Horowhenua-Kāpiti had beaten Whanganui 12-10 at Spriggens Park the weekend before.
Wairarapa Bush defeated Poverty Bay 38-24 in Napier in their first game, with Poverty Bay rebounding to beat Horowhenua-Kāpiti 26-20 on Saturday and then Whanganui for their best-ever result in the HYC tournament.
“Had a bit of time to reflect, and the boys did themselves proud – we had a few guys unavailable with illness and that,” said Cowan.
“It was between two to 10 points each game, perhaps if the bounce of the ball had gone our way ...”
The five Whanganui players selected for the 26-man Heartland Hurricanes are prop Sid Diamond (Hunterville), lock Keane Metekingi (Border), flanker Jeff Dorset (Marist Knights), centre Akiwa Koro (Marist Premiers) and fullback Remy Early (Hunterville).
Five players each were chosen from Horowhenua-Kāpiti and Poverty Bay, while the champions Wairarapa Bush were rewarded with 11 call-ups.
“They were pretty dominant over the series, so you would think they got the majority selected,” said Cowan.
The Heartland Hurricanes, who are managed by Whanganui stalwart Chris Back, will play a preseason fixture against the McFall Fuel Whanganui Development XV, then take on the Under 19 sides of Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū and Wellington for the Central Region Trophy.
Then it is on to the “test match” of the season against the Heartland Chiefs U20s in Taupō for the third annual Glen Osborne Cup match.
Introduced in 2022 when the Heartland Chiefs side was first created with players from the King Country and Thames Valley unions, the Hurricanes have won both previous cup fixtures held in Napier – 38-24 and then 24-22 last year after scoring a converted try right on fulltime.
“The Heartland Hurricanes side have been fortunate to be on the right side of the ledger the last two seasons,” said Cowan.
“In a professional sense, the net’s cast a little bit wider and it’s a chance for the Heartland guys to get a bit more exposure.”
Happenings
SCHOOLS: The Whanganui High School 1st XV secured a home MRU Premier 1 semifinal after a 26-24 win over top qualifier Manukura last Friday. On Saturday, Cullinane College 1st XV lost 17-5 to Feilding High 2nd XV. In the CNI competition, Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV were beaten 34-15 in their last round robin game with Feilding High 1st XV. In MRU Premier 2, Ruapehu College 1st XV secured an important 28-10 over Palmerston North Boys High 3rd XV to finish top of the table for the semifinals, while the Whanganui Collegiate 2nd XV lost 17-5 to St Peter’s College to just miss the title playoffs. In Premier 3, the WHS Under 16s defeated Feilding High Red 17-12. In MRU Youth 1, Whanganui Collegiate Black lost 57-31 to Waiopehu College Youth, while Cullinane College Year 9-10 were beaten 50-0 by PNBHS Under 14a. In Youth 2, WHS Under 15s defeated Feilding High Hostel 48-41. Youth 3 saw Whanganui Collegiate Blue beat PNBHS Junior Grey 42-24. In MRU Secondary School Girls competition on Wednesday, Cullinane College beat Palmerston North Girls’ High 45-12, while WHS Girls defeated Dannevirke High-Tararua 67-34.
REPRESENTATIVE: The McFall Fuel Whanganui Development XV kick off their campaign against the Wairarapa Bush Barbarians on Saturday at Cooks Gardens, kickoff 11am. The Whanganui Tāne Māori side will travel to Levin to take on Horowhenua-Kāpiti Māori.
MARIST: The NZ Marist Colts/Development team, including Whanganui’s Jacob Gedye, lost their second South Island tour game, beaten 32-17 by Otago Sassenachs XV at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on Tuesday. Only trailing 15-14 at halftime, Marist could not sustain momentum, with Gedye again an impact player off the bench. The side travelled to Timaru to take on South Canterbury Development on Thursday.
