The Canterbury winners pose with Beauden Barrett. Photo/ Red Bull NZ.
The Canterbury winners pose with Beauden Barrett. Photo/ Red Bull NZ.
The winners of the inaugural Red Bull Force Back rugby competition have been crowned.
The C-City Battlers from Christchurch and Don't Force It from Wellington won the men's and women's divisions respectively at Coastal Rugby Club in Taranaki.
Teams from throughout the five regions gathered at the Novotel Hotel. Newrelationships were forged, as were rivalries. The scene was set for an epic day of Force Back.
Teams kicked off under light drizzle and slippery conditions, which tested their ball handling skills and the sprigs on their boots early on.
After five rounds of pool play, the semifinalists had been decided. The men's division had gone as expected, with favourites Auckland claiming first place in the pool and securing a match-up against fourth-placed Wellington. The other men's semi was to be a ripper, with Waikato and Canterbury in an epic battle.
Wellington went into the women's semifinals as firm favourites after comprehensively winning all of their pool matches. However, their semifinal against a determined Otago outfit was no cakewalk.
The other women's semi had Auckland up against Waikato, with Auckland managing to book a spot in the final against Wellington.
Wellington women took on a fired-up Auckland side. However, it was Don't Force It from the capital who struck first, managing to find a one-pointer straight from the kick-off.
It would take another four minutes before the next goal was scored, with Wellington once again finding the one-point zone. The Aucklanders did manage to get on the board just before the half, cutting the lead to just one and gaining some momentum for the second half.
Auckland levelled the scores within the first minute of play.
After trailing 2-0 at one point in the match, the Aucklanders eventually found themselves up 3-2 with one hand on the trophy and only minutes left on the clock. However, the Wellingtonians managed to once again equal the scores and force the game into overtime.
The teams were still unable to be separated following two minutes of extra time, forcing the maiden national women champions to be crowned by a field goal shootout.
Wellington were crowned champs following a miss from Auckland.
It was Canterbury who struck first in the men's final, after a lucky bounce left the Auckland defenders going the wrong way.
The Aucklanders managed to grab one point in the second half but too little too late as the C-City Battlers took home the accolades 3-1, also booking themselves an exhibition match against Beauden Barrett's invitational side.
That side won both their games, with the national representative providing a masterclass in kicking a ball. The tournaments were followed by a prizegiving and spread put on by Coastal Rugby Club.
