The Longrun Spouting Whanganui Women’s team turned back the previous weekend’s defeat to the Thames Valley Vixens to win the one game which truly matters in Masterton on Saturday.

In an 11-try thriller on the artificial try at Memorial Park, Whanganui led the North Island Heartland Series playoff from start to finish, but could never shake their plucky opposition, hanging on 32-27.

No8 Nicola Chase was dominant from the start with linebreaks and offloads, leading to a penalty chance, and while fullback Alice Ireton struck the post, the ball came right back to Whanganui.

Another Chase offload found first-five Te Rina Mohi, who linked with centre Meilini Meo to put winger Kesaia Siganisucu over in the corner.

The reply was immediate as Thames Valley used the unpredictable turf for a grubber kick restart, Whanganui fumbling, and from the scrum No8 Tiara Dixon took off from the back and skinned her markers to score near the posts, with fullback Rangimarie Wirihana-Tawake also striking timber.

But the back-and-forth scoring continued as the Vixens spilled the kickoff, letting Whanganui set, and from a blindside play, Chase worked with Siganisucu to attack the line, and from the recycle, prop Kim Hunt carried over the line for 10-5 in ten minutes.

Having made a pre-match plan to use the fast bounce of Memorial Park, Chase chipped ahead and the ball took a long run down to the tryline, and the chasers were right there to charge down the Vixens clearance for Chase to carry the last tackler over the line.

It looked like Whanganui were starting to pull away when the Vixens missed their own lineout throw, and a pinpoint Chase chip kick landed right for Siganisucu to run into the backfield.

Locks Trassina Hooper and Leigha Stormont then combined to attack near the posts, and flanker Epenesa Tafa took the loose ball off the back of the ruck to step the last tackler and score, Ireton hitting the posts for the second time as goal-kicking in the swirling conditions was difficult.

A tap penalty let the Vixens come charging back, spreading to both wings as it was clear their midfield/fullback combination were dangerous, and despite Whanganui nearly disrupting the ball, first-five Cory Middleton kept going to rebound out of the cover tackles to score in the far corner.

But if the Vixens used width and speed, Whanganui had power up front, as from a penalty lineout win the pack initially drove for Tafa, and when the Vixens illegally pulled the maul down, Hunt took the carry and drove through for her double, with Ireton finally converting for an important 27-10 advantage in the 36th minute.

That lead should have been carried into the sheds, but after Vixens winger Natasha Forsythe made some cutting runs, Thames Valley got a penalty and the defenders fell asleep, with Dixon taking the quick tap to score down an open corner gap for her double right on halftime.

Knowing they would tire, but so did their opposition in warm conditions, Whanganui made some key substitutions and found themselves constantly trying to contain Thames Valley on the fringes.

The Vixens finally broke through after prop Jess Delaney carried a quick tap towards the line, and then Wirihana-Tawake fed winger Mali Thomas to just get the ball down in the corner in a brave crashing run that saw both her and defending winger Elise Fannin come off injured – robbing Whanganui of further pace for their cover defence.

The forwards responded admirably, getting two penalties to go into the pocket, with Chase making a hard charge at the line, and then Hunt was again right there from the ruck to reach out and score under bodies in the corner for her hat-trick and fifth try in two games.

At 32-20, the theme continued for a knife-edge final 20 minutes, Thames Valley under pressure at set-piece time but dangerous when getting the ball to the fringes, and finally from a 22m scrum win, second-five Carmen Samson dashed through a half gap and pivoted back to score under the posts for an easy conversion with just two minutes left.

Whanganui thought they had sealed it with an isolating ruck penalty inside the Vixen’s half, but the kick missed touch, leading to another high drama exchange as the Vixens tried to run out from their 22m, but a wayward pass was smothered by Whanganui to end the game.

Other standouts for Whanganui were flanker Samara Pahl-Long with some great midfield work, and first-five Te Rina Mohi – both she and Chase were worth every dollar that former Whanganui player Brooklyn Walker spent on the beers to sit and convince them to switch from King Country this campaign.

Victorious coach Junior Nepia was asked for his emotions at fulltime.

“Very, very high, as is the heart rate, but that’s finals footy.

“We came here with the right energy – it started with from last week, we weren’t happy with that.

“We spoke about the respect we had to give them, it was earned from last week, so we knew what they were capable of, and it was about trying to nullify those things before they got going.

“Trying to just be more connected, to stop little things like that, and we stuck it in there – love a scrape-though.”

Nepia could only express his pride in his skipper Hunt – devastated to have lost last season’s inaugural final to King Country – who played out of her skin to lift the silverware.

“She has been very much a nucleus for the team, her and a few of the other old ducks in the squad.

“To see her put on a performance like that - not just over the line but also at set-piece - marshalling her troops.

“It’s something that she’s really wanted to work on for this short campaign, and I think she really nailed it today on the big stage.”

The title win should prove a massive shot in the arm for the growth of the women’s game in Whanganui, with an expanding club competition and growing registration numbers.

Whanganui 32 (K Hunt 3, K Siganisucu, N Chase, E Tafa tries; A Ireton con) bt Thames Valley 27 (T Dixon 2, C Middleton, M Thomas, C Samson tries; R Wirihana-Tawake con). HT: 27-15.

By Jared Smith