Wairoa players named in the Hawke's Bay Primary Schools Ross Shield ultimate tournament team: Cullen Hema (left), Player of the Tournament T.J. King and Jackson Lindstrom.
Wairoa players named in the Hawke's Bay Primary Schools Ross Shield ultimate tournament team: Cullen Hema (left), Player of the Tournament T.J. King and Jackson Lindstrom.
Wairoa is basking in praise for the success of its five days hosting last week’s Ross Shield rugby tournament.
The biggest praise came from Hawke’s Bay Primary Schools Rugby committee chairman and recently-retired Parkvale School principal Mark Gifkins, who has been to all but one of the tournaments in thelast 33 years.
He described the organisation and the way Wairoa had supported the events and the young players as “brilliant”, and revealed that as recently as May his committee was worried about whether it could still be held in Wairoa.
It’s staged by rotation among the facilities in the areas of each of the six participating teams and Gifkins said a lack of progress in organising the week was worrying his committee.
It had started looking at options in Napier, where the tournament was played last year, and Hastings, where it is to be played in 2026.
“Then along came this wonderful deputy school principal, and boy did it go ahead,” he said.
That deputy school principal was Anahera-Pono Whakatope, who told Hawke’s Bay Today in the early stages that she had not come from a rugby background but put her hand up when the need arose to lead the tournament committee.
The consequence was a town immersed in Ross Shield rugby, the green of the home team, and the pride of hosting the teams and supporters for the three-games-a-day tournament, with the Wairoa District Council particularly determined it would help unite the town.
Gifkins said the tournament and the hosting efforts couldn’t be faulted, and after the tournament ended Whakatope said she had big support from others.
“It wouldn’t have happened without them,” she said.
The main street of Wairoa was bedecked in green for the week it welcomed the Ross Shield tournament to town.
“What other mayor, in any town, would grab one of the trucks and go down to Napier to get the temporary seating ... and take it back afterwards,” she said.
The shield was won by Hastings West for the first time since the tournament was last held in Wairoa, in 2019.
The other team trophies went to Dannevirke as claimants of the Life Members’ Salver, as best country team, and Central Hawke’s Bay claimed the Ron Pierce Trophy as the best team for sportsmanship, as judged by the primary schools committee based on points from referees and other aspects of their week.
A big moment for the host town was the naming of 13-year-old Wairoa College midfield back T.J. King as winner of the Taupō Trophy as Player of the Tournament, despite Wairoa not winning any of their games.
Izzy Searden, of Napier, was awarded the Jarrod Cunningham Trophy, as the best female player.
Two Wairoa identities, Richie Blake and Sid Ropitini, were installed as Ross Shield life members.
Gifkins said some positions in the tournament team, the top 22 of the 132 players who took part, were in question right to the last match, highlighting the level of competition over the five days.
Hastings East: Griffin Bellamy, Regan Hillis, Andre Maulder.
Napier: Izzy Searden, Rhe’o Timoti, Franklin Sweet.
Wairoa: Cullen Hema, T.J. King, Jackson Lindstrom.
Doug Laing has been a reporter in Hawke’s Bay for more than 40 years of his 50-plus years in journalism, covering most aspects of news, including sports.
