St Peter's on top after tough final
17th August 2011 09:28AM
By Hamish Forsman
St Peter's School are the 2011 Waikato secondary school rugby champions, beating local rivals Cambridge High School 10-3 in a gripping final at Memorial Park in Cambridge.
The win secured third-seeded St Peter's the Ian Foster Shield for the second time in three years, while they also claimed back the Tricolor Trophy they relinquished last year.
Cambridge, top of the table after round robin play, opened the scoring in the final with a Jarred Fletcher penalty kick after five minutes before the game settled down into a tight defensive battle with neither side able to make inroads.
The key moment of the match then came right on halftime, as St Peter's captain and first five Wharenui Hawera turned down a shot at goal and caught Cambridge on the back foot with a quick tap. From the following phase Hawera held up the defence and offloaded in the tackle to centre Jason Thomasen who crossed for the game's only try. Hawera added the conversion for a 7-3 halftime lead.
Cambridge, with a large and vocal home crowd behind them, threw everything they had at St Peter's in the second half, led by outstanding No8 Isaac Van der Valk.
But the visitors' defence was up to the task, repelling attack after attack, while Cambridge's comeback effort wasn't helped by some wayward kicking for touch off the several penalties that went their way.
With just over five minutes remaining Hawera extended St Peter's lead to seven when he slotted a penalty from wide out. Cambridge responded by running the ball from everywhere but St Peter's hung on, much to the delight of their coach Andrew Douglas.
"It was typical finals rugby. It was very tight and both teams really wanted it but we were able to absorb pressure and put pressure back on them," Douglas said.
Douglas praised senior players Hawera and loosehead prop Josh Davey for leading the way, but was quick to point out it was the effort of the whole squad that got them over the line.
"I think it was the defence in general from everybody – it was a wall that they couldn't get through."
Douglas and his team timed their run to perfection, saving their best rugby of the season for the playoffs which included an upset win over St Paul’s Collegiate last weekend.
“We were always building for today. We had a couple of hiccups on the way but we used those losses and learnt from them and today put it into plan. They trusted each other all year and it finally came right today.”
In the first division playoff for third and fourth St John's College capped a good season with a 19-17 away win over St Paul's Collegiate.
After trailing 19-3 St Paul's launched a comeback but it was not enough as the much improved St John's side hung on for the win, with No8 Lui Finau and inside backs Dylan Bower and Sam Cooper the standouts.
Meanwhile Hamilton Boys' High's chances of a spot in the national top four tournament have taken a big hit after they let a halftime lead slip at Wesley College in their Chiefs region playoff match.
Tries from loose forward Alex Suttie and fullback Joe Webber, plus a conversion and penalty from first-five Bryn Gatland, gave Hamilton a 15-8 halftime lead.
But Wesley scored two late second half tries, with the match winner coming from a length of the field intercept, to give them a 22-15 win and leave Hamilton with just a losing bonus point for their efforts.
Hamilton now face a must-win match against Rotorua Boys' High at home today, which was to kick off at 12.30pm, and then rely on Rotorua beating Wesley on Saturday.
Waikato Secondary Schools Rugby Results: Ian Foster Shield (Division One): St Peter's School. Warren Gatland Cup (Division Two): Morrinsville College. Marty Holah Cup (Division Three): Forest View High School.
