Ponsonby Rugby Club

The 2024 Gallaher Shield Final

Ponsonby 59 Pakuranga 24

Ponsonby fans turned out in good numbers at Eden Park last Saturday for Finals Day, and most were quietly confident that their favourites would bring the Gallaher Shield home for the 36^th time.

We had, after all, put together an unbeaten season and while Pakuranga had suffered only one loss, that one was – for an hour – one-way traffic. At that point Ponsonby ran on all its subs in one go, everyone looked for the miracle plays and Pakuranga picked up four soft tries, making a 40-5 lead look a little tenuous at 40-29.

That lesson was clearly learned, because Ponies then slaughtered most opponents, surviving scares from Eden and Varsity but winning many other games by huge margins. Eden met suffocating defence at the Springs in the semi, and any repetition of that would make the blue-and-blacks hard to beat. Hence the confidence, even if it was not always quiet.

Within the opening five minutes, most Ponsonby nerves had been quietened. The first time Wiseguy Faiane ran the ball, deep in his own territory, he opened the defence right up before finding his outsides with a long ball that created a four-on-two. The first scrum saw Ponies bulldoze their opponents, winning a penalty and all the mind games at the same time. An early lineout was followed by a 25m drive that ended with a penalty try.

Veteran hooker Joe Royal was dark about the call, as he managed to force the ball. He wanted that try, which would have been his tenth of the season. And that would have made him joint top try-scorer in 2024, which followed his top-on-his-own effort 12 months earlier. Gone are the days when the hookers scored two tries a season.

Pakuranga came back soon enough with a rumble try under the sticks, but within a couple of minutes they were seven down again. From that point Ponsonby were never headed, and it soon became clear the big question was: ‘How many?’

With the forwards providing plenty of front-foot ball, the backs found all sorts of space to cut capers. Clearly they had discussed where gaps might be, and just as clearly it was felt that Pakuranga’s outside-in defence left acres of space out wide if the ball could get there. Faiane made several telling breaks, and each time broke outwards once behind the line, looking to free up the fast men outside. They relished the space and all made major carries.

As good as the backs were, the stars were the loose trio. Taina Fox-Matamua was named Man of the Match, and that was a clear-cut call. His carries were powerful and his defence thunderous. Two tries was a fair result for his efforts. Kaleb Emile-Vaoga and Riki Ruben weren’t far behind, either in standard of play or physically on the ground. That combination was one Pakuranga never found an answer to. The tight forwards did their work well, with the final try going to replacement prop Zyon Holo, when he scooped up a loose ball from a breakdown on the Pakuranga 22 and galloped away to score. Nobody else had any idea where the ball was, and for those few seconds it became a one-man game. By the next day, of course, that run had become 70m and tacklers had been brushed off left and right, but props are allowed to embellish their try stories.

Wiseguy Faiane kicked well, both from hand and for goal, and his final 22-point haul (5c, 3p, 1d) iced an already rich cake.

Every single player in a Ponsonby jersey played well; even when replacements came into the game there was no let-up for Pakuranga. If the scoreline flattered one team it would have to be the losers, because Ponies could have really racked up a number if they had been brutal about it.

The win capped an unbeaten season (our seventh which ended with the Gallaher Shield at home again), and in other ways it was a record-setter. The 36^th Gallaher Shield win is, of course, a new mark; likewise the 47^th championship won under the ARFU banner and the 51^st overall. It marks the first time both the Gallaher and Coleman Shields will summer in the same clubrooms.

The team scored 826 points to 159, and 123 tries to 22. No fewer than 31 players scored tries. The points ratio, 5.19 to 1, is the highest we have enjoyed since 1910, when exactly the same number was posted. A year earlier, the mighty 1909 team had posted a 12 to 1 ratio, the biggest since 1900. And all this was done in a season when we lost a steady stream of players to various contracts during the year.

As a marker for our 150^th Jubilee, it couldn’t have been more fitting. Our two top teams led the way, and the path they blazed was indeed a bright one. The Auckland squads, named immediately after the final, reflected this: 12 men and no fewer than 23 women will be kitting up for Auckland this season.

What a way to commemorate our return home and milestone season.

Paul Neazor

Ponsonby Rugby and proud club supporter, Neat Meat, continue tradition and bring you our "Christmas'24 Ham Fundraiser"!Support our club and indulge in the finest, juiciest quality hams this holiday season! 🎄

Purchase your New Zealand Free-Farmed, Cooked on the Bone Half Ham for your next Family & Friends Christmas Feast, or the Corporate Gift... $95 per ham (RRP $99!) - with $15 from each sale being donated by our awesome friends at Neat Meat directly back to the club! #poniesfamily Place your orders now through the link below...

