Waikato, Counties Manukau win at Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament

Sep 22 • General News, International • 1840 Views • Comments Off on Waikato, Counties Manukau win at Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament

Waikato and Counties Manukau have taken out the silverware in the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament in Taupo after a week of exciting action in the annual competition.

Waikato took home the Graham Mourie Cup after winning their Premiership Final against Auckland despite Auckland scoring three tries to Waikato’s one, with Waikato first five-eighth Matthew Lansdown proving the difference with six penalties to give them the edge 25-22.

Waikato became the third team to claim the Premiership title while Counties Manukau secured a consecutive Championship Final winning 35-20 over neighbours Bay of Plenty, and reclaiming the Michael Jones Trophy.

New Zealand Rugby General Manager Rugby Neil Sorensen has today congratulated this year’s winners.

“What a fantastic way to top a week of outstanding rugby. Congratulations to Waikato and Counties Manukau for their success, and congratulations to all the teams that competed – they put on some highly entertaining footy.

“This tournament is an important platform to showcase young talent emerging from the provinces, who for the third year converged on Taupo. We are incredibly grateful for the amazing support this event gets every year from the Taupo district,” he said.

This year’s tournament has been sponsored by Mitre 10 who have wrapped their support around New Zealand’s domestic competitions including Mitre 10 Cup, the Heartland Championship, and the Farah Palmer Cup.

Yesterday’s action brought the curtain down on three days of play at Owen Delany Park which saw almost 400 of New Zealand’s most promising rugby players come together to compete in the annual Jock Hobbs Memorial National Under 19 Tournament.

The Graham Mourie Cup bronze final was a nail biter as defending champions Canterbury were consigned to a fourth place finish when Wellington scored a try in overtime to win 31-24.

The DJ Graham player of the tournament was awarded to Waikato loose forward Luke Jacobsen. Jacobsen was tireless around the park for Waikato and topped off the tournament with a crucial try in the final to help Waikato to their inaugural title.
For the full official results click here.

Michael Jones Trophy
11.05am: 13-14th play-off: North Harbour 27 v Northland 0
11.05am: 15th-16th play-off: Southland 5 v Heartland 32
1.05pm: 11th-12th play-off: Hawke’s Bay 20 v Tasman 32
3.20pm: Final: Bay of Plenty 20 v Counties Manukau 35

Graham Mourie Cup
1.05pm: 7th-8th play-off: Auckland B 29 v Taranaki 27
1.40pm: Bronze final: Canterbury 24 v Wellington 31
3.05pm: 5th-6th play-off: Manawatu 13 v Otago 13
5.00pm: Final: Waikato 25 v Auckland A 22

Previous winners

Graham Mourie Cup (Premiership) winners:
2016: Waikato
2015: Canterbury
2014: Wellington

Michael Jones Cup (Championship) winners:
2016: Counties Manukau
2015: Counties Manukau
2014: Southland