Waikato claim NPC Premiership title with victory over Tasman in breathtaking final

Mooloos cap crazy centenary year in ultimate style, pipping two-time defending champions in thrilling finale in Hamilton. Aaron Goile reports.

WAIKATO have capped their crazy centenary year in the most ultimate style, claiming the NPC Premiership title with victory over Tasman in a breathtaking final in Hamilton last night.

After a Covid-19-hit campaign which forced the Mooloos into six weeks on the road in order to save their season, they triumphed 23-20 over the twotime defending champions in an absolute nailbiter at FMG Stadium Waikato.

It is a third title for the union, on the back of triumphs in 1992 and 2006. Fifteen years ago in that decider first-year Mooloos coach Ross Filipo was playing for Wellington, while Liam Messam mirrored his appearance off the bench, this time in a 99th appearance for the province in his first game since lockdown.

In what was Waikato’s first home game in two months, having had to base themselves briefly in Cambridge then

Tauranga, the cowbells were music to the players’ ears, as a crowd restricted to under 6000 burst into raptures when Nick Briant called fulltime on the edge-of-your-seat finale.

Centre Bailyn Sullivan scored both the home side’s tries, both individual runaways from inside his own half, as the home side produced enough to overcome some untidy handling errors.

Down 13-10 at the break, Tasman co-captain Mitchell

Hunt levelled things back up from the tee six minutes into the second stanza, but less than two minutes later the hosts were back in front when Sullivan had the second of his stunners.

With Briant having just called advantage over for a knock on, the Waikato midfielder swooped on an awful pass fired forward from the hands of Alex Nankivell and cantered 55 metres.

When Hunt soon after missed a sitter near the sticks – perhaps justice served after a forwardlooking pass in the lead-up play – the momentum was well and truly with the hosts, and with their rushing defensive line, the Mako weren’t allowed to be their usual slick selves.

But one storming run from hulking reserve midfielder Levi Aumua changed all that, getting co-captain Quinten Strange over with 14 minutes to play, with Hunt’s conversion from handy

range tying things up at 20-20.

Waikato had their own bench impact, though, including cocaptain Fletcher Smith, and when the replacement first-five knocked over a 72nd-minute penalty, his troops had their noses back in front.

They then thought they’d won it three minutes later when Samipeni Finau stormed through and went over untouched, celebrating with lofted arms before finally putting the ball down, only for Briant to call on TMO Shane McDermott and the faintest finger touch of Liam Coombes-Fabling meaning a knock on and the try being rubbed out.

But from the resulting play, Waikato earned themselves yet another scrum penalty, and then set up camp in the Mako 22m. They spurned another shot with a minute to play and while Tasman got a last-gasp chance to get themselves upfield, a stray lineout three minutes after the siren put paid to any miracle.

Earlier on, points were slow to come – just three in the first 25 minutes, to be precise – with both teams feeling one another out through an early kicking duel.

D’Angelo Leuila opened the scoring off the tee in the ninth minute, soon after he made a great charge into the Tasman 22m, but then missed his second attempt, and also overcooked what looked like being a wellexecuted kick to the corner touch.

Waikato were camping in Tasman territory but couldn’t make it count. And then, completely against the run of play, the Mako found the opening try of the game in the 27th minute, in quite sensational style.

From a midfield scrum, halfback Louie Chapman went on a sensational run, selling dummies which were snapped up at bargain prices by Waikato defenders, before sending Regan Ware on a 25-metre blitz down the left touch to the tryline.

The Mooloos responded just five minutes later, though, and in equally eye-catching fashion, as a stray Hunt pass hit the turf and bounced beautifully for Sullivan to snap up.

Hunt levelled things back up from the tee three minutes before halftime, but then with a powerful scrum shunt after the siren, Leuila banged a shot over from 40 metres to give the hosts a slim lead at the break.