PNBHS NEWS

1st XV v Rotorua Boys’ High School Match Report

 
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1st XV v Rotorua Boys’ High School Match Report
by Ella Mitchell - Monday, 31 July 2017, 4:47 PM
 

1st XV v Rotorua Boys’ High School Match Report


The 1st XV hosted the well performing Rotorua Boys’ High School in the penultimate round of the Super 8 in the weekend.

The game kicked off with Rotorua seemingly in rampant form as they ran strongly up the field. The defensive attitude of the 1st XV was tested very early and we responded accordingly with some good scrambling. Once we worked our way into the game, we started to compete well on attack and begun to get into our work. Two visits into the opposition half resulted in two well taken penalties. On a day where we knew the field would become heavier as the game progressed, keeping the scoreboard ticking over was important to do. In the next ten minutes, Rotorua responded with a well taken try from a penalty that we failed to respond quickly enough. They followed this up with a second try from a scrum move down the short side, again after a quickly taken penalty had stressed our reactions. This gave them a 10-6 lead heading into the half. 

This lead was extended to 13-6 shortly after the resumption of play. The home side attempted to play without the ball and back their kick chase and defensive line and this was keeping us in the game. There was some errant kicking during this time and we played a lot of rugby in our own half as the wind picked up and we were courageous defensively and showed some real heart. Finally we got into Rotorua’s half and our forwards got a sniff of the try line as we entered their 22. After a number of surging pick and go’s, Mackenzie Tansley managed to worm his way over the line. The conversion tied the scores up with ten minutes left on the clock. Once again we had to work extremely hard defensively as we struggled to clear our half. A missed penalty from Rotorua gave us a final chance and with two minutes left we managed to work our way into the attacking half. Time wound down and we managed to win a penalty 40 metres out close to the sideline. Stewart Cruden calmly stepped up and nailed the kick to give us a 16-13 victory.

The team is massively grateful for the support they had in the weekend from the 1977 and 1987 reunion teams as well as the staff and students who once again made the choice to come and watch the game. Whilst one couldn’t label it an entertaining game, it was certainly enthralling.

Points Scorers:
Try: Mackenzie Tansley
Conversions: Stewart Cruden
Penalties: Stewart Cruden x 3