Performer of the Week: Braith Ingram

This week’s Club Rugby Performer of the Week is Petone openside flanker Braith Ingram, who had a busy match for his side against Old Boys University on Saturday in their Mark Verhoeven Trophy and Billy Brien Challenge defence win on Saturday.

Ingram scored three tries and was the unofficial Player of the Match in Petone’s late 34-32 win, to see Petone slip into second on 33 competition points behind leaders Ories on 40.

Ingram is a tigerish ball fetcher and turnover operator and appears to revel in the physicality of the game. It was noted at the start of this year that a good season would surely have him in the frame for some level of representative play at the back end of the year – something he is on track for.

Arriving from Gisborne Boys’ High School at the start of last year, Ingram spent a couple of weeks in the Villagers colts side before his Premier debut. He has made 18 Premier appearances for Petone, missing three of eight this year through injury and is a leading player through the halfway stage in the annual Billy Wallace Trophy Best & Fairest competition.

This weekend, Petone hosts Pōneke for the famous Fred Tilyard Memorial Shield match and 140^th anniversary celebrations.

The Tilyard Shield, named after the famous rugby playing brothers Fred and Jimmy of the 1920s, has had some cracking results down the years. Such as in 2010 when Petone won 28-21 with a last-gasp try and the following year when they won 24-21.In the past decade and a bit, there were Petone’s 26-22 and 25-24 wins in 2013 and 2015, Pōneke’s 23-19 victory in 2017 and Petone’s 23-17 and 18-17 wins in 2019 and 2021.

Victory for either side this Saturday will go a long way to cementing themselves a berth in the upcoming four-week Jubilee Cup series culminating in the final on 26 July.

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