Monday 13 October
The 2025 National Premiership Grand Finals took centre stage in Auckland yesterday, with Counties Manukau Stingrays asserting their dominance in both the Men’s and Women’s National Premiership grand finals. A strong home crowd headed down to Massey Park to see two confident performances as the Stingrays secured comfortable victories to claim both titles.
Final score: Counties Manukau 46-0
Counties Manukau came out firing from the kick-off, dominating through the middle of the park with their powerful forward pack and slick ball-handling. Winger Toaiti Ramsay opened the scoring in the fourth minute, setting the tone for a clinical performance. The Stingrays added two more tries before halftime through hooker Dylan Tavita and captain Jamel Hunt, heading into the break with an 18-0 lead. Canterbury struggled to retain possession and keep out the relentless Counties attack.
The second half saw more of the same, with Counties continuing their dominance while shutting out the Bulls. Ramsay and Hunt both finished with doubles, while fullback William Fakatoumafi slotted seven conversions in an excellent kicking display, all to seal the victory and National Premiership title for the Stingrays.
Final score: Counties Manukau 40-8
Captain Onjeurlina Leiataua-Hunt opened the scoring in the fifth minute, giving Counties the early momentum. From there, the Stingrays piled on four more unanswered tries in a dominant first half, breaking through Akarana’s defensive line with powerful running and sharp execution. The score was 26–0 at the break.
Counties struck first again in the second half, but a series of consecutive errors allowed Akarana to gain some traction. The Falcons capitalised with tries to young fullback Malena Lavea and halfback Anastasia Sekene. However, Counties quickly regained control, finishing strong with two more tries. Centre Wati Delailomaloma and winger Dayna Moon both crossed for doubles, sealing a convincing victory and capping off a standout campaign for the Stingrays, like their male counterparts.
