Cowboys avenge earlier defeat to claim club title
The Cowboys have defeated He Tauaa 32-8 to claim the Southland District Rugby League’s 2021 club championship.
Cowboys hadn’t lost to a Southland team for close to four years until He Tauaa tipped them up in round-robin action this year to set up a tense buildup to the final.
The teams have developed a competitive rivalry during the past decade since some former He Tauaa players formed the Cowboys club in 2011.
The teams have now met seven times in a row in Southland’s club decider with the Cowboys holding the edge since 2018 in terms of victories.
However, prior to that He Tauaa won five titles in a row.
The Cowboys have developed into a formidable outfit led by some experienced players.
One of those is hooker Daniel Low who in Saturday’s grand final become the fifth player to bring up 100 games for the club.
A standout for the side on Saturday was Tee Peteru who has previously played more of his league on the wing but has slotted in a fullback as injury cover.
Another to play a key role was Chris Apoua, probably best known in Southland for his deeds as tighthead prop for the Stags.
Veteran Cowboys halfback Nathan Anderson said Apoua was obviously a strong ball carrier but what he had brought to the culture of the team off the field had also been important.
Anderson was one of the key drivers behind setting up the club and is proud of what has been achieved.
While Saturday’s grand victory over He Tauaa was pleasing, he said the fact they now had 60 juniors playing on Sundays was just as exciting.
In the under-13 final, also played at Elles Rd on Saturday, Arowhenua Cooks defeated He Tauaa 36-22.
The local league focus will now switch to the representative season which includes the Southland Rams campaign later in the year.