Tournament Co-Ordinators Report

Henry Matthews

New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby Low Point Nationals returned home to birth place Wellington in 2008!!

Every year since 1996, every region has waited, sweated and trained in preparation for the NZWR Low Pointers tournament! This year was unique as it was a stepping stone towards the Montreal Low Pointer’s tryouts.

Day One

Day one started off with lovely fine weather in Taita. The tournament was held at The Walter Nash Stadium in glorious Lower Hutt. The first match played by Manawatu and Wellington started off with a hiss and a roar & set a high benchmark for the whole Tournament. Manawatu knew not to take Wellington for granted, especially because of their new addition, Chris Lay. Wellington knew that Manawatu had a strong line up. The score ended with Manawatu winning 27 – 12.

Moving on to the second matches Wellington vs. Auckland and Canterbury vs. Waikato. Auckland looked like tournaments team to beat on paper and came out firing while Wellington were still recovering from their last game. The final score ended with Auckland winning 20 – 9. Canterbury and Waikato put on an amazing display of true natural talent which reflected in the final result. That is, Canterbury winning 25 – 20.

Day Two

Day Two was a brutal day. All regions were fired up and ready for the back to back matches they were about to encounter. Tyres popping, sweat dripping, pain dropping arms, balls flying, battles to be won and lost, the Spartans of wheelchair rugby were ready to battle. Auckland came out with tyres burning, Canterbury were itching to get out there and win. Waikato had all their afterburners blazing, Manawatu were ready to release their thunder from down under and Wellington came out roaring like Lions. With all the emotions pumping and the immense pressure to win, day two was filled with excitement and brave hearts which is clearly reflected in the scores of each Mike Tyson ear biting matches listed below.

Day Three

Semi-finals started with 1^st vs. 4^th which was Auckland and Waikato. Auckland came ready to rumble and Waikato with their cow bells ringing! The game was top of the range with both teams battling to the bitter end. Auckland came out victorious in the end. The 2^nd vs. 3^rd match was between Canterbury and Manawatu. The game started with the Canterbury ready to stomp! And Manawatu’s turbines hissing in the wind. Throughout the match the Canterbury maintained their sharp edge and sliced the wing’s off Manawatu’s turbines.

Moving to the bronze medal match between Manawatu and Waikato, wow, where do we start? Waikato were disappointed with their last loss, but were determined to ring their cow bells again as they knew that Manawatu were still repairing their damaged turbine wings. Both teams were outstanding and by full time, the score was tied. Even though, both teams had given it their all, they had to dig deeper to play in overtime. It was a down to the wire, a nail biter finish but Manawatu their recovered wings and fought back to win the BRONZE medal.

Now for the main event, the GOLD medal match between Auckland and Canterbury, “Are you ready to rumble”. Auckland ready with their heads held high and Canterbury ready to make up, the crowd knew this was going to be a close game. Auckland dominated the first and second quarters but Canterbury was not going to go down without a fight. Bill Oughton rallied his knights together and for the last two quarters they played with everything they had. Although Canterbury put up a phenomenal fight, Auckland were to strong, held the lead and took out the GOLD medal.

All in all, the NZWR Low Pointers Tournament was a success. NZWR would like to thank Parafed Wellington, referees, bench officials and Phil Rangitawa for hosting this outstanding event. Without your support this Tournament wouldn’t have been as successful. Additionally, thanks to all of the regions who participated in the Tournament, we look forward to next year’s “Rumble in the Jungle”.

Yours Truly

Neil Cudby & Henry Matthews

Comp co-ordinators

NZWR