“I took a year off from the prems last year to coach the senior ones so missed out on our win in the final. It would be great to do it again this year.”
Reihana, however, has a long-term goal: to play as long as his father Reid, who died in 2014.
“Dad was coach of the HSOB senior ones when I left Boys’ High and he was still playing when he was 56, obviously not for the prems.”
A special momentCorey’s special moment in Saturday’s game came in the 49th minute, with HSOB ahead 14-2. The forwards did the initial hard work before halfback Andrew Knight passed the ball to Reihana 30 metres from the tryline. Reihana ran into a gap and threw a dummy to beat the last defender and score out wide.
Aon Waikohu went into the game following the devastating news of the death of club stalwart Starr Rutene.
“We’re not going to make any excuses, HSOB were the better team on the day,” said Waikohu skipper and hooker Geoff Pari, whose side fought back from 20-2 down to get within a converted try of drawing the match.
“Starr’s death hit everyone at the club hard. He was everything to anyone who has been involved with the club. His grandsons (Hayden and Tristen) played today and they deserve huge ‘ups’. But we all knew it was what Starr would have wanted . . . for us to play.
“We wanted to play and to win for Starr, especially with our 100-year celebrations next weekend. We tried to keep the emotions in check but it was pretty emotional for all the boys,” said Pari.
Although pleased to get the five points, HSOB coach Wayne Ensor was not overly impressed with his side’s performance.
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