Pakuranga United Rugby Club juniors have been victorious at an annual competition.
The Pakuranga Vikings lifted the coveted Barry Boyden Shield recently by winning the under-10 Invitational Tournament held by the Grammar TEC club.
The shield was presented to the Vikings by former All Blacks great Dan Carter.
Twelve teams played three pool games in the one-day tournament, before the semi-finals and final.
After two wins in pool play, the Vikings had a tough match against Carlton in the semi-final.
The Vikings held on to their 20-15 lead to full-time, having to be strong on defence, to qualify for the final.
In the competition decider against Ponsonby, action saw play going from one end of the field to the other, with the score 20-all at halftime.
It was the Vikings who pushed harder in the second half, ending up winners by 40-30.
Vikings coach Brad Colebrook says it was an exciting triumph for the team.
“When the final whistle blew there were huge celebrations from the kids jumping and hugging and all nearly falling over in exhaustion after emptying the tank for their mates, team and club.
“The success story of the Vikings is that it took a full team effort from numbers one to 15.
“Every player did their part and brought glory back to their beloved club and gave their everything to it and got the results, because they played as a team. Stars don’t win games, teams do.”
Colebrook says the Grammar TEC club’s Juniors staged a “fantastic tournament”, that also saw North Shore win the Plate and Grammar TEC the Bowl.
It’s the third year of the contest, which was won in 2022 by Pakuranga’s Super Chargers.
Pakuranga Vikings: Samuel Sharp, Maddox Monkley, Bowden Dawson, Fletcher Hamilton, Connor Thompson, Conor Winstanley, Ben Hunkin, Blake Burgess, Kayd Colebrook, George Bell, Max Dorrington, Noah Bryan, Jordan Tye, Jake Turner, Grayson Bond.
Coach Brad Colebrook; managers Josh Tye, Rob Hunkin; team referee Dave Dorrington, scorer Kelly McCullough.
