2nd XV v St John's College 1st XV - Saturday 4 July
The 2nd XV entertained St John's College 1st XV on Saturday. From the kick off, PNBHS gifted possession and the initiative to St John's who were quick to capitalise with a penalty. A poor lineout and then some weak tackling followed this and with the game barely started, PNBHS found themselves 10-0 down.
A spirited response followed and some good attack play saw Devon Chapman crash over and reduce the deficit. With a spring in their step, PNBHS now began to take the game to the St John's team. Pressure in the midfield created a turnover and Kodie Albert-Papuni broke a tackle and scampered 30m to score. Unfortunately, a charge down resulted in a try for St John's and this shifted momentum again as St John's scored a further try to lead 22-14. A good PNBHS response saw them score a well-worked 8-9 move finished well by Kees Jahnke and the halftime score was 22 – 19.
The second half started poorly, with an intercept gifting another 7 points to St John's who extended the lead to 29-19. St John's added to their lead when a chip and chase took a cruel bounce and they were ahead 34-19. A good response from PNBHS again saw Kalis Mason crash through a hole before the ball was recycled quickly and shifted to the edge for Anitoni Metui to touch down to reduce the deficit to 34-24. A well-worked try at the end from St John's saw them exploit an overlap on the short side and score with the final play. Final score 39-24.
Some very good play was overshadowed at times by lapses in concentration and errors and this is another good learning heading into the next fixture vs Wellington College. If the 2nd XV can maintain their concentration for the full 70 minutes, they have the potential to be a very good team.