Celtic win South Canterbury rugby title in pulsating arm-wrestle grand final – صحيفة الصوت

Celtic are South Canterbury rugby’s senior club champions again after winning a pulsating see-sawing arm-wrestle grand final 22-18 against Waimate on Saturday.

Waimate dominated for good periods of the match at the Pleasant Point Domain and led four times but could not apply the finishing touches and will have to wait another year to end a nearly 30-year title drought.

Celtic, which had last won the title in 2018 when it beat Waimate 25-22, scored the winning points midway through the second half when captain Willie Wright made a big decision to turn down a gift three points from a penalty in front of the Waimate posts that would have tied the scores.

With his team trailing 15-18, Wright opted for a scrum and from the resulting play, second five-eighth Natui Saumani Su’a got outside his marker and raced over to score. Hayden Kerr’s conversion completed the scoring at 22-18.

An ecstatic Wright, playing his 115th match for Celtic, told The Timaru Herald after the match it was “a big play under the posts” to take the scrum.

“I backed the boys to get the try and we did and then we held on.

“They really threw everything at us but we withstood it.”

Wright said it was “absolutely unreal edge of the seat sort of stuff”.

“This (win) rates right up there. Obviously you can’t take away the 10 titles in a row, but it is pretty special after not winning it for a few years and coming back to this.

“This is right up there and definitely a true final. Both teams threw everything at it. Unbelievable.”

Wright and the quartet of other players with more than 100 appearances – prop Garret Casey (135), lock Matthew Stewart (145), flanker Nick Strachan (209) and fullback Jarrad Mannex (143) were the cornerstone of the win but the team had plenty of key less experienced performers who shone in hooker Connor Anderson, lock Ben Kerr, flanker Josh Mehrtens, No 8 Aporosa Qata, second five-eighth Natui Saumani Su’a.

The points gap was never more than four points and Waimate will be left contemplating two kicks at goal from first five-eighth Stefan Kloppers that hit an upright and bounced away, costing five points.

There was plenty to admire about the Waimate effort as they dominated territory and possession for large parts of the match but let themselves down with errors at inopportune times.

Locks Anthony Amato and Henry Bryce were powerful around the field but Waimate’s lineout did struggle to consistently win its own throws. The loose forward trio of captain Eafou Tagiaia, Loni Toumohuni and Brody Gallagher were tireless and halfback Theo Davidson, centre Ben Dyson and fullback Dan Patterson looked dangerous in their few opportunities.

A disappointed Tagiaia said he was almost lost for words.

“Discipline let us down at times. When you play teams like Celtic you don’t want to give away too many penalties because they will punish you from anywhere around,” Tagiaia said.

“Credit to them, they played well today.

“It’s been a big season for us. A lot of people wrote us off from the start, let alone making it to the top four to be here today. We came out here and were just a bit short. There’s always next year.”

Waimate led first at 3-0 after a penalty by Kloppers in the third minute. Kloppers had a chance to double the lead in the 11th minute with another penalty kick but hit the upright.

Celtic unveiled its lineout drive in the 14th minute with devastating effect, as Anderson finished off the drive to score and Kerr’s conversion made it 7-3.

Waimate then unveiled it’s own lineout drive from about 20m out in the 30th minute, taking play to the goal-line, having several dabs at the line before a quick tap from a penalty ended with a try to Amato, converted by Klopper, and the lead changed for the second time, 10-7.

Seven minutes later Celtic was back in front courtesy of the lineout drive again when Casey was unstoppable in the corner close to the line for a 12-10 lead.

Celtic’s lead lasted just a few minutes, as Klopper’s kicked another penalty for a 13-12 scoreline at the break.

Celtic began the second half strongly, stringing together multiple phases but only managed a Kerr penalty after two minutes to change the lead again to 15-13.

The lead changed for the sixth time when Waimate halfback Theo Davidson broke through in the 14th minute with a jinking run from the base of a ruck 40 metres out. Davidson’s clean bust found support from centre Ben Dyson who passed on to fullback Dan Patterson to score. Kloppers’ conversion attempt hit the upright but Waimate had the lead at 18-15.

Celtic immediately swept back on attack, producing its “big play” for Su’a to get outside his marker and score with Kerr’s conversion completing the scoring at 22-18.

The final quarter featured opportunities for both sides, with Waimate spoiling two clear chances with knock-ons in the last five minutes which cost it field position and the match ended on another Waimate knock-on with Celtic camped deep inside the Waimate 22.

An elated Celtic coach, Scott Barnes, said his players had been outstanding through the season.

“We’ve had a lot of adversity and we’ve had Covid and a real bad flu come through. We’ve also struggled with training grounds in the last month, we’ve had the Ranfurly Shield game with a third of our players involved.

“So a lot of adversity and the boys have just kept stepping up and stepping up, including our reserves and guys that are on the fringes. They’ve just stepped into spots and done the job.

“There’s great depth in the club. Even when we’ve called on the B guys to do the job we have no qualms in bringing someone up and that guy steps up and does his role.”

Barnes said Saturday’s win “ranks right up there… I’ve won titles with rep teams, but not a club team where you go right through the season. To come back and win it like that is awesome. The boys are just stoked.”

Other finals:

Senior (Ian Scott Memorial Cup): Mackenzie 27, Pleasant Point 21.

Senior B (Glover Cup): Celtic 29, Harlequins 14; (Wood Cup): Geraldine 17, Old Boys 15.