On July 3rd 2008, in conjunction with Bersatu Games 2008, UMNO Auckland Club successfully organized the inaugural annual Rugby 10’s tournament, UMNO NEW ZEALAND CUP 2008. This tournament was held at Miramar Pologrounds, Miramar, Wellington. This event was fully funded by Sekretariat Kelab UMNO Luar Negara with the Cup, Piala Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam fully sponsored by UMNO Melaka. A token of appreciation also goes to UMNO Wellington for their help with the logistic preparation during the tournament day.
This tournament was supposed to be a match between four major regions in New Zealand. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, team Otago withdrawn themselves from the tournament, leaving only three teams competing to find the first ever champion; Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The tournament format was changed to a tri-region competition with two rounds whereby each team will play against each other in each round. Total points for each team were used to determine the champion and both runners-up.
On the day itself, players and supporters were transported to the field by a chartered bus, arrived at the field around 8.30 am. Although it was not a particularly fine weather day, all players and supporters were still full of spirit and enthusiasm to play. Wellington Rugby Referee Association was kind enough to send three volunteers as referees during the tournament.
The tournament kicked-off with the first match between Christchurch and Wellington at around 9.30am. All players were given a half an hour break after the first round, with high hopes for the weather to be better. However, the weather continued to be dull even after the break until the end of the tournament, around 12.30pm. Luckily, there were no major injuries with only one player had to be sent to the clinic for a strained shoulder.
Datuk Sopian Ahmad, High Commissioner of New Zealand was kind enough to come and watch the tournament and represent the trophy and medals to the winners. In the end, Christchurch team emerged as the first ever tournament winners with Wellington and Auckland team finished in second and third place. The tournament ended at around 1pm and the chartered bus came at around 2pm to bring back all players and supporters to Wellington City Centre.
For the future, it is hoped that this tournament will be continued annually and improved. The organizer would like to thank our sponsors, Sekretariat Kelab UMNO Luar Negara and UMNO Melaka for their support to make this tournament a success. An appreciation note also goes for UMNO Wellington, Wellington Malaysian Student Organization (WMSO) and Petronas Union in Auckland (PETUNIA) for their help and support.
