Ruapehu rugby has yet another win, but this time off the paddock.
The Tasman Tanning premier Wanganui rugby championship winning side and current competition leaders this year, successfully argued to have the qualifying rules surrounding the Weekes Cup competition changed back to last season's format. The Weekes Memorial Cup is won by the club with the best record in both premier and senior grades each season.
When a Marist-driven initiative culminated in a change to the rules in December last year allowing clubs to field more than one team per grade and all be eligible for cup points, Ruapehu disagreed and threatened to pull out of the competition. The Wanganui Rugby Union Council of Clubs' December meeting voted 4-3 in favour of the Marist initiative.
Ruapehu argued the smaller and more remote northern Wanganui clubs had little hope of finding the numbers to field multiple teams in any grade reducing their chances of accumulating enough points to win a cup.
That stance gained support at Tuesday night's Council of Clubs meeting in Hunterville and a 7-2 vote now means clubs can only have one team per grade eligible for Weekes Cup points.