PNBHS NEWS

1st XV v Scots College

 
Picture of Ella Mitchell
1st XV v Scots College
by Ella Mitchell - Monday, 26 August 2019, 12:06 PM
 

PNBHS 1st XV vs Scots College Knock Out Game - Saturday 24 August

The 1st XV travelled to Porirua to play the recently crowned Wellington champs Scots College in the Hurricanes semi-finals.  Scots had gone through their regular season unbeaten, had enjoyed a good run of form and were going to be tough opposition. 

The game started true to that form with Scots ball runners breaking our set piece defence at will and crossing for 17 unanswered points inside the first 15 minutes.  After such a hot start from the opposition, we were lucky to only be down by three tries and worked our way back into the game as the first half progressed.  Our attack was faltering with very narrow play but our defence, as it has done all season, started to aim up and we finished the half with some momentum albeit with no points to show for our endeavours.  We had however managed to stem the flow and the halftime score was 17-0.

The second half started very well with a try inside the first ten minutes and the momentum well and truly shifted.  As we grew in energy and confidence, Scots were suddenly under the pump and we took two more opportunities to score further tries.  From 17-0 down we were 21-17 up with ten minutes to go.  Scots found their second wind and scored a try to take a 22-21 lead with 5 minutes to go.  With two minutes to go, we again took the lead with a penalty.  We claimed the kick off and attempted to wind down the clock.  We were successful for 90 seconds before we gave away a penalty and Scots had one last crack at our line.  Cue our defensive wall and we held on for the 24-22 win.

This was a superb game of rugby between two evenly matched teams.  Many cliché boxes were ticked – ebb and flow, shifts of momentum, impact from the bench and the classic game of two halves.  At the final whistle, we were fortunate to be on the right side of the score line and so head to the Hurricanes Final where Hastings Boys’ High await us. 

Once again we are very grateful for the support of the White Jersey Club for funding the trip down and it was great to see members Mr Euan Hubbard, the WJC Patron, and Mr Barry Clevely on the side lines once again.  Thank you also to our sponsors from NZSC – Todd Collins and Matt McKinnon – and Aaron Currie from Higgins who continued their travels to watch the team in action. 

Finally, and as always, thank you for the large group of parents and family who have travelled every weekend to watch their sons in action.  As a team we are indebted to you for the support and sacrifice you make to allow us to do that which we love week in week out. 

Points Scorers:

Tries:                 Ruben Love, Logan Love, Bryn Gordon

Conversions:     Ruben Love x 3

Penalty:            Ruben Love