Makos score Christchurch club star
A former gymnastics standout has signed for the Tasman Makos after winning Canterbury’s top club rugby player award.
Finlay Christie, a 20-year-old University of Canterbury halfback, won the Hawkins Medal after consistently topping the standings standings over the last 17 weeks for the Christchurch Metro Division One competition.
‘‘I was pretty surprised, honestly. I wasn’t expecting to win this award at all,’’ Christie said.
Winning the MVP medal has also coincided with another ‘‘surprise’’ with Christie having just been offered a development contract to play with the Makos during the national provincial championships.
‘‘This opportunity really just popped up at the end of the season and it was very unexpected. But it is also exciting because I would really like to give a professional rugby career a crack one day,’’ Christie said.
Born in Scotland, Christie grew up in Pukekohe and represented New Zealand as a junior gymnast.
He was involved in gymnastics for nine years, training 20 hours a week before reverting to rugby after missing the team sport.
Christie, who represented Counties-Manukau at the under-19 national tournament in 2014, said earlier this year the core strength he gained as a gymnast were not wasted on the rugby field.
His University coaches and teammates were not surprised when Christie took MVP honours.
‘‘He really stepped up this year. He was the only halfback on the team for the season and even though he is smaller in stature, he made some massive plays and refused to back down,’’ University coach Stephen van Gruting said.
Independent observers awarded three, two and one points to the best three players at each club game.
This year’s MVP battle came down to a three-way race between rising stars Christie and Sydenham’s Misi Lamositele, who only trailed by two points, and veteran Aaron McCoy of New Brighton.
But it was Christie who came out on top after leading his team to a 37-15 victory over Sumner. He was awarded a final two points, making him the first University player to claim the MVP prize.
‘‘Christie has been so persistent on the field this entire season and last week’s match was no different,’’ van Gruting said.
Christie may be Tasman bound, but he is not leaving his University team just yet.
While New Brighton and current Hawkins Trophy title-holder Lincoln University play for the 2016 title Christie, plans to lead his University team to one final victory to make their mark in this year’s top six.
‘‘Not making the top four was disappointing, but I want to go out on a high and I want my team to end the season on a win,’’ Christie said.