Melville touch down against University in their victory in the Women’s Premiership semifinal. Photo / Norrie Mailer
A big weekend of club rugby has wrapped up with the Gallagher Women’s Premiership finalists confirmed, while the Putāruru women avoided the dreaded promotion-relegation game with a strong win over Southern United.
Te Awamutu Sports secured the fifth spot on the ladder and secured top-five honours in the Men’s Premiership, and Taupiri picked up their first win of 2023.
For the fifth consecutive season, the Huskies and Melville will do battle in the Gallagher Women’s Premiership club final on June 10, following two comprehensive victories in each of their respective semifinals. The Huskies hosted Kihikihi at Willoughby Park and ran in seven tries to four in a well-put-together 45-24 victory over the travelling Kihikihi women. In what was a tight contest for the most part, a strong Kihikihi side came to town to spoil the Huskies’ party - but for all the effort, unfortunately, they could not stick with the high-flying Huskies side. The dominant team of women’s club rugby in Waikato over recent seasons will again host Melville in the main event, and be looking for their third title in as many years.
Melville booked their ticket to the big dance with a dominant performance over University, winning 36-5. Following their 22-22 draw only a matter of weeks ago, the Melville women put in a much-improved performance and started strong. Running in early tries was enough for Melville to book their spot in yet another final.
Both teams will take King’s Birthday weekend off, before a celebration of women’s rugby takes place on June 10, when the Premiership final will be the main event, following the promotion-relegation game between Southern United and Taupiri.
Taupiri won their Women’s Championship final on Saturday with another strong showing versus Hauraki North. Taupiri, who were undefeated in the regular season, hosted the women from Hauraki in front of strong hometown support, winning 17-5 to book themselves a spot versus Southern United, who went down to Putāruru 30-7 at Nola Block.
In the final women’s match of the weekend, Hamilton Marist and Ōtorohanga finished off their respective seasons with a tight contest at Island Reserve in Ōtorohanga. The Hamilton Marist women joined their Premier men’s sides in kicking off a strong day for the Hamilton-based club. The women won 8-5 before their Premier men put on a clinic, beating the home side. The Hamilton Marist women finished their season in fifth place.
To the Men’s Premiership and for the first time in a long time we saw two defaults on the same weekend - both United Matamata Sports and Melville, who were consigned to the Championship in round two, were struck with illness and could not field Premier sides. As a result, Fraser Tech and Hamilton Old Boys won both matches with bonus points. While Hamilton Old Boys went into the weekend locked into the top five, Fraser Tech were relying on an unlikely draw between Te Awamutu Sports and University to secure the fifth and final spot in the Premiership’s second round. Unfortunately for Fraser Tech, that did not happen in Te Awamutu on Saturday afternoon.
Te Awamutu Sports were celebrating their 2023 Women’s Day and there was a special milestone for club legend Matty Towers, who played his 150th Premier match as his club hosted University. Putting on a quality performance to round out round one in front of a strong crowd at Albert Park, the home side ran out victors 38-24.
A double to Shauncy Waho. who increased his season tally to 11 tries over the nine rounds, and tries to Niah Church-Jones, Jake Russ and Stacey Daniel were enough to keep the home crowd in good spirits throughout the 80 minutes. First five-eighths Sam Toa converted all five tries off the tee and a further penalty wrapped up a strong all-round performance for the Te Awamutu men.
Hamilton Marist travelled south to Island Reserve, where a confident home side awaited. Undefeated at home in 2023, Ōtorohanga were going to be a tough challenge for the travelling men. Hamilton Marist came out firing and really took it to Ōtorohanga. Tries to Tom Martin, Liam Gilheany-Black, Wharenui Hawera and Leigh Bristowe ensured Hamilton Marist remained top of the ladder at the end of the first round and picked up their bit of silverware for 2023, taking home the Ron Crawford Memorial Trophy.
In Division One, Taupiri picked up their first win of 2023 when they defeated Frankton at Swarbrick Park. A double to midfielder Jared Howells was the standout for Taupiri in a strong all-around team performance. Leamington remain top of the table with a strong 44-14 win over the travelling Ōhaupō men. Doubles to Jonah Haycock and Jarrod Davey for Leamington rounded out a comprehensive home win in front of their supporters - a win that will ensure Leamington finish round one in the top spot.
Other results see good home victories for Southern United and Putāruru. Southern United hosted Hinuera, winning 35-22, while Putāruru hosted Suburbs and got home in a tight 20-14 contest. Te Rapa hosted the men from Pirongia, who bounced back strongly following a one-point upset defeat at home last weekend, travelling to St Andrew’s and beating Te Rapa 24-17.
The Colts Competition saw big victories to the top three undefeated sides. Hamilton Marist hosted Hamilton Boys’ High and ran in nine tries to win 60-9, Hamilton Old Boys won 46-15 over Thames Valley and Hautapu took home the Centurions Cup over Leamington, 20-10.
University and Pirongia played out a tight 12-12 draw. Morrinsville Sports keep in touch with the top three with their own strong win, 22-7 over Hinuera, in a very successful and special club day at Campbell Park.
Te Awamutu Sports travelled down to Te Kūiti on Friday evening and ran in nine tries to two over the home side. Te Awamutu Sports picked up their second win of the season, a performance they are proud of and have been looking for throughout the season. Southern United kicked off a big day down in Tokoroa when they hosted Matamata, winning 35-17. Finishing up the weekend, Suburbs picked up a win by default over Fraser Tech.
In the Under-85kg Competition, Fraser Tech are finding the form that has seen them be a top-two side for the last few seasons, picking up their second win over Hamilton Marist this season. This time travelling across town, the Fraser Tech men ran in six tries to end up comfortably winning 33-20. Morrinsville made the most of the club day and additional support at home, posting a 102-3 win over Kio Kio United. Sixteen tries in total made for an all-around great day for the home side. Meanwhile, Leamington hosted third-placed Melville, with the away side being too strong for the Cambridge-based club, getting an impressive 36-12 away victory and making it two from two against Leamington this season.
This coming weekend, the Division 1 competition heads into the final week of the first round. While the top five and bottom five are now locked in, there is still plenty to play for: namely, rankings heading into round two, as the higher-seeded sides get the first pick of the round-two byes, while the lower seeded get what they are left with.
The Premier men split into round two contesting the Waikato Draught Breweries Shield Premiership and Championship titles. That draw is due out this week while the Premiership women’s competition takes the weekend off to celebrate the long weekend. The final will take place on June 10 at Willoughby Park in Hamilton.