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Poverty Bay finished 11th in the Heartland Championship with a record of two wins and six losses. A win in the final match against Buller would have given Poverty Bay a Lochore Cup playoff place but was lost 27-41. The match against eventual champions Thames Valley was somehow lost 34-57. Ahead 34-27, and with 14 men, Poverty Bay conceded a converted try and a penalty goal all in the last two minutes, while a missed penalty kick in the final minute against West Coast resulted in a one-point defeat.

These near misses were balanced by the scoring of last-minute tries to win the Wairarapa Bush and East Coast fixtures, which showed the side played with determination for the full 80 minutes in each game throughout the season. The team scored some brilliant tries, but it was defence that usually let them down. Only against Wanganui was the side outclassed.

After last year’s promising debut, Andrew Tauatevalu continued to impress with some standout performances, appearing at wing, first five-eight and fullback. In the back three he was more able to show the pace he possesses. Te Peehi Fairlie ran with determination the wing and was top try-scorer with seven. At halfback Mario Counsell and Willie Grogan again shared the duties and were a contrasting pair, while Tom Iosefo was the best of the first five-eighths used and Mapa Tuipulotu was prominent in midfield.

Newcomer Callum McDonald, from Australia but Rotorua born, had an exceptional season in the forward pack, the lively openside flanker was fearless on defence, always in support, and hard to stop on attack. Origin player Micaiah Torrance-Read had a consistently high work rate at lock and was the main lineout winner. It was unfortunate a red card and subsequent suspension ended his season prematurely. Andrew Petelo was an excellent prop at tighthead, being at the forefront of all the front-row work. Number eight Jesse Kapene and lock Sam McDell both had good debut seasons, starting on the reserves bench and being first choice in their positions by the end of the season. Captain and hooker Tamanui Hill played every game.

Star players of last year’s team James Grogan (Taranaki) and Siosiua Moala (overseas) were absent and Ethine Reeves was unavailable for half the season due to work commitments. Record appearance holder Sione Ngatu played his 150th first-class match for the province in the Queen’s Birthday fixture against East Coast and then announced his retirement. Poverty Bay had the loan services of 2008 Auckland rep Mapa Tuipulotu, Samoan Sevens rep Tom Iosefo, experienced wing Willie McGoon and former Tasman prop Andrew Petelo

Higher honours went to:
New Zealand Heartland: C. McDonald

POVERTY BAY REPRESENTATIVES 2018

	Name	Position	PL	TR	CON	PEN	DG
	Tamanui Hill	No. 8	10	3	0	0	0
	Shayde Skudder	Flanker, Hooker	7 (7)	0	0	0	0
	Andrew Petelo	Prop	9 (1)	4	0	0	0
	Sam McDell	Lock	10 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Jacob Cook	Lock	9 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Fawn White	Flanker	7 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Callum McDonald	Loose Forward	9	1	0	0	0
	Micaiah Torrance-Reid	Lock	7	0	0	0	0
	Sione Tangi Ngatu	Flanker, Prop	1	0	0	0	0
	Willie Grogan	Halfback	8 (5)	2	0	0	0
	Tom Iosefo	Wing	4	4	0	0	0
	Te Peehi H.H. Fairlie	Wing	10	7	0	0	0
	Korey Love	Fullback	4 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Anthony Karauria	Centre	6	0	0	0	0
	Jesse Fleming	Centre	5	0	0	0	0
	Andrew Tauatevalu	Fullback	10	6	13	3	0
	Campbell Peter Lincoln Chrisp	Prop	9 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Jody K. Tuhaka	Hooker, Prop	1	0	0	0	0
	Matthew Raleigh	Wing	6 (5)	1	0	0	0
	Lyndon Manuel	Loose Forward	0	0	0	0	0
	Oka Sanerivi	Wing	7 (6)	0	0	0	0
	Mario Counsell	Halfback	10 (4)	1	0	0	0
	Toru Noanoa	Prop	8 (3)	1	0	0	0
	Ethine Snowden Reeves	First Five, Fullback	5 (1)	1	5	4	0
	William Bernard 'Willie' McGoon	Centre, Wing	3	0	0	0	0
	Mapa Tu’ipulotu	Midfield	6	0	0	0	0
	Siaosi K. "George" Lelenoa	Prop	1	0	0	0	0
	Hamuera (Baker) Moana	Halfback	2 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Mekepio Brown	Lock	0	0	0	0	0
	Tawhao Stewart	Centre	2 (2)	0	0	0	0
	Jesse Kapene	Loose Forward, No. 8	10 (2)	1	0	0	0
	Kelvin Muir Smith	First Five, Fullback, Wing	7 (1)	3	4	2	0
	Semisi Akana	Lock, Prop	5 (5)	0	0	0	0
	Juston Myles Allen	Lock	1	0	0	0	0
	Stefan Destounis	Flanker	1	0	0	0	0
	Rikki Terekia	Hooker	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Sandy Hohipa-Campbell	Prop	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Kurt Taylor	Loose Forward	1 (1)	0	0	0	0
	Kenneth Russell 'Ken' Houkamau	Loose Forward	7 (2)	0	0	0	0
	William Thomas 'Willis' Tamatea	Loose Forward	6 (4)	0	0	0	0
	Cameron Rowden	Halfback	4 (3)	2	0	0	0

We hope you enjoy this look back as we look forward to many more years of recording the history of Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.
We acknowledge all the information from the NZ “Rugby Almanack” Series from 1934 and appreciate their hard and dedicated work in providing this detailed history. – Web Admin—