Sevens: Ngamatapouri wins Kimbolton tournament

The Ngamatapouri team after winning the Kimbolton Sevens tournament in the Manawatu on Saturday.

Ngamatapouri have continued their tradition of sevens domination after claiming the Kimbolton Sevens title at the annual tournament near Feilding on Saturday.

Ngamatapouri and Taihape both entered the invitation tournament against teams from the Manawatu and Hawke's Bay, and Taihape did not leave empty handed as they claimed the Bowl trophy after missing out on the cup semifinals.

Reinforced by a couple of Wanganui Marist regulars, Ngamatapouri had overcome a tough start as they lost to Hawke's Bay Fijians Blue 26-12 in the first round, while Taihape were beaten 38-12 by Stag Brothers.

The two WRFU clubs then met in the second round, with Ngamatapouri picking up a 26-14 win.

They clinched their cup semifinal spot with a 43-10 win over Stag Brothers, while Taihape lost to HB Fijians Blue 40-12.

In the Bowl playoffs, Taihape defeated Martinborough in the semifinal, and then got revenge in the final with a victory over Stag Brothers.

It was a similar story in Cup final, as Ngamatapouri rematched against HB Fijians Blue, who scored the opening try, but then gave up two tries under the posts to trail at halftime.

Ngamatapouri then scored another breakaway to extend their lead after halftime to 21-5, before HB Fijians struck back after a kick-chase led to them getting a 5m scrum and scoring under the posts for 21-12.

But Ngamatapouri took the match away with good ball movement to get another try, and although HB Fijians scored a breakaway for a converted try and then were stopped on their last attack right at the Whanganui club's corner post, they had run out of time.