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Player of the Tournament Fletcher Cooper holds the Don Broughton Shield aloft as Wellington celebrate their Hurricanes U16 Division A tournament victory in Whanganui on Wednesday.
- By Steven White
Wellington’s U16s team was singing in the rain after their 39-12 victory over Manawatu in the final of the 2025 Hurricanes U16s tournament on Wednesday.
In wet, soggy conditions at Whanganui Collegiate, Wellington powered to victory with a strong second half against Manawatu, whom they had beaten 31-12 earlier in the tournament.
Wellington had led 10-7 at halftime, then scored two consecutive tries early in the second half to extend this to 22-12.
Both tries were the result of kicks ahead, the first forcing a 5-metre scrum and subsequent try and the other a stab kick ahead for the try of the final.
Manawatu rallied and after a good period of pressure and pick and go play in front of Wellington’s line came up with a try in reply. But Wellington surged ahead from the next kick-off, leading to a tap penalty and another try under the posts.
They extended the lead with a penalty to first-five Fletcher Cooper and then sealed their win with a forwards try off a lineout drive in the corner.
Earlier, Manawatu had missed a couple of hot chances to post more points in the first half. They scored the game’s first try off an attacking scrum move after about 20 minutes, but a couple of handling errors when Wellington were stretched cost them more. Wellington fought back to level the scores at 7-7 with a similar first phase try under the posts and then Cooper kicked a penalty on the stroke of halftime.
Both sides, first Wellington, then Manawatu, had players later sent to the sin-bin, but these offences came too late to sway the outcome of the game.
Wellington’s Fletcher Cooper was the Player of the Tournament, for his attacking play and steady kicking game in all this match and others.
A tournament team was selected, which will be posted on the HYRC website from late Wednesday.
Hawke’s Bay sealed third place in the Division A competition, beating Wellington Māori 46-7 in their final match of the tournament this morning, after leading 24-7 at halftime. Hawke’s Bay had previously had two close losses to Manawatu (38-48) and Wellington (34-38) respectively.
Their defeat to Wellington came amidst a grandstand finish. Wellington had pulled ahead to lead 38-20 with about 15 minutes to play, but some late scoring saw the Junior Magpies close it right up but they ran out of time.
Wairarapa-Bush won the Division B final for the Saracens Cup, beating last year’s winners Poverty Bay 49-5 after leading 21-0 at halftime.
The Division B third versus fourth fixture resulted in a 26-26 draw between home side Whanganui and Horowhenua-Kapiti, with Horowhenua-Kapiti finishing third owing to them scoring the first try of the final.
About the Don Broughton Shield
A full article about the Broughtons and the silverware that bears the family name can be read here: http://hyrc.org.nz/news/the-broughtons-of-punahau-maori-football-club.html
An extract from the link above about Don Broughton, of whom the Shield is named after is below:
“On moving to Levin from South Taranaki, Don Broughton joined the Levin Wanderers Rugby Football Club and is said to have played in the Horowhenua Māori team against the Wellington Māori side in 1954 and 1956. He played for the Levin Wanderers Club until he was well over 50 years old, as a flanker and No. 8.
“It is believed that Don married Mona Paki (Muaupoko, Rangitane) from Hokio Beach and his only son Tane (now deceased) represented Horowhenua at the Under 16 representative level. It is thought that it was at this time in 1972, that Don presented the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council Shield that carries his name.
“Don worked for the Levin Municipal Abattoir, and he was actively involved in youth rugby in the Levin area, also donating a trophy for the local Saturday morning competition. He was a great supporter of youth rugby, with a strong sense of community spirit.”
Winners and tournament MVPS
Our records on this website go back to 2012 – see below.
Division A winners since 2012:
2012: Wellington
2013: Wellington
2014: Hawke’s Bay
2015: Wellington
2016: Wellington
2017: Wellington
2018: Hawke’s Bay
2019: Wellington
2020: Tournament not played owing to COVID
2021: Hawke’s Bay
2022: Manawatu
2023: Wellington Gold
2024: Hawke’s Bay
2025: Wellington
The Players of the Tournament since 2012 have been:
2012: Leni Apisai (Wellington)
2013: Nese Solia, (Wellington)
2014: Braydon Iose, (Manawatu)
2015: Naitoa Ah Kuoi, (Wellington)
2016: Malo Manuao, (Wellington)
2017: Ropati So’oalo, (Wellington RFU)
2018: Treyah Kingi-Taukomo, (Hawkes Bay)
2019: Dominic Ropeti, (Wellington)
2020: Tournament not played owing to COVID
2021: “Tournament Team” not named owing to COVID disrupted Tournament.
2022: Ryder Crosswell (Manawatu)
2023: Isireli Qaranivalu (Hawke’s Bay)
2024: Noah Rogers (Hawke’s Bay)
2025: Fletcher Cooper (Wellington)
