Pride win Women’s Championship as Whanganui win Heartland final berth

• By Steven White & Scott MacLean

The Wellington Pride are the 2026 Farah Palmer Cup Women’s Championship winners, following their 39-15 win over the Northland Kauri in the final at Wellington Stadium this afternoon.

The Pride survived a late first half scare to pull away from the Northlanders and win well in the end, on the scoreboard and in the contest.

The Pride were full of hustle and energy early and had built a decisive 18-0 lead inside the first 25 minutes, through tries to Ana Kerr (2) and centre Melania Paraone, but the Kauri came roaring back with three unconverted tries to close the score to 18-15.

Kerr took her tally to 11 tries for the Pride, to go with her 19 for Petone earlier this year and was a hard player to put down. Paraone showed some clinical touches, including kicking a 50-22 that helped set up one of these tries, and she later scored a key try herself.

The Pride replied with a clutch try in injury time of the first half, with No. 8 Lynda Rabeni-Vatuloka scoring after a turnover and dynamic 45-metre run to the line and first five Arene Landon-Lane converting to put them up 25-15 at the turnaround.

When Paraone pounced on an errant pass ran on to the resulting kick ahead and scored her second try 10 minutes into the second spell and Landon-Lane converted it was 32-15 and the visitors couldn’t muster another comeback in the face of committed defence.

Teenaged loosehead prop Keiana Roffey was this week named in a NZ U21 team and her try in the 65th minute off a tap penalty, again converted by Landon-Lane put the icing on the cake and there was no further scoring. Both sides emptied their benches, but the Pride stuck to their systems on defence and hunted more tries, but Matt Poutoa’s side had reached its goal for the year. This was the Pride’s first Championship win in the Farah Palmer Cup for eight years.

Heartland Championship

Defending champions Mid-Canterbury will look to go back-to-back as Heartland Meads Cup winners when they host next weeks final. The Hammers beat Thames Valley for the second week in a row, winning 37-28 with replacement loosie Raitube Vasurakuta’s 68th minute try the crucial score.

Mid-Canty will host King Country, after the Rams rebounded from last week’s defeat in Whanganui to beat North Otago 36-24 in Oamaru. The pair were locked up 19-all at the break, but the sin-binning of Old Golds winger Ben McCarthy proved decisive as King Country scored twice in his absence. The Rams themselves were reduced to 13 for the final 10 minutes with two in the bin including assistant coach and former Counties loosie Fritz Lee, but hung on to earn another trip to the South Island next week.

In the Lochore Cup it was heartbreak for both Horowhenua-Kapiti and Wairarapa Bush in their semi-finals.

Whanganui won 39-38 in Levin in a match that went to extra time after Whanganui had scored in the northeast corner of the ground and converted to make it 31-31 after 80 minutes.

The home side thought they had done enough when they built pressure at the other end and sent right wing Leighton Ralph in for his third try of the match with just a few minutes of referees’ time to play. But they couldn’t close out the match over the final few minutes and the Butcher Boys applied pressure inside their half and won a pair of crucial penalties that helped set up a damaging 20-metre run towards the line by replacement flanker Ofa Tauatevalu and a try from the nex and on to another 10 minutes each way.

On a hot day in Levin, Whanganui kept their cool through the entirety of the first 10 minutes of extra time. They dominated territory and didn’t give the home side and their dangerous backs the ball. Their forwards almost muscled over at least twice and were held up once, before more phase play saw them score out wide right at the end of this spell to put them up 36-31.

It was a similar story through the opening stages of the next 10 minutes. They failed to score a try but they wisely kicked a penalty to go 39-31 up. Horowhenua-Kapiti had to reply fast and they delivered with a well-worked long-range converted try. Whanganui’s next re-start didn’t go 10 metres and the home team had its chance, but was ultimately unable to take it as Whanganui held on.

Earlier, Horowhenua-Kapiti had started well and skipped out to a 19-5 lead inside the first quarter, with tries to Ralph (2) and left wing Darren Falaniko. Horowhenua-Kapiti were organised and accurate and stretched Whanganui on the edges and in broken play.

Whanganui hung in there and got themselves back in the game. They replied with tries in the 36th and 39th minutes, off a lineout and maul and then through centre Alekesio Vakarorogo and the home team’s lead was cut to 19-17 at halftime.

The Butcher Boys went close to scoring in the opening moments of the second half, but kept the pressure on and soon Vakarorogo was in for his double and for a 24-19 lead.

His second try was his 55th career Heartland try, taking him to the top of the all-time Heartland Championship try-scoring standings.

Flanker Lesen Huiarangi then came up Horowhenua-Kapiti’s next try that put them back in front at 26-24, before Ralph’s hat-trick try had them up 31-24 but they couldn’t protect this and ultimately paid the price.

Down in Timaru Wairarapa Bush fell 26-34 to South Canterbury. The Bush fell behind in the opening moments but regrouped and answered back through Leon Tuiloma, and briefly took the lead after Soli Malatai scored the teams second. But tries to No8 Salesi Savelio either side of halftime proved decisive, and although the Bush closed to three with tries to midfielder Fiula Tameilau and Isireli Biumaiwai, a final try to home fullback Sioeli Filimoehala ensured they’ll be at home next weekend.

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