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Thames Valley stand tall in Meads Cup final


Thames Valley and King Country have lifted the silverware on finals weekend in rugby's Heartland Championship.


The Swamp Foxes won the top-tier Meads Cup for the second time after resisting a gallant Mid Canterbury in Te Aroha on Saturday, while the Rams claimed their second Lochore Cup with a 46-44 extra-time win over West Coast in Te Kuiti on Sunday.


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There were five lead changes in an enthralling spectacle at Boyd Park that Thames Valley took firm control of the 55th minute. 


Behind 22-20, the hosts employed the approach that had seen them lead 20-8 at halftime. Quick, aggressive, constructive phases were built with holes punched close to the Mid Canterbury ruck.


Blindside flanker Laulea Mau busted down the right wing and was pulled down a nostril hair short of the paint. Tighthead prop Te Huia Kutia arrived with gusto and crashed over to make it 25-22.


Mau was rampant in the first half scoring both of the Swamp Foxes tries. The most dominant personality in the second spell was Quinn Collard. In the 57th minute, the Waihi Athletic fullback kicked a 50/22.


That allowed Thames Valley to launch a lineout drive from which hooker Oneone Fa’afou muscled over europhically. Collard nailed a sideline conversion and four minutes later hammered over a 45m penalty to complete a spotless seven out of seven from the tee. 


Thames Valley Meads Cup rugby
Thames Valley lifted the Meads Cup for the second time after holding off Mid Canterbury. PHOTO: NPC

Mid Canterbury refused to surrender and a 67th-minute try to reserve hooker Gordon Hausia revived hopes of an improbable comeback. It came after a weaving 20m run from reserve flanker Lote Nagisa Mhember who provided a huge impact. 


But Thames Valley led by Cam Dromgool, (celebrating his 50th match) was committed and disruptive on defence repelling repeat attacks until the 80th minute. 


Thames Valley was much the stronger side in the first half, their set-piece paving the way for an advantage of a dozen.  

 

Mid Canterbury rallied after the interval with two outstanding tries to wingers Raitube Vasurakuta and Hugh Griffiths. Fullback Ben Innes and first five-eighth Thomas Reekie were influential in their creation.



Vasurakuta had a storming match ably supported by blindside flanker Kaydis Hona. There were yellow cards for McGregor Best (Mid Canterbury, 47th minute) and Finn McCall (Thames Valley, 77th minute).


Thames Valley last hosted a major final when the Paeroa Domain staged Poverty Bay in the third division final on October 14, 1995. The Swamp Foxes ran rampant that day in a 47-8 victory. Thames Valley were also third division champions in 1988 and 1990. 


Thames Valley won the Meads Cup in 2018 when they upset South Canterbury 17-12 in the final in Timaru and has beaten Mid Canterbury 13 times in 25 meetings stretching back to 1964. In the Heartland Championship Thames Valley has an overall record of 68 wins, 85 defeats, and three draws. 



It took 100 minutes and eight lead changes before King Country prevailed over West Coast at Rugby Park, claiming the Lochore Cup for the first time since 2015.


In the last minute of regulation time, West Coast were down 34-29, battering away repeatedly at the hosts' line. Eventually, reserve flanker Quinn Johnsen dived through the middle of the ruck and scored 10m in from touch. 


Had first-five Jacob Waikari-Jones landed the conversion West Coast would have been champions. Cruelly the ball cannoned off the left-hand upright and sprayed across the front of the posts.


The visitors carried on the momentum in extra time and after six minutes of honest, gut-busting industry, earned a penalty which Waikari-Jones kicked to make it 37-34.



Spurred on by a feverish home crowd, King Country summoned energy from a place few know. In the 88th minute, reserve prop Tom Ryan made an inspired charge to shift momentum.  King Country cradled towards the corner flag and Logan Patterson wriggled over to give the Rams a 39-37 lead at halftime in extra time. 


Ryan was proving an absolute menace and a breakdown turnover he secured from the otherwise redoubtable Ethan Simpson had West Coast anchored inside their 22. 


Resolute and surgical forward thrusts followed with an overlap created. A lofted pass almost ruined that opening until captain and hooker Liam Rowlands, the size of a garden gnome, leaped like Hamish Kerr to secure the ball and bash through two defenders and score.


Patrick Hedley kicked seven goals from eight attempts, including an early conversion that struck the top of the left-hand upright and bounced over. 


King Country Lochore Cup rugby
King Country got by West Coast in extra-time in Te Kuiti. PHOTO: NZ RUGBY

West Coast were not done. Collective expansive opened a hole for Sean McClure, in his 92nd match, to ferret clear. As the siren sounded Waikari-Jones nailed a sideline conversion to close the gap to 46-44.


King Country dispatched the restart into the West Coast 22. A dozen brave phases followed until a slight bobble terminated time 40m shy of the Rams' line.


It was tit for tat the whole way though West Coast opened up a 29-20 advantage after 55 minutes when wily player coaches Troy Tauwhare and Jared Mitchell combined for a try at the lineout. 


King Country fullback Cody Nordstrom was a livewire. Yellow-carded in the first half, he scored tries in the 58th and 63rd minutes to propel the Rams in front.


It was a momentous day for Aarin Dunster who celebrated his 150th match as a player and coach for King County. Dunster was King Country captain in 2015 when the Rams won their only previous Lochore Cup.


HEARTLAND CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS


MEADS CUP


Thames Valley 37 (Laulea Mau 2, Te Huia Kutia, Oneone Fa’afou tries; Quinn Collard 4 con, 3 pen) Mid Canterbury 29 (Raitube Vasurakuta 2, Hugh Griffiths, Gordon Hausia tries; Thomas Reekie 3 con, pen). HT: 20-8


LOCHORE CUP


King Country 46 (Latrell Smiler-Ah Kiong, Leveson Gower, Cordy Nordstrom 2, Logan Paterson, Liam Rowlands tries; Patrick Hedley 5 con, 2 pen) West Coast 44 (Troy Tauwhare, Jack Ray, Ben Alexander, Jacob Mitchell, Quinn Johnsen, Sean McClure tries; Jacob Waikari-Jones 4 con, 2 pen) in extra-time. HT: 17-15

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