Ross Shield: Country comes to town in style

Joseph Latu runs in for a try in defending champions Napier's 61-0 win over Hastings East on the third day of the 2023 Ross Shield Hawke's Bay primary schools rugby tournament in Napier. Photo / Warren Buckland

It was a big day for country rugby as Central Hawke’s Bay and Dannevirke both rolled more-favoured city opposition in the Ross Shield Hawke’s Bay primary schools representative tournament in Napier.

In the opening match of the penultimate day of a six-team tournament that started on Tuesday and ends on Saturday, Central Hawke’s Bay beat Hastings East 12-10, followed immediately by Dannevirke’s 29-27 win over Hastings West.

The Hastings sides have been regular tournament winners in the past, along with defending champions Napier, with Hastings East having most recently won in 2021 and Hastings West having won or shared the honours in three consecutive years, from 2017-2019.

The last time a country team lifted the shield was when Wairoa and Hastings West were joint winners in 1994.

The Hastings teams’ losses at Tremain Field, Park Island - the second loss for each side - meant tNapier had all but won the shield before they started the last game of the day, having scored 191 points and conceded none in their first three games, and up against a Wairoa side yet to score its first victory of the week.

Having earlier beaten Central 71-0, Dannevirke 59-0 and Hastings East 61-0, Napier did finally have its tryline crossed, but beat Wairoa 81-12.

Blaze Parker celebrates scoring for Central Hawke's Bay in Thursday's loss to Hastings West. But it was even better on Friday when Central beat Hastings East. Photo / Warren Buckland

With Napier having secured the shield again, although still to play Hastings West, the last-day match between Central and Dannevirke had suddenly morphed as the feature of the final day, deciding the winner of country teams’ prize the Life Members’ Salver, held by Central since last year’s tournament in Dannevirke.

The Napier dominance had been shown most in Thursday’s nine-tries-to-none win over Hastings East, with Lochlan Whiting-Taylor scoring 19 points, with three tries and two conversions, Kiato Buxton kicking six conversions and Aratana Te Kahu scoring two tries.

Having beaten Wairoa, Central showed they were building in confidence when leading Hastings West early in the second half on Thursday, before being beaten 29-17.

It's all drama with Juztyce-Winter Pomana-Nepe scoring for Wairoa against Dannevirke on Thursday. Dannevirke won 35-19. Photo / Warren Buckland

The draw for the last day on Saturday is: 11am, Central Hawke’s Bay v Dannevirke; midday, Hastings East v Wairoa; 1pm, Napier v Hastings West.