Wellington?s champion club teams: Part 5

Above: Hutt Old Boys Marist celebrating with the Jubilee Cup at Westpac Stadium in 2007.

From the beginning of competitions to right up to the present day, we’ve chosen some noteworthy or memorable Wellington club rugby Senior/Premier championship winning teams. Here’s the stories of six club teams that stood out between 1979 and 2013.

Marist St Pat’s 1979

Played 20. Won 20. Points for 391. Points against 123

One of the most dominant sides to win a Wellington club rugby championship, Marist St. Pat’s had won its first Swindale Shield in 1977 and its first Jubilee Cup in 1978, which it shared with the Wellington Axemen. MSP went one better in the WRFU’s centenary year in 1979, winning the Jubilee Cup outright for the first time. Blessed with a powerful forward pack; Kevin Horan, John Fleming, Paul Quinn, John Wootton and Maurice Standish all the made Wellington’s NPC team in 1979 - MSP also played glittering rugby through their backs. Former Wellington halfback Brian Coulter was the coach.

After making a shaky start in the season opener against Onslow, winning narrowly 13-10, MSP went on to win all 13 matches in the Swindale Shield scoring 246 points and conceding 88. They beat rivals Petone 24-6 on Anzac Day and didn’t look back. In the Jubilee Cup, MSP enjoyed wins over University (31-0), Athletic (21-19, after trailing 9-10 with 15 minutes to play), Hutt Valley Marist (14-0), Poneke (13-3), Onslow (34-0), Wellington (16-7) and then Petone (16-6) in the final with flanker Standish scoring the winning try. In going undefeated MSP scored 52 tries throughout the season.

The following year, 1980, saw MSP pick up where they left off, winning every match en route to the final. But after 41 consecutive wins they were lowered by Petone, with a contentious moment being the non-award of a try to wing Murray Tocker under a pool of water early in the match.

Marist St. Pat’s 1994

Played 21. Won 18. Lost 3. Points for 627. Points against 288

Marist St. Pat’s were the most successful Jubilee Cup team of the 1990s, claiming titles in 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1999. In 1994, MSP beat red hot favourites Petone not once but twice in big matches to capture the Swindale Shield - Jubilee Cup double for the first time since 1988. MSP’s first win over Petone was at the end of the Swindale Shield round when they met under lights on a Wednesday night, with flanker Gordon Simpson the star in an 18-15 win.

Petone beat them 13-3 in the Jubilee Cup round-robin, but MSP played their way into the final in a close second round that went down to the wire. MSP all but confirmed their spot in the semi-finals when they beat Poneke 32-31 courtesy of a last-gasp penalty awarded to them by Irish referee Brian Stirling, who was in town to referee the upcoming All Blacks-Springboks Test. They eased past Harlequins (OBU) 39-11 in their semi-final and then loose forwards Simpson and Issac Feaunati led the way in a 27-13 win over Petone in the final.

As well as Simpson and Feaunati, other key players included goal kicking halfback Elton Moncrieff, five-eighth Norm Broughton, fullback Kelly Rolleston and try-scoring wing Phil Gray. Coach and 1978-79 captain Kevin Horan became the first MSP man to both captain and coach a Jubilee Cup winning team, a feat duplicated by 1994-95 MSP captain Iain Potter when he coached the 1997 team to the title.

Hutt Old Boys Marist 2007

Played 20 .Won 13. Lost 5. Drew 2. Points for 510. Points against 308

When Hutt Old Boys Marist suffered relegation from the Premier ranks in 2001, few people would have predicted Jubilee Cup success was in the near future. A rebuild of the club’s base saw Premier status regained in 2002 and a steady climb up the table followed. The product of the 1992 merger of Hutt Old Boys and Hutt Valley Marist, the Eagles were contenders in 2006 finishing second in the Swindale Shield behind Norths and making the Jubilee cup semi-finals.

Fielding a core group with a mix of promising and experienced players such as future All Black Jeremy Thrush, Wellington Lions flanker Polonga Pedro, future Leinster No. 8 Leo Auva’a, future Canterbury loose forward Ash Parker, hard-working halfback Nick Risdon, left footed goal-kicking first five-eighth Jon Bentley and powerful centre Mike Pehi, they were a strong. well-rounded side in 2007.

HOBM safely qualified for the Jubilee Cup behind back-to-back first round winners Northern United. Their only losses in the Jubilee Cup round-robin were to Norths 5-28 and MSP 16-17. They avenged both these defeats in the two knockout rounds. First, Norths were defeated 15-5 on their home turf at Porirua Park in the semi-finals. Second, MSP were lowered 18-10 in the final at Westpac Stadium. HOBM dominated MSP throughout and the pressure burst early in the fourth quarter when replacement second five-eighth Malakai Kisina scooped up a fumbled Bentley pick-up pass and skipped through to make it 11-3. Pehi then pounced to score the winner soon after.

Northern United 2010.

Played 20. Won 17. Lost 1. Drew 2. Points for 788. Points against 328

The sleeping giant of Wellington club rugby awoke in the opening decade of this century. Following the amalgamation of the Porirua and Titahi Bay clubs in 1990, it took 13 seasons for the new Northern United club to win its first major title when it won the Swindale Shield in 2003. Between then and 2011 they won or shared nine major titles, including the Jubilee Cup in 2004, 2006, 2008 (shared with MSP) and 2010.

