Boys’ High u14s beat Te Aute

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

RUGBY

Beating Te Aute College at Te Aute will never be easy.

But a very good Gisborne Boys’ High School under-14 team did beat their Hawke’s Bay hosts 41-26 while the Boys’ High u15s drew 26-all against Te Aute.

The college has been a bastion of Maori rugby for 162 years, and many of their players have been drawn from Gisborne and the East Coast.

The hosts opened up in the u14s match with a try to centre Bailey Waru, converted by first five-eighth Koroheke Tonga-Awhikau for 7-0

Boys’ High and captain first-five Carlos Hihi answered in kind, fullback King Maxwell’s conversion drawing the visitors level at 7-7.

Boys’ High hooker and player of the day Riley Kururangi’s try was unconverted — 12-7 to the Gisborne team. Maxwell then scored for 17-7.

Te Aute’s Tonga-Awhikau grabbed the next try, Maxwell scored his second, and Gisborne led 22-12 at the break.

Te Aute struck first in the second half through second-five Antonio Williams — Tonga-Awhikau converted — and once more Boys’ High struck back quickly, No.8 Uetaha Wanoa the tryscorer, with teammate and right wing Hikurangi Reid’s try making the score 34-19.

Te Aute player of the day, openside flanker Eruera Ingle, was the next to score, Tonga-Awhikau kicking his third conversion.

Reid — having moved from the right wing to lock — scored the last try of the game. It was converted by Maxwell for 41-26.

“Bailey and Koroheke scored brilliant tries early on — we had the bigger team,” Te Aute coach Roger White said.

“Gisborne had to absorb a lot of pressure before they started to move us around.

“Then they found gaps. Young Carlos is a playmaker; he set that Gisborne backline alight.”