The late Billy Guyton probably would have been frustrated that the two women’s teams vying for the inaugural trophy named after him were relegated to the back field in Motueka on Saturday.
‘Disappointing’ was one of the comments as the Kahurangi and Marist players made their way to the No.2 ground at Sports Park.
They questioned where the respect was for a player who had done so much for the women’s game, especially as an assistant coach for the Tasman Mako women.
The Billy Guyton Challenge Shield, donated by the former halfback’s mother Stacey and sisters Tia and Tori and designed by Mako Lucy Mahuika, sat on a chair on half-way as the players did battle.
After completely dominating the first four minutes, the much larger Marist side was overwhelmed 65-10 by the pacey Kahurangi team which had won the shield at a 10’s tournament in Blenheim the previous week and was defending it for the first time.
Emotions were running high for the rival captains. Kahurangi skipper Tanita Garnett had been coached by Billy and remembers the impact he had on the Mako environment.
“His work in the high performance space made a real difference. He was such an advocate for women’s rugby. He wanted us to be seen,” says the 22-year-old lock. Those sentiments are shared by her Marist counterpart Shevaun Collier, another Mako, who also described Billy as a much-needed voice in championing the women’s cause. Billy’s mother Stacey Dunn was heartened by their thoughts.
“Billy would have loved to have been there. There needed to be a shield so he could be remembered for what he did for Tasman,” says Stacey.
It is a tough week for the family as Thursday marks the second anniversary of Billy’s death at just 33.
Stacey’s daughters will join her in marking his passing.
As for the challenge for the shield, it was a vastly different Marist line-up from that which won the women’s competition that past three years.
“We had a lot of retirements and younger players move on,” confirms Shevaun, who has switched from No.8 to first five with flanker Luisa Tafia now playing outside her at 12.
Kahurangi has its challenges too. It had three injured players on the sideline before the match, and they were joined by hooker Rose Thomas who suffered a shoulder injury which stopped proceedings for several minutes.
But the home side has been bolstered by the arrival of former Tasman Mako Eve Findlay who previously played for the Waimea Women. The centre scored a hattrick and two of the tries were outstanding individual efforts.
Eve propelled the ball forward off her knee, toed it ahead and then dived over to score, and she beat four defenders to grab the other.
“I am loving the team culture here. The girls are super fit,” enthuses the former West Coaster.
They drew a bigger crowd than the men’s game on the main field, although it was an absolute Division 2 cracker with Huia scoring a late try to beat Waimea 17-12.
A great way for them to celebrate Huia’s club day at Sports Park.