When at full strength, they ranked as one of the strongest amateur teams running around in world rugby. Personnel included Jerry Collins, Tamati and Jacob Ellison, John Schwalger, Alapati Leiua, Anthony Perenise, Serge Lilo, Robbie Fruean, Faifili Levave, Api Naikatini, Buxton Popoalii, James So'oialo, David and Tomasi Palu, Sinoti Sinoti and in 2010 a schoolboy star in 17 year-old TJ Perenara. These players, together with several dynamic back-ups, played for Norths on a regular basis. Porirua Park became a fortress.

Statistically, 2010 was their best season, and under the coaching of Frank Rees they were quite simply a juggernaut. They scored 546 points in winning the Swindale Shield with three games in hand and amassed 53 competition points out of a possible 55, with only Petone and Ories denying them four-try bonus points. Upper Hutt (82-16), Wests (72-6), and Johnsonville (59-10) were swept aside. Two players, fullback Popoalii with 18 tries and wing So’oialo with 206 points, both broke records.

They weren’t so dominant in the Jubilee Cup round-robin, losing to Poneke 15-17 on a Kilbirnie Park mud-pie and drawing with both HOBM and, surprisingly, Upper Hutt; but hit top-gear again when it mattered beating HOBM 38-13 in the semi-final and Poneke 24-5 in what is to date the last final played at Westpac Stadium. Popoalii and So’oialo took their season tallies to 23 tries and 282 points respectively.

Oriental-Rongotai 2011

Played 20. Won 18. Lost 2. Points for 477. Points against 286

Oriental-Rongotai’s Jubilee Cup success in 2011 was one to savour for Wellington’s eastern suburbs club. Not since 1910 had the ‘Magpies’ won the title outright. For years they played second fiddle to their more illustrious neighbours in Poneke and later Marist St.Pats, and were only sporadically in contention at the end of the year. But apart from the World War Two years when they joined forces with Poneke to win back-to-back Cups, their cupboard remained bare.

This all changed in 2011, when, after finishing second to Northern United in the first round Swindale Shield, Ories played through the entire second round unbeaten and blitzed Norths in spectacular fashion in the final at the Petone Recreation Ground. Trailing by 3-13 after 25 minutes Ories unleashed a scoring burst that put them up 33-13 after 50 minutes with four tries that had the huge crowd on its feet; something made all the more impressive with the weather turning from bright sunshine to wet, windy and cold from the south just before halftime, meaning Ories played almost the entire game into the wind. The final score was 40-18.

Ories had a fantastic run through the round-robin, winning all seven games and claiming the Andy Leslie Trophy as regular season champions. They also drew inspiration from the memory of Ories stalwart Don Bond, who died less than a month before the final without ever seeing the club claim the Jubilee Cup. Fielding a big pack, hard running loose forwards, electric backs and under the captaincy of Irish prop Donal McNamara, they were on fire.

Averaging 31 points per game, significant scalps included Petone (49-23), MSP (31-6), Norths (32-30), Poneke (23-19) and HOBM in their semi-final (18-15). Unsurprisingly, the Ories Premiers were the Club Team of the Year and coach Phil Proctor was the Coach of the Year at the WRFU end of season awards.

Tawa 2013

Played 20. Won 16. Lost 3. Drew 1. Points for 624. Points against 311

In their 66-year history Tawa had never won a major title until 2013 when they won just about every Wellington club rugby Premier trophy going - the Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cups, the Bill Brien challenge Trophy, the Andy Leslie Trophy and several interclub trophies.

Tawa clinched the Swindale Shield outright. Playing with explosive power and tremendous passion, Tawa lost just one game in the first round (8-9 to Poneke) and won notable victories over Petone (44-17), Norths (28-27), OBU (22-19), Ories (33-23) and HOBM (23-17), though they had to endure a nervous 29-all draw with MSP in the last round-robin game before claiming the silverware outright.

In the Jubilee Cup round they seemingly got better. Averaging almost 30 points a game in the middle of winter, they won five from seven and qualified top for the semi-finals. They would avenge their two losses in the playoffs, breezing past OBU 29-13 in their home playoff and then defeating Ories 26-21 in the Jubilee Cup final on the Hutt Recreation Ground.

Tawa’s formula for success on the field was based around their abrasive, energetic forwards and a close-knit team culture off it. With few established ‘stars’ Tawa’s forwards hunted as a pack and played a direct, physical style of play. The Koroi brothers, captain Taniela and flanker Joketani, were two standouts. Key players in their inside backs included Samoan internationals, the So’oialo brothers, Steven at halfback and James at first five-eighth, with Highlander Shaun Treeby making a late season cameo at second five-eighth.

References
Photo credit: Sideline Photography
The Evening Post, Dominion and Dominion Post newspapers 1979 - 2013
Donoghue, Tim. Athletic Park : a lost football ground.? Tim Donoghue Publications in association with the Wellington Rugby Football Union, 1999.
Donoghue, Tim; with assistance from Dan Kelly. Battling on. Wellington, N.Z. : Marist St. Pat's Rugby Football Club, 1995.