Central claim the Stuff Tasman Trophy for the first time

By Matthew Hampson [Stuff]

Blenheim’s Central Rugby Club has won their first Stuff Tasman Trophy, becoming the first Marlborough side to win the competition in eight years and the first team in the region to win a play-off final on home soil. More than 1000 people from both sides of the Whangamoas flocked to Lansdowne Park in Blenheim on Saturday afternoon to witness a piece of Tasman rugby history, as the top two teams of the 2022 season, Central and Kahurangi, contested for a trophy which both were yet to have their names on.

The two sides’ only other encounter this season ended in a 33-22 Kahurangi victory, when Central travelled to Motueka in May. Central began the play-off final explosively, with winger Lani Fihaki scoring the first try of the day in the eighth minute, using a grubber kick down the right-hand corner of the pitch to slide past the Kahurangi defence.

The combined Moutueka-Riwaka side had their first chance of getting on the scoreboard 17 minutes in, but they were denied of three points from the penalty kick when the ball bounced off the right post. A try by Central and Moana Pasifika winger Timoci Tavatavanawai was converted at the 23-minute mark, and a further five points came from number eight Penisimani Fihaki 10 minutes later, making the score 19-0 to Central at half-time.

Their dominance continued after the break, when a successful push after a line-out on the Kahurangi 5-metre line extended the lead again. A further try by captain Braden Stewart meant Central was up by 33 with less than 10 minutes to go. Kahurangi finally broke through the Central defence in the final minute of the game, with prop Luca Inch scoring under the post. The try and conversion left the final score at Central 33, Kahurangi 7. The Blues’ bench ran onto the pitch as they celebrated the final whistle, a moment Central prop Jeremy Foley said he’d waited more than a decade for.

“I've been trying to win this trophy for 12 years, it's been an unreal season. We set a goal in pre-season to make the final, and then we obviously finished top of the table with a home final,” he said.

After a tough semi-final against Marist the weekend before, Foley said he was “over the moon” to win the trophy in front of a home crowd. “It was ours to lose, all the pressure was on us, and we fronted up,” he said. Central player and coach Quentin MacDonald said, though he was “very happy” to get the victory, he felt “more relieved than anything”.

“We've had a good season and yeah, it kind of hasn't hit yet, it's a pretty big achievement. Awesome for the club and awesome for the province, so we’ll definitely enjoy it,” he said. MacDonald, who said he planned to stay on playing for the Blenheim club for at least another year, praised the performance of Kahurangi, a team that finished only two points behind Central on the round-robin table.

“They're a classy team, they've been good the whole season and last season as well, so I suppose playing at home kind of had its advantages, so we’ll definitely take that,” he said. Having lost in the play-off final last year and becoming runners-up for the second consecutive season, Kahurangi centre Michael Wells was hopeful for the team’s future and thought 2023 could be the “third time lucky”.

A big Kahurangi contingent travelled over the hill on Saturday to watch the game and one supporter, who did not want to be named, said she was “absolutely” proud of the team this season, “no matter what”. 

“They [Central] just wanted it a bit more,” she said.