Rugby: Aquinas forwards pave way to win

Jesse Church, Aquinas fullback, typifies his side's aggressive approach.Photo/John Borren

Aquinas College used a bruising forward-oriented brand of rugby and terrific line speed to dismantle Mount Maunganui in the final of the Western Bay of Plenty First XV tournament.

The two sides, drawn to meet in the opening round of the secondary school Division Two competition in early May, slogged it out in a physical encounter dampened by early rain.

The downpour suited Aquinas' aggressive forward pack, which took the game by the scruff of the neck early and refused to let go.

Aronia Solomon crashed over down the short side after a period of sustained forward pressure to open the scoring, before a clever box kick from halfback Maihi Bidois led to a try from hard-hitting second five-eighth Te Nawe Ngatai.

The side's third try, to rangy lock Dion Collins, stretched the lead to 15-0 at the break.

The Mount Maunganui effort lifted markedly after the break but their passing and handling skills - as well as an awareness of the open space on the flanks and behind a fast-charging, flat Aquinas backline - failed to follow.

A flurry of ruck, offside and time-wasting penalties resulted in Collins and Wilson each spending time in the bin, but the lateral Mount attack struggled to make the two-man advantage count.

Daniel Pushart managed a converted try to narrow the margin to 15-7 with about 10 minutes to play, but they struggled to make more inroads once Aquinas returned to the full 15 players.

Co-coach Shane Wilson said his players - whose heads were shaved in a $2000 fundraising effort following a Te Wharekura o Mauao player's diagnosis with bone cancer - said the side still had plenty of work to do.

"We've actually only had six training runs and one training match, against Bethlehem College, so there are some pleasing things, but there is a lot we can work on," Wilson said.

"A few of our big boys need to lift their fitness levels after Saturday.

"Unfortunately, we don't have depth - we've only got 22 senior rugby players," he said.

"They are all in and you have to use what you've got, but they settle into the team really quickly."

Aquinas College 20 (Aronia Solomon, Te Nawe Ngatai, Dion Collins, Reed Wilson tries) beat Mount Maunganui College 7 (Daniel Pushart try; Pushart con).