten Duffill were members of the Manawatu team which pipped Wellington 24-17 in the women's final.

Three Hawke's Bay players, Julie Ferguson-Ngawaka, Celeste Lowe, Jaimee Edwards and Rhiarana Ferris, played for Wairarapa Bush who set tongues wagging with a 31-7 thrashing of Taranaki in the playoff for third and the final qualifying berth for the nationals.

While Ferris is a cross coder and ranks netball as her priority she proved she has the potential to be considered for New Zealand Women's Sevens selection in the future. Former Aotearoa Maori Sevens rep Ferguson-Ngawaka was classy all day and wouldn't be out of place on the international stage.