11 November 2008
By WO1 Shaun Thomas
The NZDF Academy Rugby Team exceeded all expectations at the recent 2008 Pacific Military Nations Rugby Tournament, standing in the opposite half to the NZDF Senior team in the Cup final.
The final was played in atrocious weather conditions at Maidstone Park, Upper Hutt…
The inaugural Pacific Military Nations Rugby Tournament (PMNRT) was hosted by Australia in 2006 and won by the Royal Fijian Military Forces. Due to the current political situation in Fiji, they were unable to participate in this year’s tournament.
In order for there to be six teams competing the organisers invited an NZDF Academy team to participate. The tournament was made up of two pools, Pool A: Australian Defence Forces (ADF), French (FRANC) and NZDF Academy. Pool B: NZDF, Papua New Guinea Defence Forces (PNGDF) and Tongan Defence Services (TDS).
Selection of a team proved to be a difficult task, due to a large number those known remaining players who weren’t selected for the senior team being unavailable for selection due to operational commitments, being on courses or on exercises. At the eleventh hour a squad of 23 players was finally confirmed, and the majority of the team assembled in Linton for a four day training camp prior to the tournament. The final composition of the team, including management, consisted of six Navy and 23 Army, including a TF soldier and an NZDF civilian employee. The team was also fortunate to have the assistance of the infamous former All Black great and former Naval rating Buck Shelford.
Not having the luxury of previous training camps and trial games, a difficult task lay ahead of the management to produce a team that would be competitive. Most of players had never met each other before, let alone played together and at such a high level. Nevertheless the team quickly established its team culture and work ethic, pulled their sleeves up and got down to business.
The first game was against the FRANC (New Caledonia) who previously lost to the ADF the day before. Even though they were significantly bigger than the Kiwis, both management and players were reasonably confident of getting their first win of the tournament, which they did comfortably 62 – 0. Considering that this was their first hit out as team it took a while to get their continuity going. Both management and players were happy with their performance, and knew they had a few areas in which they had to improve on, if they were going to claim the scalp of the ADF. Point scorers were tries to A. Bain, V. Luatau, V. Rudolph, J. Manaena, S. Vandenberg, A. Flitten, J. Bush, and J. Reid x 3, with A. Curry converting 6. The team also lost a J. Aufai with a fractured cheek bone for the remainder of the tournament.
With only a 21 hour turn around until the New Zealanders’ next game, the NZ trainers and physios (D. Forbes, P. Stanbridge and R. Vant) worked tirelessly to ensure that the team was as good as possible, repaired and prepared for the big encounter against the Aussies. As to be expected whenever Kiwis play the Aussies, it was a torrid affair. Due to the short turn around, the team didn’t hit their straps until the last 25 minutes where our team recovery protocols came into being, with the team totally dominating the final quarter and eventually winning 25-13. Point scorers were M. Taufa x 2, J. Manaena, C. Aramoana and A. Curry with a penalty and conversion. Yet again the team lost another key player to injury with V. Rudolph out for the rest of the tournament. This meant that the squad was reduced to 21 to play the final.
History was made as this was the first time ever that a NZDF team defeated the ADF, and just as significantly, the Academy team had secured top spot by winning pool play with the maximum number of points, one more than the senior side, setting up an all NZDF final.
The final was always going to be a big ask for a team consisting of smaller, younger and less experienced players, but this team was not going to lie down for anyone. They had the self- belief and knew that if they worked together as a team, and all played to their true potential, anything could be achieved. As the underdogs, and with the crowd all hoping for an upset, it was not meant to be. Full credit must go to the NZDF team, who dominated possession and territory, eventually securing a comfortable win. Notwithstanding that the Academy side showed true character, courage and commitment, and did dominate in certain areas of the game, and fought on to the final whistle.
The NZDF Academy team would like to acknowledge and thank the PNMRT Organising Committee for a well run tournament, and also NZDF Rugby for providing the team with the opportunity to participate in the tournament. And hopefully the team has proved that perhaps there is value in establishing a permanent Academy code in the future. Many thanks go to TRSB, and particularly to the staff of the JR’s Mess for their support. The organisers are very grateful for the support of sponsors Musashi, KooGa and the TNT Night Club. The organisers also extended a big thank you to Buck Shelford who spent much of his time with team, passing on his expertise, experience and knowledge. His presence was greatly appreciated, along with that of Jamie Joseph.
In conclusion, the management fully commends the teams for their dedication, commitment and professionalism, both on and off the field. They all represented their Service and their Units with pride. They were an absolute pleasure to manage, coach and train and were great ambassadors for the game and the NZDF.
Footnote: During the final function, Army rugby players, both past and present, gathered separately in support as W01 Bushy Mclean was presented with his Army Cap, marking his retirement as the coach of the Senior Men’s Rugby Team. W01 Mclean coached the NZDF Academy team, and has coached the Army Men’s team since 2003. Those present paid tribute to his services concluding with a blood tingling rendition of the Army haka. Army rugby wishes Bushy all the best for the future.
The Hakas, the singing, the rooster...
Sapper Matty Oldridge, the NZDF team’s No. 8 was named Player of the Tournament at the tournament closing function.
The week-long tournament had many highlights. Among them were the quality of the rugby, the amazing singing of the Tongan team, the enthusiastic supporters of the PNG team, the NZDF and TDS hakas, the vocal Tongan supporters, the presence of rugby greats Buck Shelford and Tiny Hills, and the amazing try in the last minute of the NZDF vs PNGDF game. The lows included the changeable weather and the Australian captain MIDN Peter Waring who was injured in the first ten minutes of their first game. There were also some humorous moments including the FANC team’s mascot rooster which was tied to the fence during their games, and a very enthusiastic PNG supporter with a flag. In all the tournament proved to be a very positive and successful event.
Full results of the tournament are as follows:
Tuesday 28 October
- Game 1 - ADF 41 FANC nil
- Game 2 - NZDF 28 TDS 5
Wednesday 29 October
- Game 3 - TDS 50 PNGDF 8
- Game 4 - NZDF AC 62 FANZ nil
Thursday 30 October
- Game 5 - NZDF AC 25 ADF 13
- Game 6 - NZDF 111 PNGDF 7
Saturday 1 November
- Plate final - PNGDF 27 FANC 25
- Shield final - TDS 10 ADF 5
- Cup final - NZDF 74 NZDF AC 3