1st XV vs Gisborne Boys’ High School
Saturday 25 May
For the second time in three weeks, the PNBHS 1st XV found itself playing on the Rectory of Gisborne Boys’ High School. This time against the host school and this time in front of a fairly parochial and knowledgeable crowd.
The superb opening hakas were a portent of things to come as the 1st XV exploded in the first two minutes to score an excellent try, continuing the trend of recent weeks of strong scoring starts. Ten minutes later, we crossed again after strong lead up play in the opposition 22. Gisborne then replied with a try of their own only for Ruben Love to score his first of five penalties to maintain the lead. Then in a massive momentum shift courtesy of some sloppy play from us and some strong carries from the home side, they ran in two tries to take the lead. Again, Ruben Love calmed the nerves with a penalty, closing the gap to 18-19 at oranges.
The second half continued in the much the same vein as both teams tried to break the other down with some strong carrying and equally strong defence. We started to break their line outs up with stolen ball, while they placed our scrum under immense pressure. Both sides traded penalties through the third quarter, and with ten minutes to go it was extremely tight. This last period belonged to us as we counterattacked and crossed for the match winning try with three minutes to go. A desperate period on defence as Gisborne mounted one last raid saw us steal that all in important last line out and the ball was kicked into touch for a 32-25 win victory.
Wins in Gisborne are very few and far between given the ferocity of the opposition on their home pitch and the travel to get there. This was a team effort and one we are extremely proud of – a great start to the Super 8 campaign. Our execution and knowledge of our game is building and while we are well aware there is many more steps to take, we feel we are heading in the right direction with confidence.
Once again we are indebted to our strong band of supporters who travelled to watch as well as the White Jersey Club who made a significant contribution to the cost of the trip.
Points Scorers:
Tries:
Nasser Tato, Curtis Heaphy, Bryn Gordon
Conversions:
Ruben Love
Penalties:
Ruben Love x 5
