Saturday became a super special occasion for a couple of happy hookers in Central Otago premier club rugby as their teams, Upper Clutha and Wakatipu, qualified for the final.
Both Scott Cunningham (Upper Clutha) and Phil Kingsbury (Wakatipu) led their teams out on Saturday as they each celebrated their 100th premier club appearances.
The glory did not end there.
Cunningham scored a try and won man-of-the-match honours as Upper Clutha defeated Maniototo 18-9 in Wanaka in challenging conditions.
And Kingsbury turned in another distinguished performance as Wakatipu came from 7-6 behind at halftime to eliminate Alexandra 26-7 in Queenstown.
Upper Clutha are now on track to scoop the pool for the season with the White Horse Trophy already secure in the trophy cabinet.
Coach Alex Dickson was not overly excited about his team’s victory on Saturday, however.
"The wet, slippery conditions made life challenging for both teams," he said.
"It wasn’t an expansive game. Fortunately, we managed two tries in the first half, both to our front rowers (Ben McKeich getting the other one), which allowed us to hang on as Maniototo fought hard to the finish."
After Saturday’s final, Cunningham is off to Holland to play another season of club rugby there.
Others who turned in distinguished performances for Upper Clutha were halfback Brodie Flannery and No 8 Jake Burtenshaw.
The other semifinal was certainly a game of two halves.
Alexandra, seeking to qualify for their third consecutive final, tackled themselves to a standstill in the first half.
Wakatipu had close to 70% possession but managed just two penalty goals to show for it, as the Alex defenders pulled off dozens of try-saving tackles.
In the 40th minute, Alex won an attacking lineout and worked a move that bamboozled the Wakatipu defence, allowing No 8 Sam Chapman to score in the corner. Tyler Ford’s superb conversion put his team a point ahead.
It was Chapman’s 12th try of the season, and he was unquestionably man of the match across those opening 40 minutes.
The Alex supporters were ecstatic, fancying a repeat of the 2024 semifinal.
But Wakatipu, inspired by captain Rube Peina, gradually assumed control and it was Peina who had much to do with that.
First, he kicked a penalty goal to put his side in front. Then he scored a try which he converted, followed by his piece de resistance — a 22m drop-out that, 70m downfield, became a 50-22 for his team.
Wakatipu drove from the ensuing lineout, which produced a try to stand-out No 8 Anton Huisman, putting Wakatipu ahead 21-7, and not two minutes later that became 26-7 after Thomas Huisman stole an intercept and showed remarkable pace to outrun the Alex backs for another five-pointer.
Wakatipu coach Jordan Manihera was thrilled with the outcome but said his team needed to start better in the final.
"We’ve become a third-quarter team," he said, "something we’ve got to work on at training this week."
One sad happening for Manihera is he has lost dynamic fullback Conner Hamlin, who finished up in hospital on Saturday after painfully suffering a broken rib.
— Bob Howitt
