Two Manukura sides qualify for nationals
It was double delight for Manukura at the Manawatu-horowhenuakapiti Condor sevens qualifiers with both the boys’ and girls’ teams picking up upset wins to qualify for the national tournament.
Feilding High School won the boys’ division 26-12 over Manukura in the final but with two Condor spots in the boys’ division on the line, it was enough for the Palmerston North-based school to qualify for a rare appearance at the national tournament later this year.
Manukura’s girls beat Feilding in the final to claim the sole girls’ qualifying spot meaning Feilding, which has come to be regarded as a powerhouse of girls’ sevens in recent years, will miss out.
The boys’ team had to pull off a major upset of their own to set up their finals appearance.
They beat Palmerston North Boys’ High School in pool play to finish top of the pool and mean the expected finalists, Boys’ High and Feilding, met in the semifinal.
On the other side of the draw, Manukura overcame Tu Toa in their semifinal
Despite losing the final to Feilding, Manukura coach Kristina Sue was pleased to see the work her team put in pay off.
‘‘I was really stoked with how the boys performed,’’ she said.
‘‘We always knew that playing against Feilding was going to be tough opposition. They have set the benchmark in sevens for so many years, but for us it was just a great opportunity to pitch ourselves against one of the top schools in the country and prove we can compete.’’
Sue said Kerei Ranginui, who has recently moved to the school from Australia, was the side’s most consistent performer.
‘‘He was our first receiver and kicker and was quite a smart player,’’ she said. ‘‘He made smart decisions at the right times so he was very valuable to us.’’
Wipere Takitimu, who dislocated his thumb the week before the tournament, Brandon Ruru, a year 11 student new to sevens, and Awatere Kiwara, who does his schooling remotely while working with the Sydney Roosters’ development programme in Australia, were the others to impress.
Standing opposite Sue in the final was a familiar face in her Black Ferns assistant coach and former Manawatu women’s sevens coach Wesley Clarke.
The Feilding coach said he was impressed by how Manukura had improved and was pleased to see one of the region’s star women’s players giving back to the game by coaching.
Clarke was glad to have punched their ticket to the Condors after injuries had depleted their ranks.
‘‘We did a great job,’’ he said. ‘‘We were down to nine players at that stage [of the tournament] so it was a bit of a battle for us.’’
Josiah Maraku and Tyler Moeau were the standouts for Feilding, while captain Drew Wild also impressed.
Feilding also beat Boys’ High to win the under-15 division.