News

EVAN BARNES/SHUTTERSPORT

CHAMPIONS AGAIN: The Waimea Old Boys team celebrate their hard-fought win over Stoke in the Tasman women’s club final.

Sometimes statistics don't lie.

It was hard work for sure, but Waimea Old Boys' 20-15 victory over Stoke in Saturday's rain-drenched Jubilee Park final has confirmed their standing as the dominant force in Tasman women's club rugby.

Consider the facts. It is Waimea's fourth consecutive championship title, their seventh in eight years, and their eighth overall since winning their first crown way back in 2002.

The team that broke their streak in 2008 was Stoke, and there were times during Saturday's tense encounter when it looked as though Stoke might once again gatecrash Waimea's party.

It eventually took a try to substitute lock Kylie Albert just 10 minutes from fulltime for Waimea to break a 15-all deadlock.

Waimea then had to grimly defend against a series of Stoke attacks in the dying moments before they could savour their win.

With Stoke needing a converted try for victory, two consecutive penalties to Stoke deep inside Waimea's quarter with time virtually up ensured plenty of tension over the final stages. But excellent defence and a relieving penalty on their own line finally allowed Waimea's Penny Stickney to clear for touch, signalling the start of Waimea's celebrations.

Strangely, both teams fared best playing into a stiff northerly as constant rain threatened to sabotage the season decider.

Both teams contributed significantly to a competitive contest in which Stoke twice held the lead, even taking a 10-8 edge into the break after battling into the wind in the first half.

Stoke first five-eighth Jenna Eathorne opened the scoring when she slipped cleanly through a gap near Waimea's line from an attacking scrum after just six minutes for a 7-0 lead.

A Stickney penalty eight minutes later narrowed the margin to 7-3 before a strong attack down the right flank saw second five-eighth Noela McGregor in at the corner to give Waimea their first lead at 8-7. A well-struck penalty to Eathorne 11 minutes from the break gave Stoke their slender halftime advantage.

A disallowed try to Waimea flanker Amanda Sim for a forward pass 10 minutes after the restart arguably worked in her team's favour, ultimately allowing Waimea to gain better field position for big centre Jessica Foster to burst through and put the home team ahead 15-10.

Impressive Stoke hooker Helen Carew levelled the scores five minutes later when she charged over in the corner, leaving Albert to secure a desperate Waimea win.

Waimea captain and No 8 Nikita Lunjevich shouldered much of the critical donkey work over the dying stages as Waimea tried desperately to drive the ball out of defence. It was also a significant outing for talented halfback Natasha Kara, playing her 100th game for the club. Carew and flankers Angela Cotton and Holly Fry produced big efforts in a competitive Stoke pack.

Waimea coach Brendon O'Connor said the win brought reward for a season of hard work.

"From my point of view, going along every Tuesday and Thursday, it means something at the end of it, doesn't it? You've got some reward for all that effort.

"The girls are so experienced. There are a lot of girls there who've played for a long time, and they know what to do when it gets into the hard yards."

O'Connor, who has now coached the team to five titles, also paid tribute to the team's Blenheim imports, lock Jess Aitken, flanker Kelly Stanford and centre Foster, for their commitment to travelling after Central withdrew from the competition at the start of the season.

WOB 20 (Noela McGregor, Jessica Foster, Kylie Albert tries, Penny Stickney pen, con) Stoke 15 (Jenna Eathorne, Helen Carew tries, Eathorne pen, con) Ht 8-10.