Horouta champions of u13 weight-restricted grade

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Horouta: champions in 2019.

The Rob Kora-coached Horouta are the under-13 weight-restricted club rugby champions of Poverty Bay this year. They scored 11 tries for a bonus-point 61-0 victory over Pirates to win the grade. Horouta finished the season with 25 points; Ngatapa, who had the bye, had 24.

Horouta led 15-0 at the break against Pirates. Right wing Isaiah Reiri, openside flanker Elijah Kaui and fullback Taina Para each scored a try. Second five-eighth Torrance Kennedy, Kaui, No.8 Makaia Allen, Kennedy, centre Sonny Tairakena, lock Hami Soloman, Allen and Reiri then scored in a tremendous second-half effort.

Kaui, Kennedy and promising first-five Khadyn Kora kicked a conversion each.

Pirates captain No.8 David Gray tackled hard but the Buccaneers had little ball to play with and “The Waka” were a force of nature at Waikirikiri Park.

High School Old Boys, under coaches Gus Heuser and Lee de Thier, ended their season with a 49-7 win against OBM. Their try-scorers were hat-trick hero halfback Jonah Whitley, loosehead prop Quinn Lockwood (two tries), first-five Jayden de Thier (2), right wing Fergus Heuser and most-valuable-back award winner John-James Delamere-Fisher.

Strong openside flanker Mackenzie Wilkie won the most-valuable-forward award for HSOB.

OBM second-five Levi Hune scored the last try of the game 22 seconds from time, openside flanker Tama Kururangi supplying the conversion.

OBM coach Steph McClutchie said: “We got whipped in the first round but in the second round the scores generally were closer. Our players came back every week and all the kids in the club grades will no doubt play together at Boys’ High, Campion and Lytton. We’d like to give a special thanks to Trevor Crosby of OBM for his coaching assistance and support.”