Six years after they won the Meads Cup for the first time, and a whopping 29 years since they last hosted a final, Thames Valley are the kings of Heartland rugby again.
The Swamp Foxes dominated much of the first half and recovered from a minor second-half blip to beat Mid Canterbury 37-29 in the Meads Cup final in Te Aroha on Saturday.
They timed their run this season to perfection, qualifying third before dominating Whanganui in the semifinals then winning the key moments in the final in front of a boisterous home crowd at Boyd Park.
Mid Canterbury had the first say after nine minutes when Kaydis Hona made a powerful break, the ball got spread wide and winger Raitube Vasurakuta scored the opening try.
Thames Valley’s big, mobile pack started to warm up and the result was a couple of tries to flanker Laulea Mau in the space of 10 minutes.
Relentless pressure created the first, and the second followed a lineout drive that ended with Mau showing his immense strength to get over the line.
Fullback Quinn Collard capped the first half with a penalty to make it 20-8 to Thames Valley at the break.
Mid Canterbury fought back early in the second half with a second try for Vasurakuta, and despite losing McGregor Best to the bin, took the lead with a cracking try when Tom Reekie floated a long pass out to Hugh Griffiths, and the winger cut inside to score.
The game appeared to be in the balance but Thames Valley quickly took control again.
They hit the line hard, scored two tries in the space of three minutes, and kept the scoreboard ticking thanks to Collard’s magnificent boot.
Mid Canterbury had some consolation when good link-up work from the forwards led to a try for Gordon Hausia, but it was the home side’s day.
"We knew they were going to roll the sleeves up and come at us but we trusted our systems and what our coaches put in front of us with our plan, and for the most part it worked," Thames Valley captain Matty Axtens told the Waikato Times.
"It means everything, and it’s so cool to see everyone from the clubs coming out, grassroots rugby at its finest, the kids — that’s why we do it, and hopefully it can inspire the next generation to come through and lift the Meads Cup.
"We’re not paid to play it — we still work 50-hour weeks and come down and sacrifice time with our families.
"So we do it because we love it. And to see this turnout, it’s bloody brilliant."
Yesterday, King Country beat West Coast 46-44 after extra time in an entertaining Lochore Cup final.
Meads Cup final
The scores
Thames Valley 37
Laulea Mau 2, Te Huia Kutia, Oneone Fa’afou tries; Quinn Collard 4 con, 3 pen
Mid Canterbury 29
Raitube Vasurakuta 2, Hugh Griffiths, Gordon Hausia tries; Tom Reekie 3 con, pen
Halftime: Thames Valley 20-8.
