Central Bay of Plenty created history two weeks ago when they beat Te Awamutu and claimed the Peace Cup for the first time in 15 years. The Waikato side had held the cup since 2009 and had successfully defended it 28 times. Yesterday,Central's home Stan Meads Cup semifinal against Cambridge doubled as their first defence of the Peace Cup meaning there was plenty on the line at Kuirau Park in Rotorua. It was a game that ebbed and flowed throughout and in the end the two sides could not be split, resulting in 20 minutes of intense extra time.Central Bay of Plenty had double reason to celebrate when they held on for a 29-24 extra time win over Cambridge in the Stan Meads Cup semifinals.
The win means they will host defending champions Te Awamutu, who won their semifinal against Hamilton 31-24, in the final next weekend. It also means they retain the Peace Cup, which they took from Te Awamutu two weeks earlier.
It sets up an enticing final in which both sub-union prizes will be up for grabs - Te Awamutu desperate to take back the Peace Cup which they held for so long and Central equally desperate to take both trophies into summer.
In their semifinal against Cambridge, Central made the early running to take a 19-5 advantage into halftime. A fired-up Cambridge team took the game to the hosts in the second spell and when the referee blew his whistle at the end of regular time, the score was locked at 19-all.