Wheelchair Rugby: Leslie downs Auckland as sledging flies

Cameron Leslie was a strong performer for the Waikato side. Photo / Getty Images

Whangarei paralympian Cameron Leslie is not one to sit still.

Juggling his para-swimming commitments with wheelchair rugby, Leslie helped his DG Sport Waikato Stampede wheelchair rugby team create a first at the weekend.

They beat Auckland 44-40 to become the first Waikato team to win New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby's [NZWR] National Championships.

"It was bloody satisfying," Leslie said of beating the usually dominant Auckland side, who fielded fellow Northlander Gary McMurray.

"We played them first game of the tournament as well and there was a lot of chatter and sledging going on."

Waikato's win on Father's Day was a bit of an upset as Auckland and Canterbury have been the main holders of the title in its 25 years-plus history.

Despite hailing from Northland, Leslie's ties to Waikato derive from his support for the Chiefs Super Rugby team in his youth.

"I think back to when I was a youngster and the Taniwha players would go and play for the Chiefs - Gus Collins, Glenn Taylor, Todd Miller - they were always sort of my team that I'd follow. I've got some good friends in Waikato so it's nice to play with them as well."

Adding to the success of the weekend for Waikato was having three players win awards for being the best in their classification.

Leslie took out the 3.0 class' top award, while Robbie Hewitt and David Klinkhamer were voted best in the 2.0 and 1.5 classes respectively.

Leslie was also voted the tournament's most valuable player.

Regarding next year, he said he would like to hedge his bets at Rio 2016.

"We've got to qualify first. I'd love to do both sports at The Paralympics, it's not a common thing and especially two sports that are very contrasting with the individual nature of swimming, with your head buried underwater talking to no one, compared to the banter and very social team environment of wheelchair rugby."