North Canterbury showdown promises to deliver in Luisetti Seeds Combined Final

North Canterbury will be well represented in this year’s Luisetti Seeds Combined Country Final on Saturday, when Saracens welcome Glenmark Cheviot to Southbrook.

Both teams enter the final this weekend off the back of impressive regular season campaigns. Saracens, who were runners-up in North Canterbury last year, are now just one win away from their first ever Combined Title losing only once in pool play. Glenmark Cheviot, who shared the Combined title with Southern in 2019, have won four of their six games this season, including a couple of impressive displays.  

Emerging out of the round robin as the second and the eighth seeds, respectively, the two teams have taken that form into the playoffs, with their results speaking for themselves.  

Saracens took care of Springston 27-17 in the quarter finals, before beating a handy Prebbleton side 31-29 in the semi-final to earn themselves hosting honors.  

Glenmark Cheviot certainly had to do it the hard way, travelling to top seed Southbridge and leaving victorious in an impressive 41-14 victory. They then headed south to meet last year’s champions Southern in Hinds, leaving Mid Canterbury with a 28-17 victory to secure their trip to the grand final.   

“It’s incredibly special to be at home hosting the final,” said Troy Manaena, Saracens Head Coach. “The goal was to make the semis after being knocked out in the quarters last year, so the boys are really looking forward to it this weekend.” 

“We’ve been able to create a great team environment over the last couple of years, with a number of guys set to represent North Canterbury and a number who have played over 100 games for the club. It’s a good opportunity for us to go one better in a final than we did last year and reward what has been a good season for us, and the effort those boys have given to the club over the years,” Manaena added.  

Since the introduction of North Canterbury sides to the combined competition in 2007, Glenmark Cheviot have been their most successful side. They have won the competition four times, with 2019 their last visit to the big dance, resulting in a draw after 100 minutes and a shared title against Southern.  

“It’s an exciting time when it gets to this point of the draw,” said Andrew Hull, Glenmark Cheviot’s captain. “Since the Quarter and the Semi (finals), we’ve certainly stepped up, so we’re very excited for Saturday.” 

“There’s a good group of lads in the team this year, we’ve got new coaches, who coached the div 2 guys last year, this season and we’re obviously looking to ride the momentum presented to us by the last couple of weeks.” 

Both clubs commented on the positives presented by having two North Canterbury sides in the final, making it a special occasion for those north of the Waimakariri River. 

“Playing the neighbours and rivals Glenmark Cheviot is a great challenge for us, and it’s great to have two North Canterbury teams going at it for the title,” said Manaena.  

“It’s certainly a testament to the level of rugby in North Canterbury which seems to be strengthening, so it’s certainly a statement of how we are playing our style of rugby at the moment,” Hull said. 

After missing out on last year’s showpiece, it is a welcome return for the North Canterbury clubs to the final, with the region destined to produce a winner, no matter what the result, draw included!  

Eden Brown will referee the match along with AR’s Karl Hancox and Jared Le Gros. Kick-off is at 2:45pm at Southbrook Park, with the game also set to be livestreamed on the Canterbury Rugby Facebook page.