Ohaeawai reclaim Bay crown over resurgent Okaihau

In the end, the determination of Ohaeawai to regain the title it held  in 2008 was greater than that of the visiting underdogs as they took out the Bay of Islands senior rugby final 10-3, in fine weather and in front of a  large crowd at Ludbrook Park.
It was a crunching and fitting end to the season when Okaihau scored first on Saturday through a Noel Edmonds penalty, the only points scored in the first half as both sides cancelled out the other's attack - all the way to half-time. Ohaeawai were next on the board with a Javan Pou try converted by AJ Johnson early in the second half.
Both teams then enjoyed patches of territory and fiercely fought possession where committed defence was often converted into counter-attacking rugby throughout the second half. Behind, Okaihau  were the more desperate of the two teams.
Much of this pressure came with Ohaeawai down to 14 men with Selwyn Beckham spending 10 minutes cooling his heels in the sin bin. Okaihau nearly crossed over for two pushover tries but referee Robert  Rush deemed the ball held up both times.
Right at the end of time, Ohaeawai launched a strong run into Okaihau territory and were rewarded with a penalty in front of the sticks, which AJ kicked to finish the game on a high note for Ludbrook Park locals.
Ohaeawai manager Pappy Maihi was pleased with the way the forwards stepped up to meet the same Okaihau pack which had rolled Moerewa in the semis, although this eight frequently seemed in big trouble against the Okaihau pack. Ohaeawai also celebrated the naming of full-back Brett Curtis as the BOIRU player of the year, who Maihi noted often became the "last man on defence" on Saturday.
Okaihau manager Shaun Haynes admitted disappointment waking on Saturday morning to see the sun shining, rather than rain falling. Like most commentators, he knew the fine conditions and firm track would have favoured the faster Ohaeawai backline more. Haynes felt Okaihau didn't capitalise on its scoring opportunities and, in some ways, this was the story of the season.
"We have been in a lot of games and when we get in the zone, we haven't put the points on the board. Not to take anything away from Ohaeawai, the guys gave it all they had, got to the try line, a few wrong options taken." Players of the day were Edmonds and Sam Posthumus.
Okaihau arrived at the finals with a huge support in blue, and a couple of ring-in players (loaned from Whangarei clubs whose season finished last month). Still, it's been a remarkable journey in Okaihau's return to Bay senior rugby after wandering in the wilderness for the past seven years, and making the final for the first time since 1973. In the bottom four finals, United Kawakawa beat Hokianga, 12-5.