The first ever Over 50 Mens final contested at Touch NZ Nationals was a tense encounter between Wellington and North Harbour. Wellington came straight through to final having been the top qualifier, while North Harbour had to beat Auckland in a play-off that went down to a three-man drop off.
Wellington had picked up players from the draft including Nelson President Cyril Collier and TNZ board member Steven Hand. This paid dividends when six minutes in, Hand opened the scoring and got Wellington off to a great start.
North Harbour got themselves into the game with a reply from their #9 in the 12th minute, tying up the scores. Six minutes later Wellington hit the lead with a well-worked try from #2, but right on half time Harbour responded with touchdown of their own through #3, to make the half-time score 2-2 and anyone’s game.
Immediately after the break North Harbour took the lead for the first time with an excellent try to #4. They held off Wellington, but Wellington managed to level the score at 3-3 with a Cyril Collier try.
It was a tense finish with both teams giving their all, desperate to break the deadlock. It came down to the final minute of the game when Wellington’s #3 nabbed a try and with it, a hard-fought win.
Good performences were reported by Wellington’s #11,5 and 3, and North Harbour’s 9,3 and 2.
Last Modified on 03/03/2010 14:26