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RUGBY
They know what it’s going to take. Gisborne Boys’ High School first 15 rugby coach Mark Jefferson is well aware of what his team needs to do against Scots College in Game 1 of the Hurricanes Transit Festival in Masterton tomorrow: maintain concentration.
“We’ve had a lot more focus and intensity at training since St Edmund’s, where we’d drifted in patches during games before that,” Jefferson said.
“Our skill levels are high: we’ve got a good lineout with (locks) Sione Kinuia and Ofa Tauatevalu and those two defend really well in that phase of play also. Billy Priestley (hooker) and (No.8) Jordan McFarlane both carry the ball well and Pomana Gemmell is starting to establish himself in the midfield at second five-eighth. Dylan Hall (captain and openside flanker) sets good standards.”
Jefferson and his skipper are in accord.
“The boys want to start full throttle, set the tone from the start and build from there,” Hall said.
“For us this weekend, the main focus is going to be putting together 70 minutes of solid rugby.”
Although Gisborne Boys’ High scored seven superb tries against St Edmund’s of Canberra under lights at Rugby Park in an excellent 45-35 win, Scots have a point to prove.
They have suffered two losses at home this season — 25-0 to Palmerston North Boys’ High and 48-0 to King’s College — but coach Sam Rasch’s team are coming off a 52-10 win against Lindisfarne College.
“We’re working on maintaining our defensive structure — we were tested in some areas, but not all, by Lindisfarne,” said Rasch, in his third year as Scots head coach.
“We wanted to work off the ball both on attack and defence after the St Kentigern game (a 62-5 loss). Having lost 22 players out of the first and second 15s from last year, we’re a young team. The whole tight five are Year 12s, and although our halfback is a Year 13, our first-five and second-five are Year 11s.”
Scots range in age from 15-year-old hooker Jonty Bird to powerful No.8, 18-year-old Eparama Sailo. The jewel in the Scots crown is captain and centre Jaylen Tuapola, who was both a New Zealand Maori under-18 and Hurricanes u18 representative in 2017.
Kick-off is set for 11am on Memorial Park ground No.1 in Masterton. Wellington’s Daniel Mangin, assisted by Gary Hall and Mike Voice of Wairarapa-Bush, will be the match officials.
The following Saturday, Boys’ High will play Wellington College in Hastings in the Transit competition; on Friday, May 18, they meet St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, at Westpac Stadium in Wellington; and on May 26 their Super 8 campaign begins with the first 15, second 15 and u15s playing Palmerston North BHS at Palmerston North.