The 1st XV finished their season on a high with a victory in the wet against Kings College from Auckland. This was a game that had been deferred by request from Kings and gave the team the opportunity to play their last game on their home ground in front of their family and supporters. Kings finished 5th in the Auckland 1A competition, missing out on the top four by one point and so a tough game was on the cards.
The game started well for the 1st XV with positive play resulting in an attacking lineout 10 metres out. The forwards went to work and almost drove over the line. The ground work allowed James Stratton to crash over through the close channels a few phases later. Stewart Cruden converted and we were 7-0 up after five minutes. Kings worked their way into their game and the 1syt XV turned to their defensive game to repel a fairly relentless Kings attack. Despite the conditions, both teams were willing to play attacking rugby. The kicking game from Bryn Wilson and Cruden however meant that Kings were always attacking from their own half and our defensive line was holding well. When we had the ball we created further chances to score points and had a five minute period in the attacking 22 where we should have come away with points however our execution and decision making went slightly astray. The first half finished with the 7-0 lead.
The second half started with renewed vigour on attack from the opposition but again was met with excellent defense from the home side. We spent ten minutes with only fourteen men on the field but still managed to keep them at bay. During this time, Cruden kicked a penalty in difficult conditions and the lead extended to 10-0. Once restored to the full complement of players, we were able to get our attacking game into swing with some particularly fine play amongst the forwards who were really aiming up, both on attack and on defense. An attacking scrum 15 metres out allowed Cruden and Stratton to once again threaten the line with Stratton bursting his way through and scoring under the dot. Cruden duly converted and the score was 17-0 with 15 minutes to go. We were able to hold Kings out, keeping them scoreless for the game.
There was a period through the season when Hastings, Hamilton and St Pats Silverstream mentally obliterated us with scorelines that certainly bought an outpouring of passion from the PNBHS rugby community. Every time however this team kept getting back into the fight and to achieve some of the results we were able to get was testament to the pride this team has in wearing the white jersey. As a coaching team we are exceptionally proud of the strength shown by this team and know that the lessons learnt will stand them in good stead going forward. From the team, a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to all those who stood by us and with us through the season.
Point Scorers:
Tries: James Stratton x 2
Conversions: Stewart Cruden x 2
Penalty: Stewart Cruden
Click on the link to view pics of the game
