Nothing to separate contenders
The top qualifiers versus the defending champions – there shouldn’t be too many complaints about how this year’s Nelson Bays division one club rugby final has panned out.
Waimea Old Boys and Marist each had one last opportunity to affect the final standings last weekend but both fell short. It means that top qualifiers Nelson will square off against last year’s champions Wanderers in tomorrow’s decider at Trafalgar Park, with neither team exactly clamouring for the favouritism.
Wanderers are chasing their third consecutive title, and their third overall, while Nelson are eyeing up their 10th club crown and their first since 2012.
There’s been little to separate them this season. They’ve shared their two previous encounters, Wanderers winning the first instalment 28-23 at Easter and Nelson winning the return clash 36-33 at Brightwater just two weeks ago.
Both teams have plenty of firepower to call on, with Wanderers coach Sam Gibbens naming loose forward Tone Ng Shiu at centre to utilise his pace and formidable ball-carrying skills. ‘‘We thought that with our forward pack having gone really well over the last couple of weeks, we’d move Tone out there to cause a bit of havoc in the midfield,’’ Gibbens said,
And with captain Jesse Pitman at No 10, Trael Joass partnering Ng Shiu in the midfield and Sione Holani and Fletcher Matthews providing power and pace on the wings, Wanderers’ forwards have every incentive to ensure a steady supply of ball to their backs.
It will also be Gibbens’ last game as Wanderers’ head coach, and he said it was essential that they don’t give Nelson a head start.
‘‘For the last couple of weeks we’ve had slow starts, we’ve let teams get a few points ahead of us and we’ve been trying to play catch-up rugby.
‘‘So we just want to start well, hold on to our ball and play rugby.
‘‘I think it comes down to the team that makes the least errors . . . so we’ve just got to hold on to our ball, be patient and start well.’’
Despite four losses this season, Nelson have set some impressive standards based around the dynamic efforts of flankers Ethan Blackadder and Shane Grieve.
In-form lock Sosefo Vaka has been ruled out with a leg injury, meaning that Isaiah Miller will join Kane Davies in the middle row, with aggressive hooker Brendan Asomua-Goodman also getting a start following another frustrating season with injuries.
There’s a solid look to Nelson’s backline, with New Zealand Under-20 representative Tima Faingaanuku at fullback and winger Kim Bateman providing the strike-power out wide.
Nelson head coach Kade Heke was anticipating another tight and physical contest.
‘‘As a team, it took a while for us to regather after the Tasman Trophy final [loss to Waimea], but we have got a bit of momentum,’’ Heke said.
‘‘To be honest, it’s finals footy, so it’s going to be the team that prepares the best and turns up on the day.
‘‘I have no doubts it’s going to be a close game and it’s going to come down to the wire and the team that can manage that pressure the best will take it on the day.
‘‘We’ve got quite a strong forward pack and we’ll look to build off the back of that, but they’ve got threats across the park so we’ll be just trying to make sure we can shut them down.’’