Wakely Shield rugby: Mana Kotiro all-girls team through to Leahy Plate final in historic rugby tournament

Even a last-gasp tackle from a Wairoa defender couldn't stop Haelyn-Rose Karora-Hawkins scoring her try for girls team Mana Kotiro on Wednesday. Photo / Paul Taylor

The golden girls of Hawke’s Bay’s Wakely Shield primary schools rugby tournament will be playing for silver on the last day of the competition on Friday after reaching the final of its Leahy Plate division.

Already with one win in their three pool games, history-making sole all-girls team Mana Kotiro beat Saracens 29-21 in their first trophy playoff, at Tareha Recreation Reserve, Taradale, and in a noon-Friday plate final will play Central Hawke’s Bay, who beat Wairoa 29-15 in their semifinal.

Meanwhile it will be an all-Hastings showdown in the Wakely Shield final starting on Friday at 1.30pm.

Hastings West beat Napier East 24-22 and Hastings East beat Napier West 53-12 in the semifinals.

A determined Malachi Ormond heads for a try for Wairoa in the country team's match against Central Hawke's Bay at the Wakely Shield tournament at Tareha Reserve, Taradale, on Thursday. CHB won to claim a place in the plate final against girls team Mana Kotiro. Photo / Paul Taylor

Mana Kotiro is the first girls team in the tournament, which was first held in 2004, although 11 girls were in the winning Hastings East team last year, some of them returning this year with the girls team.