The HSOB Light Bears have won a thrilling Under 85kg Club Cup final at Eden Park on Saturday, beating Pōneke FC Wanderers 24-19. The match finished with a goal line stand, who held out the desperate Poneke side and clinched their second Cup win in three consecutive final appearances. It was a fitting way to finish for the the Christchurch side, who went down in heart-breaking fashion in last year's final.
Earlier, Pōneke had the better of the early stages and were unlucky not to pick up a try after a long period on attack off the opening kick-off. Fullback Max Rodgers eventually opened the scoring with a penalty in the eighth minute; however the Light Bears struck back in stunning fashion shortly after.
After breaking out from their own 22, a powerful pick and go by number eight Billy Sloan and soft hands from skipper Jarred Percival saw a sweeping movement that ended with centre Ryan McNulty diving over to score.
Poneke regrouped and scored a long range stunner of their own, with a break by Dom Sipa seeing the wing carve off 40 metres of territory before getting the ball inside for a flying Rodgers to score under the posts.
Unfortunately, the first half was also mired with controversy when Pōneke number eight Troy Howe looked to have pinched a try after a smart kick downfield. The ruling was that he'd knocked it on after a scramble at the back with Percival, however, replays clearly showed the officials had got the call badly wrong and Poneke had to settle for another Rodgers penalty goal to make it 13-8 at the break.
Max Rodgers scores for Poneke, National Under 85kg Club Cup Rugby Final, Eden Park. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
It would prove to be a crucial call as there was only one other try in the game, and it was the Light Bears that got it through Taine Cordell-Hull. The halfback managed to smash his way over after a patient build up in the 54th minute, then both sides settled in for a tense a kick-heavy final period.
The teams traded penalties to give Pōneke a 19-18 lead, before Percival stepped up for a moment of redemption of sorts. In last year's final he missed a penalty late in the Light Bears' loss to the Pakuranga Black Panthers, however in a nice piece of symmetry Percival was given a shot to take the lead from more of less the exact same spot on the field.
This time there was no mistake, then just to put an exclamation point on it Percival sent another penalty through five minutes later.
It looked as though the game was finished, but Pōneke had other ideas and launched a desperate assault on the Light Bears' line. The match finished five metres out from the tryline with a defensive turnover, sparking wild celebrations from the Light Bears and their traveling fans.
Taine Cordell-Hull of HSOB scores. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
Percival said, "it was great to get one back after last year's heartbreak".
"I can't speak highly enough of the boys…it's been a 12 month campaign. Just so proud…we were defending our tryline and thought it was déjà vu from last year, so for the boys to stay in there and find it deep within themselves, determination, heart and effort. You name it, we brought it out there."
Coach Patrick Coady Jr. credited the team's culture as a big part of their success.
"We come together..just enjoy each others' company. Trainings are fun and this (result) is just unbelievable," he said.
The final capped off the sixth edition of the National Under 85kg Club Cup, which this year saw 42 teams from 12 provincial unions enter. It also comes off the back of the inaugural NZ Under 85kg side's tour to Sri Lanka in May, which was captained by Percival and drew huge crowds for their two wins over the full Sri Lankan national side.
