The Pakuranga Under 21 Cannons are Auckland Champions!

A late venue change saw the undefeated Cannons host Grammar TEC on Bell Park in front of a vocal crowd on Saturday morning.

The teams met in round robin back in April, with the Cannons winning 27-17 that day, also on Bell Park. They went through round robin undefeated – claiming the Whetton Brother Cup and the Sir Wilson Whineray Challenge Cup.

Grammar TEC in a Final is never an easy task and first five Riley Harrison calmly slotted an early penalty to put the team in front 3-0.

The Cannons crossed for their first try 10 minutes into the first half. A well worked line out move saw Daren Uili show his strength by powering through the defence from close range to nab the five pointer which Harrison duly converted.

Far from one-way traffic, Grammar TEC bounced back with a converted try of their own midway through the first half.

Elkanah Petelo had several menacing runs down the left hand flank and crossed for a try to extend the Cannons lead to 15-7 at halftime.

The team traded second half penalties before a Grammar TEC try was awarded much to the ire of the home crowd who thought the player went out before scoring. The conversion bounced off the upright onto the crossbar and away, leaving the Cannons with a 18-15 lead to defend in the last 20 minutes.

While the match lost some structure in the latter parts of the game, Harrison did a good job with his territorial kicking to keep the Cannons at the right end of the field.

It was a sneaky kick through the line from reserve halfback Regan McGregor and a tenacious chase line that put Grammar TEC under pressure close to their line, and when a pass went to ground second five Kalepo Paualaisa pounced to score and extend the Cannons lead to 23-15.

The closing exchanges were tense as Grammar TEC had a number of attacking opportunities, all of which were thwarted by championship-winning defence.

Pakuranga Director of Rugby Grant ‘Boof’ Hansen said Saturday was the icing on the cake for an awesome season.

“Our boys all came from local areas and 1B schools and together with a good coaching crew they just went from strength to strength this year. What really stood out to me was their culture, they had a large squad that kept together and really embodied ‘one club one culture’.”

“It’s exciting for the future of the club as many of those boys will be competing for starting spots in the prem team next season.”
 

Article added: Monday 24 July 2023