The tournament was hosted this year by Hastings Rugby and Sports Club at Elwood Park on 7th & 8th March 2026. A big thank you to those people & businesses who supported and sponsored the 2026 Spillane Tournament.
Friday
The weekend began, Friday night 6th March with a welcome and reunion night for past players and officials. This was well supported with over 100 people attending the function. There were lots of stories from past Spillane Tournaments and this was a great start to our tournament weekend.
Saturday
The day started with news that Whanganui were not coming due to lack of player numbers. Fortunately, Napier Pirates stepped in to play Taupo Marist. Thank you to Jason Long for the heads up and assisting in arranging Pirates to participate.
First game, was the President’s match between Taupo & Hastings. Hastings won 24 – 7.
Other results:
Napier Pirates 48 Taupo Marist 0
Napier Colts 52 Hastings Colts 50
Spillane Section:
Napier OBM 43 – Hamilton Marist 24
Hastings RSC 45 – Hutt OBM 31
A large crowd attended the all the games on Saturday with vehicles parked in both club car-parks and Otene & Elwood Roads. The weather was perfect and the grounds in magnificent condition. The Spillane Cup qualifying matches were well contested and very entertaining. Teams were allowed to use rolling subs and up to 25 players. In the end Napier & Hastings qualified for the Spillane Cup, which played on Sunday.
Sunday
Finals day with the Spillane & Ham Cumming Cups being played at the same time on Fields 1 & 2.
Results
Ham Cumming Cup – Hamilton Marist 26 vs. Hutt OBM 7
Spillane Cup – Napier OBM 34 vs. Hastings RSC 24
Both games were played to a good standard, considering it was pre-season and some of the players were a bit tired/dusty from the day before matches & festivities.
The club would like to thank all the volunteers & staff who contributed to the weekend:
- Brian McGrail as groundsman for Elwood Park – the Park looked superb!
- Neil Murphy and his team of helpers who prepared 200 meals for rugby & netball teams on Saturday.
- Danielle Howarth and the bar staff who worked long hours – especially on Saturday.
- Tash Stuck for organizing a very successful Netball tournament at The Sports Park.
- The HRS committee and coaches & managers of our teams.
- Sportslink Charitable Trust – Admin Team
- Boxcar Digital Studio – Graphic design for tournament pack and social media
Spillane 2026 Tournament XV Team
