Despite some wild weather, it was a fantastic weekend of rugby league, southern zone Rugby League general manager Zara Fa’ave-Mika said.
"It was a really good learning opportunity for our districts that don’t get much rugby league to experience a tournament of rep level footy.
"Everyone played in the spirit of the game and had heaps of fun.
Wet weather on the second day did not detract from the excitement, she said.
"We had such beautiful weather on day one being Friday and it provided the goods for fast footy, and then the direct contrast the next day with the weather... turning.
"Everything ran really smoothly which is fantastic and we were just using the two fields this tournament, so logistically it was much easier to operate.
Canterbury won both grades, with their boys’ team undefeated, including a 36-0 victory over Otago in the final.
Fa’ave-Mika loved seeing the girls going head-to-head with Southland.
"Every game, both teams — Canterbury and Southland — improved and then in the third game it actually went to golden point.
"It was really, really exciting to watch.
"I was floating around and had some comments being like "wow, this is a mean game.
"That was rewarding to see.
She was also pleased to see Tasman taking part.
"They don’t have a regular competition up in Nelson and the Marlborough region and so they sent a 14s team down that improved every game.
Fa’ave-Mika hoped to bring "a couple of tournaments back to Oamaru in 2026.
"That’s the plan. We love hosting our tournaments in Oamaru.
"We had a lot of spectators, mainly on day one, who weren’t affiliated with the code but just came down to check it out and cheer all of our teams on.
"That’s the beauty of the Oamaru community. We’re really lucky to host a tournament in your space and get the community support.
