Wairarapa 'team of stars' take NZ crown

SILVERWARE: Proudly holding the Federation Cup aloft after beating St Hildas 1-0 in the final, the successful Wairarapa College squad. Back row, from left: Catherine Smith (coach), Bridey Kiernan (goalkeeper), Bailey McNair-Williams, Katie-Anne Saywell (vice captain), Emma Smith (captain), Hannah Candy, Brigette Mossman, Justine Robertson (assistant coach), Jo Mossman (Manager). Front row: Arianna Reiri, Annabel Butterick, Hanna Whitehead, Harriet Gibson, Billie Rawhiti and Katie McAnulty. Absent: Heni Metcalf, Litia Jane and Monique Edwards who had to leave immediately after the game to catch an early flight home.

Little wonder coach Catherine Smith is still coming to terms with her Wairarapa College squad winning the country's premier secondary schools hockey tournament, the Federation Cup, in Dunedin last week.

Smith is in her first year as coach of the side. She was talked into taking the role when nobody applied for the job. She had to endure the experience of watching her players come up trumps from sudden death shootouts in their quarter-final and semifinal games before scoring the only goal of the game late in the second half of a tense final against St Hildas.

"It was nerve shattering stuff. I still can't believe it has happened," Smith told the Times-Age yesterday.

"I thought we would be pretty competitive but to go all the way ... no, that was beyond the wildest dreams."

Smith says she wanted to match the efforts of last year when Wairarapa College came fifth. To do that they had to finish in the top two of their pool. After a 1-1 draw with Westlake in their opening game and a 3-0 victory over Wanganui in their second they had to at least draw their third and final pool game with powerful St Cuthbert's to reach the quarter-finals.

"We actually told the girls we needed a win just to keep them on their toes so they were a bit disappointed at first when we drew 1-1 but they were pretty excited when they heard that was actually enough to get them through," Smith recalled.

The quarter-final with Auckland Diocesan was a thriller, the scores being tied at 1-1 at the end of ordinary time and the scores remaining level after five players from each team had been involved in the first part of the shootoff. It then became sudden death and the Wairarapa College team held their nerve brilliantly to take the honours 7-6.

That scenario was repeated in the semifinal with Rangi Ruru. It was 2-2 at the end of ordinary time there, it was still even stevens after the first part of the shootout. It was sudden death again where Wairarapa College eventually sneaked home 7-6.

"Those two games were a nightmare for those of us watching but the girls were magnificent. The support they gave each other was really special and it got them the result in the end," Smith said.

After all this excitement it was a "pretty exhausted" Wairarapa College team which prepared for the final against St Hilda's and here too it was anybody's game with the scores locked at 0-0 at halftime. Wairarapa College broke the deadlock late in the second spell when they were awarded a penalty corner from which Brigette Mossman scored what was to be the winning goal.

"The girls were just about out on their feet at the final whistle, they had given it absolutely everything they had, "Smith said.

For Mossman and two other members of the Wairarapa College squad, Emma Smith and Katie-Anne Saywell, this was their third Federation Cup final and and the second time they had come up trumps.

They were part of the winning team in Auckland in 2011 and also that which were runners-up at Clareville in 2012.

Smith, however, was quick to emphasise that this latest success was not due to the brilliance of certain individuals but to the way the squad worked as a unit from game one right through to the tournament decider.

"We were a team of stars, not just one or two stars," she said.

The full Wairarapa College team was: Bridey Keirnan, Arianna Reiri, Billie Rawhiti, Hannah Candy, Katie McAnulty, Bailey McNair-Williams, Emma Smith, Brigette Mossman, Hanna Whitehead, Annabel Butterick, Katie Anne-Saywell, Harriet Gibson, Litia Jane, Heni Metcalf, Monique Edwards.

St Matthews College also made a huge impression at the Federation Cup.

They lost to St Hildas 3-2 in the semi-finals before beating Rangi Ruru 2-1 in the playoff for third and fourth.

Wairarapa College and St Matthew's Collegiate will do battle in the final of the Wellington premier division secondary schoolgirls competition at Clareville on September 19.

Also at stake there will be the Dunce Cup.