Your support means the world to us! 🌍

Order here: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/309517

Last Day to Order: Friday 29th November 2024

Each ham weighs approximately 4.0kg-4.50kg

For any enquiries, please email Patrick at gm@ponsonbyrugby.co.nz

Payment. Please complete online payment to our club account at time of ordering. Details on the order form.

Club Administrator

This is a rare opportunity for a proven and inspirational individual to help shape and enhance the club’s operation and profile within our rugby community.

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced team player for the role of Club Administrator at Ponsonby Rugby Club. If you have great administration skills, are keen to help run our awesome club and have book-keeping/accountancy experience, this may be the job for you!

Apply below, or email gm@ponsonbyrugby.co.nz

"Farewell Dale" shared by Paul Neazor

Saumamao Malaeola Dale Moyer, who died on Saturday 9 November 2024 at Te Puna, near Tauranga, was one of the most significant members the Ponsonby Rugby Club has ever had. If that seems a bold claim, it should be remembered he can truthfully say he (and a couple of close friends) changed the face of rugby in Auckland forever.

That moment came when Dale, Alf Tupu and Bob Tuivaiti-Va’ai approached Ponsonby over the 1967-68 summer and asked the President, Owen Donaldson, to accept their all-Samoan team into club ranks. They had been playing at Parnell but that club was folding and in a desire to keep the side together – many were recent arrivals in New Zealand – the three wanted to find a club that would accept them. When they reached Ponsonby they had been turned away from five different establishments but the Blake Street reception was different, their advance was accepted and Ponsonby, probably unknowingly, unlocked a supply line of classy players, dedicated fans and loyal club members that has never been shut off.

The team had to overcome prejudices of the day with near-perfect behaviour, which the three leaders insisted upon, and then learn how to win in a pretty tough grade which was originally well above what they had been playing. After a couple of years the leaders asked if they could have a Samoan coach, who would understand the players perhaps a little better, and that request was also granted. Dale took over that role (and in 1974 got a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records for scoring 60 points in a match against De La Salle), but his proudest moment was still 12 months in the future when that happened.

In 1975 the First Grade title came to Blake Street, for the first time in many years. It was the only title Ponsonby won that year. While being interviewed for the 1999 history Passion and Pride, Dale said: ‘We stood alone in front of the club as Auckland champions, which meant much to the team.’ They won the grade again the following year.

By now Ponsonby had become the club for Pasifika arrivals in Auckland, and many of those newfound supporters remained loyal long after moving out of the district. They had been welcomed into the club, and there their rugby hearts remained.

Dale remained in a high-profile position after his peak playing days were over, and acted as a role model and mentor for new arrivals into New Zealand. How many he helped with his advice and care can never be known, but it was a large number. As part of Ponsonby, his influence was vast.

It was to be my honour to stand at the 2024 AGM and read the letter of nomination for Dale Moyer to receive a Life Membership to Ponsonby Rugby Club. Sir Bryan Williams was to second it. All the preliminary stages had been passed, and such nominations are never knocked back at the AGM, so it would have been great to see Dale presented with his pin. Now his wife Loi will collect it, but his name will still go on the board, where it deserves to be. And his family were able to tell him of the honour that had been bestowed on him before he passed.

He had been told that there was to be discussion over some form of acknowledgement to the original Samoan team of 1968 at the AGM. In a way, nobody was lying. It’s just that the honour was to be focused on one man, whose contribution to the club he supported to the end was huge.

The Ponsonby Rugby Club sends its condolences, as individuals and as a club, to Dale’s aiga at this difficult time. You remember a husband, father, grandfather, mentor and role model. We remember one of the best members in our club’s long history.

RIP Saumamao Malaeola Dale Moyer.

About the club

Ponsonby Rugby Club is the longest standing grassroots club in Auckland, New Zealand, having been operating for over nearly 150 years! It serves the wider Ponsonby community as not only a rugby club, but a hub for the community to come together, connect with other people and families, and foster a love of sports in our tamariki.

PRC is well known for its dominance in the Auckland Rugby club competition, both nationally and internationally as a result of winning the coveted Gallaher Shield 35 times (and the regional championship 50 times), far more than any other club. The Club has also produced more All Blacks than any other club in New Zealand.