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 36th Gallaher Shield win is, of course, a new mark; likewise the 47th championship won under the ARFU banner and the 51st 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 150th 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