
- By Steven White & Adam Julian
The St Pat’s Silverstream and Wellington College First XVs meet in their Premiership final on Sunday at Porirua Park at the curious kick-off time of 11.15am.
Since 2004 the the Player of the Wellington club rugby Premier Jubilee Cup has been awarded the Jim Brown Plate.
What about a similar accolade for the MVP of the Wellington college First XV Final?
A look at the players who could have won this in each of the past 10 finals:
2023:
Result: Scots College beat St Pat’s Silverstream 29-27
Our MVP: Ietitaia Campbell (Scots College)
For an hour Scots bullied Silverstream with the Presbyterians size proving tough to combat. Down 29-10, Silverstream launched a furious rally with sparkling fullback Thompson Tukapua setting up three tries to close to 29-27. Sadly, Tukapua hit the post with a conversion attempt to draw the game.
Earlier Scots second five Ietitaia Campbell was imperious. With Scots ahead 15-3 he poached an intercept at the ten-metre mark in his half and stormed clear. Silverstream winger Harry Stoupe retreated and tugged at the back of Campbell’s jersey like he was trying to remove a tucked-in bed sheet. Unfazed, Campbell flipped a right-handed offload to winger Richard Jones, and it was Goodnight Irene.
Campbell’s First XV career outlasted six National Party leaders, the Covid-19 pandemic, and more than a thousand episodes of Shortland Street. His enduring quality was best illustrated ten minutes after the interval. In traffic near the grandstand, he stepped sharply off his left foot reducing would-be tacklers to knocked out tenpins. The run to glory afterward was 25 metres..
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2022:
Result: St Pat’s Silverstream beat St Pat’s Town 28-14.
Our MVP: Ollie Cuff (St Pat’s Silverstream)
St Pat’s Silverstream overpowered St Pat’s Town to win their seventh Premiership title. Following a 19-13 defeat in the traditional fixture only three weeks earlier, Silverstream’s forwards were imperious throughout, dictating possession and territory and suffocating Town into submission in horrid conditions at Jerry Collins Stadium. Italian flanker Luca Bellucci scored the first try of the final to give St Pat’s Town a 7-0 lead. Silverstream kept their composure and halfback Ollie Cuff was instrumental in Silverstream’s success, missing just one shot at goal, kicking well in general play and his all-round leadership outstanding, as Silverstream shot to 20-7 lead by halftime. Cuff opened the second half scoring with a penalty to make it 23-7, ahead of the match-winning moment with second five Emmanuel Solomona crashing through the defence and unleashing a skip pass for head boy Seejay Harawira to score in the corner. Cuff joined Old Boys University and in 2024 was part of a Jubilee Cup winning squad.
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2021:
Result: St Pat’s Silverstream and Scots College tied 36-36
Our MVP: Toby Crosby (St Pat’s Silverstream)
There was a six-week build-up to the 2021 Premiership final, from the semi-finals to the final at Wellington Stadium on the last weekend of September. St Pat’s Silverstream No. 8 Toby Crosby spent this time in the gym. With his first touch of the ball, he burst 50 metres to score a famous try in the corner. A shellshocked Scots came back and established a 36-24 lead with three minutes to play. Crosby then crashed over under the sticks to make it 36-29, but the conversion was charged down. The siren sounded as Scots made the last kick-off. Silverstream bludgeoned through Scots defence down the western sideline and replacement lock Bradyon Soi produced his own acrobatics lunging over a pile of strewn bodies and slam dunking the ball over the whitewash. First-five Tom Mannix, just returned from the sinbin, chipped the conversion sweetly down the middle from 15-metres in 25-metres out.
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2020:
Result: Scots College beat St Pat’s Silverstream 24-21
Our MVP: Sione Halalilo (Scots College)
Scots’ dominant set-piece and extra pace out wide paved the way for their win. They leapt to an early two-try lead that saw them leap to an early two-try lead and then relinquish it early in the second half, only to re-capture it and hold off their rivals to the end.
After early tries to prop Jonty Bird and centre Ietitaia Campbell, Silverstream settled and took the lead with future Hurricanes midfielder Riley Higgins to the fore.
Sione Halalilo was a damaging loose forward throughout the season, and though involved defensively, he was shifted to the wing for the final where his running games against a smaller opponent could inflict maximum damage. The switch of positions had the desired effect with Halalilo powering over when Silverstream lead 18-14. Halalilo scored 12 tries in a fine year. He went onto to win a Jubilee Cup with Ories in 2023 and become a Wellington Lion.
