A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
That’s how the best of the best respond.
Defending Hurricanes under-15 rugby champions St Patrick’s College Silverstream ended a fantastic run by Gisborne Boys’ High School, beating them 51-17 in a semifinal yesterday.
Gisborne were to play last year’s beaten finalists St Peter’s College of Auckland this morning in a third/fourth playoff, while St Pat’s Silverstream were to meet Pool C winners Kelston Boys’ High in the grand final this afternoon; Kelston beat St Peter’s 29-23 yesterday.
Second five-eighth Laban Lealimisa opened the scoring for the home team on a firm No.2 ground at Silverstream. The conversion by first-five Tom Mannix made the score 7-0.
Boys’ High first-five Anaru Paenga-Morgan then kicked a penalty, and his teammate, centre Whetu King-Taufa, ran the length of the field for an intercept try moments later.
With Paenga-Morgan’s conversion, Gisborne led 10-7 but Silverstream centre Tony Solomona scored to make it 12-10.
St Pat’s captain and loosehead prop Ignatius Sio then scored two tries — Mannix converting the first of those — as the Pool A winners took a 24-10 halftime lead.
Gisborne, winners of Pool D, struck first in the second half, King-Taufa scoring. Paenga-Morgan converted to close it to 24-17.
Silverstream tighthead prop Zion Aumua scored a well-deserved try, converted by Mannix, before the home team went to another level.
Solomona grabbed his second try, and reserve right wing Junior Paulo, replacement lock Kane Hayes and left wing Aiden Kerehana also scored to stretch the margin to 34 points.
Silverstream head coach Warrick Bowden said both teams played expansive rugby.
“Gisborne had some very good players, including Whetu King-Taufa, No.8 Kitini Taihuka and openside flanker Jackson McDonald. He got several turnovers at the breakdown.”
Silverstream chose Taihuka as the opposition player of the day.
Boys’ High coach Wiremu Kaa said: “We worked hard to get back into the game but we had exerted too much energy. St Pat’s were big across the Park.”
Gisborne Boys’ High were fourth last year. If they beat St Peter’s today they will have finished third for the third time since the tournament began in 2011. They had come fourth twice before this morning and were runners-up in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The phrase “that’s just the nature of sport” can be an unpalatable truth.
There’s nothing more frustrating than to lose a must-win game — as Gisborne Boys’ High School’s basketball team did against St John’s College last night — in an average display.
The Hamiltonians beat GBHS 94-43, having led the Pool B-Pool D clash at the Zone 2 basketball premiership 19-12, 36-23, 63-36 throughout at Unison Arena in Rotorua.
Boys’ High captain Max Scott (13 points) hit three-pointers in the second, third and fourth periods; Sam Veitch (11pts) opened the GBHS scoring in both halves with a three-point shot.
But the team, having played excellent basketball in the previous two days, did not reproduce that form last night.
Ofa Tauatavalu scored two field goals in the third quarter and he is a great asset. Boys’ High needed him, Veitch and company to bounce back for the game against Cambridge High School this morning. Success there would mean a playoff for fifth and sixth.
Gisborne Boys’ High went into the quarterfinal on the back of a 73-47 win against Hauraki Plains College. Coach Dwayne Tamatea rightly gave bench players more time on court. Regular starters Sam Veitch (14pts) and Tyrese Tuwairua-Brown (10pts) played sparingly. Boys’ High led 24-11, 42-22, 57-36.
Hauraki Plains coach Malcolm Cross rated the Gisborne team of 2018 as the best he’d seen in his 11 years coaching at the tournament.
“They brought out the competitive edge in us,” said Hauraki captain Kelly Newbold (12pts).
“We’d lost a couple of key players through injuries, so playing against a talented team like that was a challenge for us.”