Finals night tipped to be packed with action

Wanganui High School (gold) were the dominant team during the warm-up matches for tomorrow night's under-19 women's sevens finals at Cooks Gardens. PICTURE/FILE

Five teams will be back to level footing at Cooks Gardens in Wanganui tomorrow when the inaugural Mars Petcare Women's Under-19 rugby sevens finals kick off at 5pm.

Every Tuesday for three weeks, teams from Wanganui High School, Wanganui Girls College, Taihape College, Ruapehu College and Turakina Maori Girls College have battled it out in warm-up matches to prepare for tomorrow night's championship finals.

Organised by Wanganui Rugby in conjunction with the Wanganui Events Trust, the sevens will also be used as a dummy run for potential larger sevens events at Cooks Gardens.

Wanganui Rugby community-development officer Jordan Farrington said the under-19 girls had developed rapidly in the past three weeks and he expected an exciting night of sevens on the finals night.

"Each of the teams have averaged three games a night during the Tuesday warm-up sessions and while the Wanganui High School side had pretty much dominated, the other girls have really developed and they are all playing very good footy," Farrington said yesterday.

"All of the girls are getting used to contact rugby and tackling and running well with the ball. Originally we were panning to have six teams play on finals night, but unfortunately with the school holidays starting on Friday, Turakina Maori Girls have found it difficult to field a team, so have pulled out. All the other schools will compete as well as an invitational combined side made up from other colleges around the city."

Any points accumulated in the warm-up period will not be counted tomorrow.

"They'll all start from scratch on Friday night and the teams will play each other at least once with the two best sides on the evening playing off in the final," Farrington said.

A $2 entry fee will be charged to get into Cooks Gardens, although spectators wearing uniforms will gain free entry.

"The public will be accommodated in the Whiska's Stadium side of the grounds, while the corporate boxes will be open to local businesses. We have DJ sounds and entertainment throughout the finals with some excellent spot prizes, especially for those who compete in a challenges side show.

"We aim to use this tournament as a dummy run to see how well we are set up to host far larger sevens events at Cooks Gardens in the future - it's a great venue," Farrington said.