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2019:
Result: Scots College beat St Pat’s Silverstream 20-15
Our MVP: Ethan Webster-Nonu (Scots College)
Scots were overwhelming favourites to win the 2019 final after trouncing Silverstream 34-7 in the round robin. A horror start saw Scots slump to a 10-0 deficit.
Suddenly, things clicked when a miss-strike by Oryaan Kalolo worked in Scots favour. The ball bounced wickedly at halfway and was grabbed by centre Ethan Webster-Nonu who sprinted clear.
Webster-Nonu would make it two tries in two minutes when fullback Roderick Solo refused to abort his ambitious approach and a dummy and break sparked a breakout that Webster-Nonu, finished.
The second half was a slog for Scots conceding a dozen penalties. Hooker Sase Va’a, lock Maea Tema-Schmidt and No. 8 Sione Halalilo were full of industry and at the forefront of a committed unit that refused to yield as the match finished with two consecutive Silverstream scrums in prime position under their goalposts and with Silverstream’s vocal supporters at that end of the grandstand willing them on.
Webster-Nonu defended staunchly and changed the game in a lighting burst. He has played for the Wellington Lions.
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2018:
Result: St Pat’s Silverstream beat St Pat’s Town 29-22.
Our MVP: Neyla Masima (St Pat’s Silverstream)
St Pat’s Silverstream became the first team since Wellington College in 2009 to successfully defend the Premier 1 championship – beating St Pat’s Town in a bruising and gripping decider at Jerry Collins Stadium. The match was a total contrast to their previous meeting a month ago which Silverstream won 52-10. Silverstream lock Neyla Masima was the Player of the Match, scoring a hat-trick of tries and winning most of his team’s lineout ball. Masima trialled for the New Zealand Warriors and played briefly for Petone.
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2017:
Result: St Pat’s Silverstream beat Wellington College 17-11
Our MVP: Kienan Higgins (St Pat’s Silverstream)
Silverstream won their first Premiership title since 2012 with a come-from-behind win over Wellington College. Silverstream kept Wellington College scoreless in the second half as they turned an 11-7 halftime deficit into a 17-11 win at Porirua Park. Right-wing Todd Svenson scored the match-winning try with 16 minutes to go, before resolute Stream defence – aided by a strong wind at their backs – helped them see out the win. Midfielder Kienan Higgins was the Player of the Match with his solid defense and tricky on attack a menace for Wellington College. Higgins later won a Jubilee Cup with Norths and currently plays for Hawke’s Bay.
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2016:
Result: Wellington College beat St Pat’s Town 12-9
Our MVP: Reece Plumtree (Wellington College)
A try-less final. Tense and willing throughout, neither team conceded ground, and the final was won on penalties. Wellington College fullback Reece Plumtree was the Player of the Match for this fearless defence and for his kicking, including the winner on fulltime.
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2015:
Result: St Pat’s Town beat Scots College 19-8
Our MVP: Xavier Numia (St Pat’s Town)
St. Pat’s Town won the Premiership title for the first time since 1995, upsetting top of the table Scots College. Feverish defence was the key ingredient for Town. Scots enjoyed at least two thirds of possession, but except for a Peter Umaga-Jensen try in the 58th minute Scots could not inflict scoreboard damage. Centre Billy Proctor scored two tries for Town. But it was the work of a former midfielder in the forwards that helped most in winning the match. Loosehead prop Xavier Numia was a powerful presence. It was a barging 20-metre run by Numia that created the first try of the final for flanker Jack Nelson-Murray, and he continued in this vein all match. Proctor joined his brother Matt in becoming an All Black in 2024.
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2014:
Result: Scots College beat St Pat’s Silverstream 21-18
Our MVP: TJ Va’a (Scots College)
Scots College won their first title after withstanding a gallant challenge from St Patrick’s Silverstream. It was 3-3 at halftime, but Scots came out and scored two tries, including one to wing Malo Tuitama running off the shoulder of Player of the Match and first five TJ Va’a to go 18-3 up. Silverstream then roared back to level 18-18, but Va’a then showed the other side of his game but stepping up and calmly kicking a last-play penalty to win the game. The Rugby Channel selected Thomas Umaga-Jensen as their player of the match but Va’a later won the Working Style Player of the Year Award after Scots College shared national honours in 2014 with Rotorua Boys’ High School.