Mid Northern prove too strong for Waipū in premier club rugby final

Kalani Going and Jordan Olsen with the premier rugby spoils after their side convincingly beat Waipu at Semenoff Stadium. Photo / Michael Cunningham

No one was the least bit surprised Mid Northern came out top of the pops in the Tyrepower premier club rugby, given the way the side had been tracking all season.

A trio of games at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei on a beautiful Saturday drew a good crowd that were treated to a feast of rugby, starting from the Premier Reserves match at noon won by the Western Sharks over Wellsford 45-25.

Otamatea Hawks are the South Zone champions after overcoming Mid Western 29-23 while Mid Northern proved too strong for Waipū in the feature match, winning
53-19 to end a nine-year drought.

Waipū couldn't pick where Mid Northern were going next for a large part in the opening quarter.

There were multiple dimensions to the way the men from Hukerenui went about their work and they were not afraid to mix things up. Their unpredictability made them not only dangerous but made Waipū think which of the damaging ball runners will line up for the next try.

Perhaps no other player had a larger influence on proceedings than Mid Northern skipper Kalani Going who bagged four tries to cap off a fantastic year of supremely good running rugby by his team.

Mid Northern skipper Kalani Going scores one of his four tries in their premier club rugby win over Waipu. Photo / Michael Cunningham

He formed a potent backline and the damage Going, centres partner Himiona Manuel, winger Jordan Le Vavasour and first five Johnny Cooper were able to cause when given the ball with a bit of real estate was just too much firepower for Waipū to contain.

Mid Northern drew first blood in just the second minute when the Waipū defence went totally up the spout.

A blindside move saw Le Vavasour bolt down the right wing to touch down, before Manuel sold a dummy and sliced through for his team's sesond try four minutes later.

No.8 Sam McNamara and skipper Jonah Mau'u toiled hard upfront for Waipū, had parity in the set piece but couldn't find that one break that could spark their attack.

Going's astute, assured leadership for Mid Northern was palpable. He had an innate feel for things and his direction, flow and control between the backs and forwards was clear.

The fact Mid Northern — a side that loves to play at a high tempo — featured a number of Northland Taniwha players helped in the way they directed the attack and organised their defence.

They had an iron grip on proceedings for the most part. That's where the contest was won. Mid Northern had a presence in everything they did. They were ruthless on attack and had a bite in their defence.

But despite the final score, a young Waipū should be justifiably proud of their effort and there's no reason why they should not emulate this year's performance next season. In
time, Saturday's performance will come to be seen in a much better light.

Waipū sporadically asked enough questions that pointed to the fact they are a side capable of playing innovative rugby. Down 17-0, Waipū turned down a kick and opted for the lineout.

Otamatea Hawks' players jubilant after securing the South Zone title. Photo / Michael Cunningham

That option worked a treat as they scored off a rolling maul. The side competed well at the breakdown, looked after the ball when on attack but it was clear as daylight the team
struggled with the pace and wilted under pressure on far too many occasions.

Waipū gifted Mid Northern soft tries but they also provided enough of a tussle to make sure the latter played well to be crowed the champions.

"Full credit to my boys. I appreciate everything they've done for us this season, they won their heart on the sleeve, they made Waipū proud and I just can't thank them enough. We got this far, we couldn't get that last edge but I am beyond proud,'' Waipū skipper Jonah Mau'u offered post-match.

Once Mid Northern gained ascendancy and raced away to a handy 32-7 lead at the breather, he said it was an uphill battle to try and play catch up.

Mau'u said their first-up tackles could have been a lot better and when they managed to slow the ball down in rucks, Mid Northern were hard to contain when they moved the ball on the outside channel.

Mid Western fullback Jaden Matson slips off the Otamatea defence in his side's loss in the South Zone final. Photo / Michael Cunningham

For Waipū, Mau'u said it was a building phase for his side. "If we got this far in one year, who knows what next year holds for us. We just gonna keep building, keep our tight unit and make sure we're ready for next year."

Victorious captain Going was lost for words. "It's been nine years since we won it. We fell short the last couple of years, that's what makes this one much more sweeter."

On his own performance, he said the win rather than him was the big focus.

"Hats off to Waipū, they battled it out all year. We knew Waipū would come hard at us,
especially in the first 20 minutes of the second half and we had to stay in there and get the job done."

Going attributed his team's stellar season to family, brotherhood and the fact everyone at the club wanted the win and worked for each other.