Highlands claim STC 7s title

STEAMSHIPS Trading Company (STC) Highlands topped a day of gritty rugby last Saturday, with a polished finish to take the major prize, in the Steamships Sevens at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby.
The men from the mountains took out the Managing Director’s Shield after a 26-0 whitewash of former champions and favou-rites, Lae One.
The Lae side, although boasting a host of Morobe rugby regulars Peter “Butchie” Opa and Alu Goa, could not manage a try, let alone a point in the final.
Continuous defensive pressure by the Highlanders led by former POM Harlequins front rower Joe Yamuna,  created havoc, early resulting in two tries in the first half, and opened the scoring up for two more in the second half.
Ball handling errors and poor decisions by the Lae men continued to haunt their effort throughout, ultimately giving the Highlanders their first shield win since the inception of the concept.
The winners also took out the top try scorer and the player of the tournament awards.
In the minor trophies, Hotel One held on against their determined brothers from Hotel Two to take the General Manger’s trophy 12-0, and Transport Two ran out at the end over Lae 2 19-5, courtesy of some deft play from former Pukpuk Nabaka ‘Ninja’ Rakatani.    
The annual event turned out to be a successful day for the organisers, staff and the company as a whole, with families turning out in numbers to rally behind their teams, and enjoy the running rugby on show.