HOBM National 7s Champions in all Wellington Final

• By Steven White & Adam Julian
• Photos by Andy McArthur

Hutt Old Boys Marist holds the McBain Shield, Jubilee Cup, Ambassador Sevens, and now the National Club Sevens titles. They dethroned hosts and reigning national champions Paremata Plimmeton 19-12 in an all-local final at a sun-kissed Ngati Toa Domain.

With fatigue mounting, the decider was on a razor’s edge as Hutt led 12-5 shortly after halftime. Paremata-Plimmeton was probing inside the Eagles’ 22 when there was a spillage. Rupeni Raviyawa swooped on the loose ball, dribbled it ahead several times, and touched down before it rolled into the nearby railway station.

The Fijian-born New Zealand Secondary Schools 2025 loose forward opened the scoring with a less dramatic but equally important flourish. These acts and damaging consistency throughout saw the Feilding High School recruit the anointed player of the tournament.

There were several worthy contenders among both finalists for that accolade. For the victors, Wellington Lions midfield back Kapu-Broughton-Winterburn thrived with his flair, leadership and vice-jackling. Brandon Lo and Fereti Soloa were combative and cunning. Dom Ernst and Kian O’Connell, both smaller in stature, were feisty, rapid terriers. Ernst can often be seen in the Hutt Valley pounding the pavements with his pet greyhound.

Twice, Jeremiah Avei-Collins had kept Paremata-Plimerton in contention with improbable defensive interventions that quickly translated into attacks. Paremata-Plimerton was down 12-0 in the final when Avei-Collins made a steal and bust that finished with an angled burst by Caleb Alaga to the corner.

In the semi-final against a supremely balanced Nelson Marist, Avei-Collins thwarted a certain try at 12-0, which instead led to a try at the opposite end and a 12-7 halftime deficit.

Ethan Webster-Nonu won the semi-final with a desperate late sprint and lunge. He almost repeated those heroics against the Eagles with a late strike. “Lightning,” Louis Northcott sent hearts racing with typically frenetic surges. Christian Faavae was as impenetrable as a fort pā.

Eye-catching talents for Nelson included: Nic and Timoci Sauira, and Will and Tom Thornalley.

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Clifton beat the Harbour Hawks of Dunedin 26-12 to win the Bowl Final.

Havelock North defeated Marist St Michael’s 26-0 in the Plate Final.

The four Cup quarter-finals saw home winners HOBM enjoy a 26-10 win over Bay of Plenty’s Te Puna, Burnside topple Havelock North 26-17 in an even thriller with speedster Banuve Dretiverata particularly dangerous, Marist Nelson beating Marist St Michael’s 24-5 and home team Paremata-Plimmerton beating Greytown 19-10 in an entertaining game.

Greytown’s participation in this tournament was the start of the club’s 150th anniversary celebrations. They were playing in their original club jersey, the “Papawai Strip” from 1876.

The Eagles had won two and drawn two of their morning’s three Pool B games to top their pool. Their wins were over Auckland’s Manukau Rovers (40-7) and Taranaki’s Clifton (29-12), whilst their draw was against Nelson Marist (21-21) – the team that very nearly toppled Paremata-Plimmerton in the semi- final.

Paremata-Plimmerton had topped Pool A with wins over Coast (26-12), Christchurch’s Burnside (17-5) and Bay of Plenty’s Te Puna (26-10).

The Havelock North Villagers won all three of their games of Pool C, beating Dunedin’s Harbour Hawks (24-10), BoP’s Marist St Michael’s (35-12) and Wairarapa-Bush’s Greytown (36-15).

The tournament kicked off in fine, breezy conditions at 9.00am and Havelock North’s CJ Mienie scored the tournament’s first try at 9.01am. There were seven more to follow from him. His teammate Corbin Lee was the top-scorer with 10 tries – listed below:

Home team Paremata-Plimmerton warmed up for their first game to the sound of Guns & Roses’ Appetite for Destruction and Louis Northcott welcomed Coast to the Jungle with their first try.

Paremata-Plimmerton would subsequently lose playmaker Esi Komaisavai to injury in their third pool game, a potentially big blow.

Pool play was hotly contested and several teams traded wins and losses in their games, such as Te Puna who had a good 24-12 win over Burnside and then lost to Paremata-Plimmerton in their next match.

The tournament was well organised and well run with no hiccups.

There was a big crowd and several groups dressed up in costumes, such as the Porirua Mayor Anita Baker’s group dressed in pink.

The Wellington Rugby Referee’s Association did a good job as adjudicators throughout the day.