It was a long time between drinks but Waimea Old Boys can once again call themselves champions, after whipping Wanderers 51-22 in the Car Company Nelson Bays division one final.
In front of one of the largest crowds to ever attend a club final at Trafalgar Park, Star & Garter Waimea Old Boys were just unstoppable, running in eight tries in the rout, sparked by influential backs Marty Banks and James Lowe.
Having trailed 36-10 at half time, there was no comeback in sight for Taylor’s Contracting Wanderers, who managed to score a few consultation points late in the game.
James says the win was huge for the club. “It has been a long time coming. From the first year that I played club rugby I knew that I wanted a title before I finish so I might retire now,” the 21 year old captain laughs.
James praised former captain Ben Coman, who also got on the score sheet, saying he was the true leader in the team. “Ben was the back bone of the team this year. He’s been an awesome asset this year and to have him back was just outstanding.”
With a number of former players returning to the club this year, plus the addition of Marty, who was one of the stars in Saturday’s win, Waimea Old Boys had plenty of x-factor right across the park and it was the big name players that certainly stood up to the younger Wanderers team.
President Duane Whiting says his boys really deserved the win and he was thrilled with the huge crowd.
“The coaches have stuck with a similar sort of a team [throughout the season] and the good thing is there are quite a lot of locals here,” he says. “And the crowd was great, I think we have to thank the Nelson Weekly and Waimea Weekly there. The great promotion in the papers really did the trick.”
He says the atmosphere at the club, including a strong team bond, was a key part of the victory. “They have shown the best morale and spirit that I’ve seen in the whole time I’ve been involved with Waimea Old Boys.”
Wanderers captain Jesse Pitman says Waimea Old Boys were ten out of ten on the day and admits the opposition’s attitude played a huge part in the final result. “They just ran hard and we couldn’t stop them. They were too good.”
Despite losing its second final in the same season, Jesse says there are still plenty of positives to take out of the season. “It’s a hard learning curve but a lot of us it’s still only our second year of senior rugby so we’ll comeback stronger. You need the experience for finals because it’s a different ball game.”
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