Match report from Mr van Stipriaan
Pics of match - St Pat's Town pics
St Pats Town Report
The 1st XV travelled to Masterton to play St Pats Town from Wellington in the first round of the Hurricane’s Preseason Festival. The game was played in fine conditions on astro-turf and so a fast flowing game was a distinct possibility. And so it transpired.
The game started positively with strong runs pinning the opposition in their half. The breakdowns were willing affairs from both sides with plenty of intent and both sides also gave the ball plenty of air as the game looked to be played with an attacking spirit. The St Pat’s loosies in particular, were adept at slowing ball down on the occasions. Our carries and support work were ineffective, although at times, there were some illegalities around their play. Thus, the first points for us were through the boot of Ruben Love who kicked a penalty. St Pat’s replied with a penalty of their own shortly thereafter. As the game progressed, the momentum ebbed and flowed between the two sides. We were gifting possession through some inopportune offloads and breakdown turnovers, but then winning it back through good line speed defensively which pressured the opposition into errors. The second quarter belonged to us with two tries scored in relatively quick succession. Both were launched off good set piece – an area we were beginning to gain some ascendency in. The halftime score was 15-3.
The second half started poorly for us with the opposition regaining the kick off and not relinquishing possession for the next ten minutes, in the process scoring two tries. This saw them draw level 15-15 and it could have been more but for some scrambling defence at times. We managed to grind our way back into the game with our bench players bring some energy to the game. Again the game went end to end with both teams enjoying periods of superiority. During this time we scored a third try to make it 22-15, only for St Pat’s to reply with a penalty to tighten it back up again. Heading into the last ten minutes the game became more desperate as players from both sides sought to provide the match winner. St Pat’s in particular were finishing with a wet sail. Our defence held up well though and a gutsy 22-18 win was the final result.
Points Scorers:
Tries: Stewart Cruden x 2; Michael Halatuituia
Conversions: Stewart Cruden x 2
Penalties: Ruben Love
