Success at Te Waipounamu Tournament
Played in perfect conditions at Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru, the first game for the Senior side was against Otago. In a very evenly fought contest, Canterbury came out victorious 20-12. With Otago fielding several NPC players and ex All Black, Kees Meeuws, the play was spent mostly inside each other’s 22-metre areas. Canterbury had the better of the first half, with the lead going into the break. They then proceeded to take the game away from Otago straight after half time with another try, and led by 20-7. With ten minutes to go Otago looked to be back into the match with a try next to the posts, though the conversion was missed, making the score 20-12. Canterbury held onto this score until full-time to come away winners. Three tries were scored with James Pitama scoring a double and Lance Gahan the other. Jamie Rangihuna kicked a conversion and a penalty. The final game for the seniors was against Tasman. Being down 6-0 early in the game, Canterbury managed to score just before half time to go into the break 7-6 ahead. The pressure was relieved slightly with a 40-metre drop goal by Jamie Rangihuna to extend the lead to four. Canterbury’s resilient defense and a strong desire to win helped to hold out Tasman, coming away victors 10-6.
Credit must go to the whole team for winning the tournament, with excellent contributions from every player throughout both matches, ensuring victory. Congratulation must also go to the eight players selected for the Te Waipounamu team. James Kora, Willy Anglem, Aaron Williams, Aaron McCoy, Lance Gahan, Peter Stanley, Robbie Flynn and special mention to Wiremu Gray who was selected as captain. Specially, this was the first Canterbury team since 2003 to win the tournament. This now means that Waitaha Seniors hold every trophy available to South Island Maori teams, the Te Waipounamu Shield, Tirikatene Shield and the Ratana Cup. The Waitaha Women proved to be too strong and skilled in taking out the Women’s Competition. Waitaha easily dispatched a gallant Southland team before accounting for reigning champions Otago convincingly in the final. Stars for Canterbury included Black Ferns Steph Fox, Amanda Murphy, Barbara Chittock, Anika Tiplady and Amiria Rule, with Tess Te Kahu and Mere Baker also playing outstandingly. Coach Maree ‘Hetch” Edwards was stoked that the Trophy is back in Canterbury. Congratulations also to the nine players selected for the Te Waipounamu team: Stephanie Fox, Kiri Mei, Amanda Murphy, Tessa Te Kahu, Anika Tiplady, Mere Baker, Amiria Rule, Maree Edwards and Barbara Chittock.
For more photos of the tournament and information relating to Canterbury Maori Rugby - Please support us in our centennial year by joining us on our Facebook page. Locationhttp://www.crfu.co.nz/main/index.cfm/1,580,3284,0,html Copyright © CRFU 2012 |
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Last Saturday 27th
February, Waitaha (Canterbury Maori) Seniors were successful in winning the Te Waipounamu South Island Maori Rugby Tournament.
Canterbury’s try scorer was Aaron Williams, with Jamie Rangihuna’s boot scoring one conversion and a drop goal. Players of the day for both games were hooker Hamish Kilpatrick and blindside flanker Aaron Williams.
With a new young squad, the Waitaha Colts were narrowly beaten in their first game against Southland and then had a well-deserved victory in their second game against Aoraki. With the squad being relatively inexperienced, this was an excellent achievement. Congratulations to the four selected for the Te Waipounamu Colts team. Rawiri Karena, Tim Smith, Jason Henry, and Phil Campbell.Site by Orbital Ltd