Wellington Black A have kept two hands firmly on the Anna Rowberry Cup for a second year, beating perennial rivals Auckland 1 in the final of the 2017 Netball NZ U17 Champs played at the Pukekohe Netball Centre. Playing outdoors but undercover, before an enthusiastic crowd of 400, the defending champions Wellington A Black surged ahead in the third quarter of the final, and had to fend off a final charge by Auckland 1, to win 34-25. Wellington’s assistant coach Irene van Dyk attributed the victory to a special harmony in the team. “We didn’t have a full squad until the week before the tournament, with two players in the Beko [Netball] League, and others fulfilling commitments to other sports. But they all worked so hard to bring it together, which showed the harmony in this amazing team,” she said. Wellington had been pushed hard in the morning’s semi-final clash, by the young Howick Pakuranga team of predominantly Year 11 players; the capital side eventually winning 29-22. Auckland had a more comfortable run into the final, beating Christchurch 54-26. The Aucklanders took an early lead in the final, with goal shoot Bianca Nagaiya shooting well. But Wellington put pressure on late in the quarter, forcing Auckland into unnecessary errors, to close the gap to 7-5 in Auckland’s favour. Van Dyk gave the Wellington side a rousing pep-talk, and they responded by contesting every ball and snatching the lead. Auckland had adapted by the end of the quarter, but Wellington held onto their advantage, 13-12, at halftime. A wall of defence across court from Wellington gave them a formidable restart. Wing attack Salote Taufa deftly fed shooter Saviour Tui, for Wellington to score six unanswered goals in the third quarter, and lead 26-17 going into the final spell. Although Auckland rallied, Wellington maintained their intensity to take the win for the second year running. Howick Pakuranga took out third place with a 29-16 victory over Christchurch. The four-day outdoor tournament is the largest event on Netball New Zealand’s calendar, featuring 38 teams and more than 450 talented young players from throughout the country. NZ U17 Tournament Team Jess Allan – Christchurch Olivia Clark – Christchurch Tayla Earle – Auckland 1 Maddy Gordon – Auckland 1 Paris Lokotui – Wellington 1 Bianca Nagaiya – Auckland 1 Ainsleyana Puleiata – Wellington 1 Renee Savai’inaea – Wellington 1 Leehava Saverio – Howick Pakuranga Greer Sinclair – Auckland 1 Saviour Tui – Wellington 1 Emily Ussher – Eastern Waikato Nanise Waqaira – Howick Pakuranga Khiarna Williams – Eastern BOP Ruby Young – Auckland 1 Day 4 Results Team A Team B Hutt Valley31V21Wellington B Gold Thames Valley38V29Mangere Otahuhu Mid Canterbury30V49Nelson Pukekohe45V36Gisborne Kapi Mana25V33Invercargill North Canterbury21V28Papakura Hawke's Bay35V37Eastern Bay of Plenty North Harbour 224V52North Harbour 1 Dunedin27V39Taranaki Harbourside27V38Waitakere 2 Trust Waikato Hamilton City B26V29Waitakere 1 Whanganui41V30Whangarei Wellington Black A29V22Howick Pakuranga A Auckland 154V26Christchurch Manawatu39V41Trust Waikato Hamilton City A Auckland 248V36Eastern Waikato Kapiti33V15Ko Rua Wairarapa*WBDVLBDInvitational Selwyn44V26Rotorua Hutt Valley26V37Thames Valley Wellington B Gold41V28Mangere Otahuhu Nelson28V50Pukekohe Mid Canterbury36V44Gisborne Kapi Mana23V30North Canterbury Invercargill27V26Papakura Taranaki38V21Waitakere 2 Dunedin34V35Harbourside Waitakere 142V29Whanganui Trust Waikato Hamilton City B34V32Whangarei Eastern Bay of Plenty23V46North Harbour 1 Howick Pakuranga A29V16Christchurch Trust Waikato Hamilton City A29V37Auckland 2 Manawatu30V41Eastern Waikato Hawke's Bay49V34North Harbour 2 Wellington Black A34V25Auckland 1 *Please note: Each team who plays the Invitational Team will be awarded 4 points for a win, and the score will not be included in the goal differential calculation. For this reason, in the system these games have been recorded as ‘won by default’ (WBD). Final Placings: 1 - Wellington Black A 2 - Auckland 1 3 - Howick Pakuranga A 4 - Christchurch 5 - Auckland 2 6 - Trust Waikato Hamilton City A 7 - Eastern Waikato 8 - Manawatu 9 - North Harbour 1 10 - Eastern Bay of Plenty 11 - Hawke's Bay 12 - North Harbour 2 13 - Taranaki 14 - Waitakere 2 15 - Harbourside 16 - Dunedin 17 - Waitakere 1 18 - Whanganui 19 - Trust Waikato Hamilton City B 20 - Whangarei 21 - Thames Valley 22 - Hutt Valley 23 - Wellington B Gold 24 - Mangere Otahuhu 25 - Pukekohe 26 - Nelson 27 - Gisborne 28 - Mid Canterbury 29 - Invercargill 30 - Papakura 31 - North Canterbury 32 - Kapi Mana 33 - Selwyn 34 - Rotorua 35 - Kapiti 36 - Ko Rua 37 - Wairarapa 38 - Invitational |
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