1st XV v Tauranga Boys’ College Match Report - Saturday 29 June
The 1st XV travelled to Tauranga to play the home side for the Mitchell Cup. The weather and conditions were simply superb and the attacking mind set of both teams meant a flowing game was on the cards. As it was, the game turned into the veritable game of two halves with the 1st XV dominating the first then doing just enough in the second to hold out for the win.
The half time score was 34-0 to the 1st XV, suggesting a half of attacking dominance. However, we had very little ball as Tauranga attempted to control possession. The stat we were winning was the defence and the contact levels. Time and time again we dominated the tackle and forced the home side into mistakes. Our set piece absolutely dominated theirs and our counterattack game was very clinical. All in we scored five tries from these plays and at the oranges we were certainly in a good space.
However, the second half showed the efforts we had put in during the week and we lacked energy, unable to replicate the efforts of the first half. Tauranga found their mojo and were able to score often. Our saving grace was that when we got into the attacking 22 we came away with penalties and so kept the score board ticking over, always staying just in front of the home side. Things got a bit dire when we were reduced to 14 men but we always stayed ahead of the game and ran out winners 43-29.
The 1st XV has now won three trophies in the last three games – an awesome effort and one to be proud of. There is still a fair few learnings to be had but we are heading in the right direction.
Points Scorers:
Tries: Tavita Henare-Schuster x 2, Nasser Tato, Curtis Heaphy, Ethan Johanson
Conversions: Curtis Heaphy x 3
Penalties: Curtis Heaphy x 4
