Nelson too good for Wanderers
Few could have imagined the scoreline.
Yet no-one was left in any doubt about Nelson’s overall dominance following their emphatic 41-19 win over Wanderers in Saturday’s Nelson Bays division one club rugby final at Trafalgar Park.
It was sweet solace for Nelson after losing to Waimea Old Boys in the final minute of extra time in the Tasman Trophy final earlier in the season. And despite predictions of a tight season decider, Wanderers were barely in the hunt.
Nelson’s aggressive, stifling defence and dominant forward pack laid the foundation for their six tries to three victory, with Wanderers’ final two tries merely consolation efforts after Nelson had raced to an unbeatable 41-5 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
It was Nelson’s 10th club title and their first since 2012, their win also denying Wanderers a third straight crown.
Nelson’s forwards were indomitable close to the line, with five of their six tries coming from close quarters.
Influential flanker Ethan Blackadder scored the first, followed shortly afterwards by halfback Jackson Harvey, for a 14-0 lead after just eight minutes.
Wanderers winger Fletcher Matthews sprinted clear following a powerful break by his centre Tone Ng Shiu to cut the lead to 14-5 at the break. But Nelson’s forwards were quickly back in force after the restart as three tries to midfielder Chris Kerslake, hooker Brendan AsomuaGoodman and Kerslake again inside 14 minutes helped push Nelson well clear at 31-5.
A Willy Havili intercept from around 35 metres out effectively sealed the deal at 41-5 before late tries to flanker Steve Soper and substitute prop Ropati Polamalu offered Wanderers some late consolation.
Essentially though, Blackadder, Shane Grieve and Willis Scott formed a loose forward phalynx that Wanderers struggled to match and with lock Isaiah Miller, prop Inoke Latu and Asomua-Goodman equally as effective, there was little respite for Wanderers’ pack.
Two-try skipper Kerslake gladly piggy-backed off the efforts of his forwards to power over twice near the line. And he said that after a tough semifinal workout against a competitive Marist pack, Nelson’s forwards had been on notice.
‘‘We learned from last week that we needed go-forward ball. The forwards gave it to us and let us backs run and we managed to contest and score some good tries,’’ Kerslake said.
‘‘We talked about it earlier in the week that we needed to make moments count and I think we did that today.
‘‘When we had the opportunity to score we did and that sort of set us apart today I think. We had to do that because we knew Wanderers were the sort of team to be able to come back.’’
He said the win had been well worth the wait - and the effort.
‘‘It’s been four years and it’s been a long time coming with some ups and downs and we finally managed to make after a couple of losses in some finals.
‘‘I’m ecstatic, I can’t be more proud of the boys ... and we did it for guys like Goody [late Nelson club stalwart John Goodman] who’s not here anymore.’’
For Nelson head coach Kade Heke, it was a consummate team performance.
‘‘We knew [Wanderers] were going to give it everything and we really talked about taking ownership out there and being accountable, standing up and making the most of it,’’ Heke said.
‘‘Without a doubt, there wasn’t one stage there where we let it slip. The boys just kept the hammer on and kept digging.’’
He agreed that his loose forward trio were an obvious point of difference.
‘‘I couldn’t speak any more highly of those boys. It really is off the back of those boys working that hard that we got where we are.’’
Nelson’s defence constantly shut down Wanderers’ key attacking threats, although hooker-No 8 Gus Gibbens continued to test Nelson with his powerful running.
‘‘That was something we focused on during the week, our defence. Defence wins championships.
‘‘Especially out in the backs, we needed to shore it up with Tone running out there, so yeah, it was definitely a focus for us this week.’’
So at what stage did the coach feel the game was won?
‘‘Not until the final whistle,’’ he laughed, as images of their Tasman Trophy final loss continued to flood through his mind.
In the division two final, Riwaka beat Huia 32-15 at Riwaka.