Media Release: 2021 Wairarapa Bush Competitions new formats
12 February 2021
2021 Wairarapa Bush Club Rugby Competition Format, Draws and New Trophies
It is with great pleasure to announce on behalf of the WBRU Council of Clubs, the new formats, draws and trophies for 2021.
2021 is WBRU’s 50th year as a combined Union between the Wairarapa and the Bush Unions who amalgamated in 1971.
In the last 50 years, the Wairarapa Bush club competition has taken many different formats and produced many exciting games and finals.
In 2020, the club season was truncated to one full round due to Covid and after feedback from players, coaches and clubs, taking into account the learnings and important input from all involved in our great club rugby competition, the following has been approved by the Council of Clubs.
Premier 8 Team Competition – Town and Country
(Commences 1 May 2021)
The first three rounds will see the 8 teams split into a Town and Country pools.
| Town Clubs | Country Clubs |
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At the end of the pool play, the top team of the Town and Country pools will go onto represent their respective region for the Lane Penn (Town versus Country) Cup when the two teams meet in the Championship round.
The Council of Clubs have agreed, Lane Penn should be recognised for his contribution to club rugby in the Wairarapa and his achievements with the representative team during his tenure as coach.
Premier Competition – Chris (Moose) Kapene Memorial Cup.
The Championship competition will be played under the same format as 2020, will one full round, semi-finals, and finals.
The Championship finals will be played for the Chris (Moose) Kapene Memorial Cup.
The Council of Clubs have agreed the Chris (Moose) Kapene Memorial Cup reflects and embodies everything about club rugby in the Wairarapa and the naming of the Championship title in honour of Chris is richly deserved.
The highest seed of the Championship round at the end of pool play will be awarded the Weatherstone Family Cup.
The 2021 season kicks off on April 17th with a festival weekend. There will a break over ANZAC weekend and then the commencement of the three rounds for the Town and Country competition and one full round of the Championship pool play, with finals being held at Trust House Memorial Park on July 24th.
The Premier competition will take a pause over Queens Birthday weekend, when the Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union Farriers Heartland team takes on Hawkes Bay in their traditional game.
“We would like to thank Tui and Dominion Breweries for their long time support of the Tui Cup. Wairarapa Bush continues to promote our great game based on participation, well-being and great sporting fun for all, and now with an opportunity to link two further legends of our game, Chris Kapene and Lane Penn, it was a good time to reflect and refocus on our priorities.”
Tony Hargood
Full list of Premiership Cups and Trophies
| Chris (Moose) Kapene Memorial Cup | Awarded to the winner of the Wairarapa Bush Premier Championship Final |
| Weatherstone Family Cup | Awarded to the top seed at the end of the Championship pool play |
| Lane Penn Cup (Town versus Country) | Contested between the top finalists of their respective Town and Country pools, when the two teams meet in the Championship round. |
| Bob Francis Trophy | Best and Fairest Premier Player |
| Manuera (Ben) Riwai-Couch Trophy | Premier Top Try Scorer |
| Patrick Rimene Trophy | Premier Top Points Scorer |
| The Dick Nunn Shield | Contested during the season between the holding team and their opponents. |
| Hodder Steffert Cup | Winner of Premier Plate Final |
WBRU can confirm the Wairarapa Bush Farriers Heartland team will continue to play for the Meads and Lochore Cup in the Heartland Championship in 2021.
Senior Reserve “Whataboutyou” Competition
The Senior Reserve competition will commence on 1st May 2021 and will be one full round with their finals being played at Trust House Memorial Park on 24th July 2021.
Full list of Senior Reserve Cups and Trophies (subject to the number of final team entries). All clubs have indicated they will be participating in the Senior Reserve Competition in 2021.
| Ryan Cup | Wairarapa Bush Senior Reserves Grand Final |
| Pat Shannahan Cup | Winners of the Senior Reserves First Round |
| Ron Hughes Cup | Winners of the Senior Reserves Second Round |
| Presidents Cup | Winners of the Senior Reserves Plate Grand Final |
Livestreaming
Due to the successful livestreaming program in 2020, the WBRU will be investigating further what opportunities there are to increase the offering to the clubs, spectators, and sponsors.
College and Junior Rugby
College and Junior Rugby will be commencing at the beginning of Term 2. Look out for further information on our website www.waibush.co.nz and the Wairarapa Bush Facebook page
Further announcements of the 50th Celebration will be made during March.
We wish everyone for the best for the 2021 season.
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