Latest news with #LeeBrosShield
NZ Herald
15-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Rugby: Country club rugby bounces back in Hawke's Bay
Ōtāne player-coach Tony Mihaere said the side would have preferred to play on the home ground at Ōtāne, where they won the final last year when McLean Park was out of action for turf work before the Hawke's Bay Magpies NPC programme. But he said 'our whole village' still turned up at McLean Park, where it was possibly the biggest moment in the careers of those who had never played at the 'home of the Magpies' and otherwise might never have the chance. The history of dads and sons or nephews on the same team continued, and there was another appearance by veteran Kelly Graham for about 12 minutes from the bench. A decade ago, at that time already credited with more than 400 matches for the club since 1992, Graham had played with his son on the team. Saturday's clash was one of two all-country club head-to-heads on Hawke's Bay Rugby's finals weekend at McLean Park, with Waipukurau club Central beating Dannevirke 29-19 to win the Hepa Paewai Memorial Trophy Division 1 final on Friday night. The other country club in the finals were defending Division 3 champions, first round winner and Raupunga side YMP, who were beaten 22-17 by Napier Pirate in the Ron Parker Memorial Trophy decider. The clash was part of a weekend that ended with Hawke's Bay Rugby's 14 first and second round men's and women's trophies shared among 11 clubs this year. Meanwhile, Wairoa club Tapuae, who won their first Premier title with an unbeaten season in Poverty Bay rugby last year, fell short of a repeat when beaten 21-7 by Gisborne side YMP in Saturday's Lee Bros Shield final in Gisborne, also completing a season unbeaten. The Senior 1 final, an all-Wairoa District affair and played at the town's Lambton Square, resulted in Nuhaka beating defending champions Wairoa Athletic 17-6. Nuhaka showed their potential early in the year, winning the Te Wero tournament, which included Hastings club Tamatea. Pahiatua club Bush carried the flag for the Tararua District with one of its biggest days, as both of its sides won Manawatū semifinals against visitors from Palmerston North without conceding a point at the town's Multisports Park in Pahiatua on Saturday. Bush beat Freberg Old Boys 20-0 in the Senior B match, and College Old Boys (COB) 39-0 in the Colts game and are now heading for respective finals at Manawatū Rugby headquarters, CET Arena in Palmerston North, this Saturday. The Senior B side will play COB for the Houlihan Cup, which Bush last won in 2011, and the Colts play Te Kawau for the Gordon Brown Memorial Cup. It's not over yet for Mihaere and other CHB players who on Saturday travel to Ohakune for a rare away defence of sub-unions rugby prize, the Bebbington Shield, against Northern Whanganui – a big step to bring life to the competition after the two sides drew 29-29 in Napier last year. The Wairoa sub-union team on Sunday defends the Barry Cup against East Coast side Matakaoa at Mahia. Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke's Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke's Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
NZ Herald
15-07-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Gisborne's YMP back on top of Poverty Bay Premier club rugby
Pardon the interruption. Such is the feeling in the camp of East Coast Farm Vets YMP after returning the Lee Bros Shield to Gisborne in Te Pae Hakari Poverty Bay Premier club rugby grand final on Saturday. Having claimed back-to-back crowns in 2022 and 2023, then losing to Tapuae in
NZ Herald
08-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
OBM club rugby stalwart to play 150th game in Poverty Bay Premier competition
When he joined the OBM 'Red, White and Blue', Dickson was primarily a loosehead prop, but he learned to play on both sides of the scrum and also at hooker. In the past 13 years, he's appeared alongside some of OBM's great ones. 'I was fortunate to play with a few characters, legends really, when I started off ... Murray Hewson, Robert Tata, Sam Cairns, Trevor Crosby, David Philander, Dennis Hune, Matthew (Mufty) Brown, Puna Latu, Thomas Soloman and Keith Henderson, all OBM.' The 'scariest' he faced was Tom Miki, who started with Pirates before becoming an OBM man. 'He schooled me on my debut v Pirates. Joe Aukuso of HSOB – who debuted for Poverty Bay the year before I debuted in the Prems – was a gentle giant off the field, but he had great technique and was a handful on it.' Campbell Chrisp, of Ngatapa, and James Higgins, who was with Ngatapa before he went to YMP, were also great scrummagers, Dickson said. 'Seymour Lambert (YMP) was incredibly strong, Toru Noanoa (Waikohu) was super-aggressive and Jarryd Broughton (Waikohu), was massive and presented me with different issues, as I was much shorter. 'All of them were hard in different ways, but I just turn up, train hard, give my time to the club and hope others do the same.' Dickson said his playing highlights included winning the Lee Bros Shield in 2019 by a record 65-5 score versus YMP 'and winning our club's Most Valuable Player Award last year, almost 10 years after I first won it in 2016″. 'I love the people and the brotherhood the most – the connections you make with teammates.' Dickson played his 100th game for the club in August 2020. Week 5 of the Premier competition brings an end to round 1. East Coast Farm Vets YMP have one hand on the Premier Cup for round 1 winners heading into their clash with Larsawn Ngatapa at Patutahi. YMP, after their 28-12 win over reigning champions Kahu Scaffolding Tapuae last week, are top of the table on the maximum 20 points, Tapuae have 15, HSOB 11, OBM 10, Ngatapa 6 and Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates 0. Tapuae are at home to a Pirates side looking for their first points while OBM and HSOB face off at the Oval for the Peter Martin Cup. Poverty Bay senior club rugby draw, week 5 Premier Grade, Saturday, 2.45pm: Oval 2, Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys v Enterprise Cars OBM (referee Matt Smith, assistants Les Thomas, Tony Watson); Patutahi, Larsawn Ngatapa v East Coast Farm Vets YMP (Lenny Ferris, assistants Joel Pearse, Barry Shirley); Tapuae Sports Ground, Kahu Scaffolding Tapuae v Kevin Hollis Glass Tūranga Pirates (Ben Holt, assistants Paul Brown, Neville Barwick). Senior 1 Grade, 1pm: Oval 2, Earthwork Solutions High School Old Boys v Charteris Choppers Wairoa-Athletic (ref Keelyn Smith); Patutahi, Matawhero Transport Harvest Ngatapa v Mahia (Michael Pickering); Oval 1, Kevin Hollis Glass Tūranga Pirates v Nuhaka V8s (Thomas Nukunuku). Bye: Tamatea R & M YMP Bumbles. Heke-o-Te-Rangi Blackbee Contractors Ngati Porou East Coast men's club competition, week 1 Saturday, 2pm: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Whangaparaoa, Cape Runaway, Tihirau Victory Club v Waiapu (ref Jackson Reuben-Swinton); Enterprise Cars Whakarua Park, Ruatōria, Ruatōria City v Hikurangi (Joseph Coleman); Uawa Domain, Tolaga Bay, Uawa v Tokomaru Bay United (Matthew Richards); Hatearangi Memorial Domain, Tokomaru Bay, Waima v Tokararangi (Peter Crawford). Enterprise Cars Ngati Porou East Coast women's club competition, week 1 Saturday, 10.30am: Te Kura Kaupapa Mana Maori o Whangaparaoa, Cape Runaway, Tihirau Victory Club v Waiapu (ref Jackson Reuben-Swinton). 11.30am: Enterprise Cars Whakarua Park, Ruatōria, Ruatōria City v Hikurangi (Sean Murtagh). Bye: Tokararangi.
