Matauri Bay marae triumphs at last in Pa Wars

It was a nerve-wracking final won by just one point.

It was played during Labour Weekend and ended a decades-long drought in which 2011's winning team could only dream of taking home the coveted trophy.

You could be forgiven for thinking the tournament in question was the Rugby World Cup, and the prize the Webb Ellis Trophy, but you'd be wrong.

It was, in fact, the Piri Wiremu Mokena Trophy awarded to the winner of an annual inter-marae sports contest that is - in some places anyway - as keenly fought as the World Cup.

The rugby and netball tournament, also known as Pa Wars, is contested by up to 17 marae in the Whangaroa area every Labour Weekend.

This year Matauri Bay's Te Tapui Marae won the trophy for the first time in decades, after defeating Matangirau Marae in a tense final ending in a 11-10 score.

The people of Matauri Bay wasted no time telling former All Blacks coach Graham Henry about their triumph - and the parallels with the Rugby World Cup final - when he visited Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Whangaroa last week.

School board of trustees chairman Terry Smith said Te Tapui's victory over the marae of Rugby Sevens legend Eric Rush was Matauri Bay's first in almost 30 years. "So we can understand the elation, the exhilaration you felt after winning the Rugby World Cup," he said.

Mr Henry and his wife Raewyn inspected the trophy, a miniature carved waka taua, and asked questions about the tournament.

The freshly retired coach visited the school last Friday to hand over an All Blacks jersey signed by the winning squad, which he had promised during an earlier visit in February.

The tournament is named after the late Piri Wiremu Mokena, also known as Bill Morgan, a highly regarded kaumatua from Wainui.

This year's 30th anniversary tournament saw 14 of the 17 Whangaroa marae take part with 12 teams competing in rugby and 28 in netball.