It was a memorable week for the 2023 Dannevirke Ross Shield team.
On September 25, the 23 players, two mascots, two coaches, three managers - with a whole community behind them - travelled to Napier to begin their week. After a nerve-wracking weigh-in, the players settled into their amazing accommodation at Napier Boys Hostel where they were spoiled with beautiful cooked breakfasts and dinners every day.
They issue the haka challenge.
Day 1 was a tough loss 33- 5 against Hastings East, but Dannevirke kept improving the whole game with Maizey Wrenn scoring the try, and Will Hogan named the Dannevirke Player Of The Day (POD).
Day 2 was a loss against the winners of the tournament Napier 59-0. The first half was tough work but after a half-time team talk our players dug deep and worked really hard only allowing Napier to score two tries in the second half, our POD going to Ethan Augustine.
There is a full-on half-time conference.
Day 3 was the first clash of the country team against Wairoa winning 35-19 with Nireaha Carberry getting our POD. In this game, the Hawkes Bay selectors also chose Will Hogan as the overall player of the match.
They share the Country Cup with Central.
Day 4 was all about grit, determination and a strong Dannevirke team that didn’t give up allowing them to beat Hastings West 29-27 for the first time in 33 years. It was an evenly matched game but the big hearts of our Dannevirke kids really stood out in that game. Dannevirke POD was Cooper Sutherland and again the Hawkes Bay selectors chose a Dannevirke player as the player of the match - Nireaha Carberry.
An early start on Saturday for Day 5 brought about the final game of the country clash as Dannevirke took on Central Hawke’s Bay in what turned out to be a very exciting game right up to the very final seconds. Unfortunately, a try was disallowed in the final play resulting in a 17-all draw which meant both Dannevirke and CHB were winners of the Country Cup. Zack Gore was the Dannevirke POD and our own Cooper Sutherland was selected as the player of that match.
They got to sight-see from Bluff Hill.
During the week it was often commented by other coaches, families, and Hawkes Bay officials how impressed they were by our team and how well they did.
This year we had two players selected for the overall Hawke’s Bay Tournament team. A huge congratulations to Carter Monaghan and Will Hogan for making that team this year.
The coaches, management, and players would like to sincerely thank the whole community who support this amazing event.
I have learnt that this tournament is only a small part about the actual game. I saw how players grew in maturity and resilience, I saw families blessed with pride and moments that they will treasure forever, I saw friendships and confidence being made during team bonding activities, and mostly I saw what a country team can do when they have the support of a small community like Dannevirke behind them. Thank you, Dannevirke
