Today the first ever New Zealand Māori Inline Hockey team showcased their skills against the New Zealand All Stars team with the 2015 New Zealand National Club Championships underway at the Hamilton Inline Hockey Club marking the 20th anniversary of the competition.
The New Zealand Māori Inline Hockey team began the match with a exciting haka performance on wheels which seemed to have given the Māori side a boost with Captain Lewis Taiapa scoring in the first minute.
His brother Leigh Taiapa-White followed with another. Local boy Aaron Stock also wanted a piece of the action.
With 20 seconds left in the first half, Adam Soffer struck for the NZ All Stars.
Stock’s succeeded point was followed by another with just five seconds left on the clock. The second half saw both teams pick up the tempo landing goal-for-goal.
With the points tied up at 5-all, Ritchie Hopkinson and Eythan Prendergast went back-to-back to stretch the Māori side's lead to two.
The All Star side took their goal keeper off to have an extra attacker on the rink but it backfired.
The Māori team who proudly represented their iwi affiliations on their backs came out on top 8-5 defeating the NZ All Star side.