Stratford/ Eltham give their all in colts final, Tukapa wins premier final

Tukapa won the CMK premier final. Photo/ LDV Photography

The Streltham Colts gave it their all in the colts final.

The team fell short, losing to New Plymouth Old Boys with a final score of 33-7.

Tukapa fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens was lost for words after the CMK premier grand final.

The 20-year-old Blues representative scored a hat-trick of tries in the 22-21 win against Clifton at Vogeltown Park on Saturday.

It was Tukapa's 18th title and fourth in seven years, ironically claimed at the home of cross-town rivals New Plymouth Old Boys (NPOB).

"I'm stuffed from the game. Full credit to the boys up front, they set us a perfect platform for the backs, and I was lucky to be the recipient on the end of things."

Seeded second heading into the final, Tukapa suffered a blow before kick-off with both first-five eight Jayson Potroz and prop Scott Mellow ruled out because of injury. That left Mason Porteous and Brendon Dent to fill the positions from off the bench at late notice.

Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens was aware punters backed Clifton, especially after they were unbeaten in the second round and the pre-match scare but he embraced the underdog tag.

"We came in with nothing to lose and took it on a personal note losing to Clifton in the round robin. We wanted to come here and enjoy the week and hopefully, it showed in our performance."

Tukapa coach Ben Siffleet admitted he was relieved after feeling stressed during the game, which was on a knife edge.

"Clifton brought it to us for the full 80 minutes. The boys fronted and we did the job."

All Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens' tries came at perfect times for Tukapa.

His first was after Clifton's Cole Blyde scored the first of the day under the posts. Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens worked hard to score as he found space against the run of play. It allowed Porteous to add the extras for Tukapa to take the lead for the first time.

After electing the lineout, instead of the points, Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens struck back for his second a few minutes before halftime to give his team a 17-7 lead at the break.

Clifton bounced back to keep the score tight with a try from Taranaki's Daniel Rona immediately after halftime. It was his first of two tries during the game with his second edging his team to a 21-17 lead after the successful conversion from Matty James. Rona finished the movement, but it was replacement Api Dawai who made a 60m break downfield to set it up for his team.

After attacking for a period of play, Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens scored his third, which put Tukapa back in the lead.

Dawai was sent to the sin bin by referee Cam Stone, who officiated his 100th premier match and fourth overall, after the try for cynical play close to his line.

Clifton had a chance to steal the victory with a potential drop kick attacking Tukapa's 22m line like they did in 1999 against NPOB in their last title but it was turned over.

In other finals, NPOB claimed the Division one title with a 27-12 win over Tukapa and Kaitake finished their season unbeaten beating Kaponga 36-10 in Division two.