ON THE BURST: Gisborne Boys’ High School second five-eighth Puna Hihi takes on the Palmerston North BHS defence at the Rectory ground on Saturday. Hihi, 14, scored a brilliant try in the match, which the visitors won 40-10. Picture by Paul Rickard
RUGBY
Palmerston North Boys’ High School have to play almost perfect rugby to beat Gisborne at the Rectory.
And so the visitors did, to take the opening game of the first 15 Super 8 season 40-10 on Saturday. The Gisborne team scored two fantastic tries — to 14-year-old second five-eighth Puna Hihi and blindside flanker Dylan Bronlund — against the sharpest PNBHS unit to have come here in the Super 8 era.
GBHS head coach Ryan Tapsell’s crew had worked hard in the lead-up to this important fixture, showing promise in close losses to Feilding Agricultural High School (10-17) and Scots College (22-23).
Tapsell said: “On the three or four occasions that we stuck to our simple game-plan on attack, we made good breaks and scored two tries, but overall we can — and need — to be better.
That said, I was happy with our new centre Uetaha Wanoa: he had huge shoes to fill, replacing Von Huata, and he did.”
First-year PNBHS head coach Dan Turnock was pleased with his side’s performance even more than their 30-point margin of victory.
“The weather, and the three tries we scored early on, meant that Gisborne had to chase the game,” he said. “Max Briant (GBHS vice-captain, lock) was great and Nathaniel Hauiti (captain, tighthead prop) was strong at scrum-time for them. The referee, Isaac Hughes, did a top job too — he managed it all very well.”
On a grey, wet but windless day, the black and red hosts made a purposeful start, securing possession and making ground with the ball in hand. The passing was good. Nonetheless, the visitors — in white, led by blindside flanker Joe Simpson-Smith — drew first blood in the fourth minute.
Referee Hughes having awarded Gisborne a scrum penalty 25m from their own goal-line, 15m in from the left touch: halfback Kyran Russell tap-kicked, first-five Carlos Hihi sent a wiper’s kick 15m over halfway, 18m off the right touch. PNBHS fullback Maraki Aumua gathered the ball initially, centre Tayne Harvey and lock Andre Teitanga advanced the ball and then Hihi’s opposite Curtis Heaphy made a superb, weaving run of 50m down the ground. At the 22 he found another speedster — tiny halfback Jakob Rauhihi-Collis — to his left. Rauhihi-Collis took the inside pass and zipped 22m to score a magic try under the GBHS crossbar.
Heaphy converted Rauhihi-Collis’s try for 7-0 and in the 11th minute, the visitors were at it again. Having won a defensive scrum set 25m from their own goal-line centrefield, GBHS pushed right. Hihi received the ball to clear but 6ft 4in PNBHS lock Andre Teitinga charged the kick down, and hooker Lee Oudenryn scored in the left corner. Minus the sideline conversion attempt, the white team led 12-0.
Heaphy got his just desserts in the 12th minute. Gisborne fullback King Maxwell gathered a bobbling ball on his own 22, kicked long, and Aumua ran it back from the Palmerston North BHS half. Heaphy came off Aumua’s right shoulder and tore 49m upfield to score behind the posts. He then converted his own try for 19-0.
Fifteen minutes in, PNBHS won the ball from a GBHS lineout set 8m outside the home team’s 22, right side of the ground, and worked across the field. They scored from third-phase ball, their stocky fetcher Tom Ilston-Park made two strong runs, with impressive centre Tayne Harvey haring into and out of the far corner to score. Heaphy converted for 26-0.
GBHS needed to act quickly and in the 20th minute, they did.
Briant at No.4 won an attacking line-out set 12m from the left corner in PNBHS’ territory. Gisborne worked the ball right with great thrust and control over three phases before Carlos found younger brother Puna Hihi: he got the ball down under pressure, 14m infield.
His try was unconverted, the score was GBHS 5, PNBHS 26.
In the 28th minute, from just to the right of the posts, Heaphy kicked a 33m penalty goal for 29-5 — the half-time score. Gisborne began the second half in the best way imaginable, Bronlund scoring in the 39th minute of play. Briant, in command at the line-out, won GBHS ball, 10m out from the right corner on attack. Bronlund — four phases to the left later — heaved across for a try with the support of powerful loosehead prop Zeke Collier, 16m from the sideline. The try was not converted: PNBHS led 29-10.
At the 42nd minute, in the hosts’ 22, Heaphy kicked a penalty goal from a smidgeon to the left of the posts for 32-10. The visiting team wisely would not allow Nathaniel Hauiti’s crew to get close. The public should be in no doubt: this Gisborne first 15 can play good rugby, and given a sniff of victory would be difficult to contain.
Hauiti was replaced by Hayze Nepia in the 56th minute and PNBHS were awarded a scrum-penalty at the 57th minute. 11m off the right touch, Heaphy then kicked a 40m penalty goal for 35-10. In the 67th minute, the visitors scored their fifth and last try through No.8 Cody Borlase: having been forced to ground the ball in-goal (Palmerston North then being awarded a 5m scrum, then scrum-penalty), PNBHS opted to tap-kick and go. Two charges later, the hard-working Borlase slid in to score a try 15m to the left of the posts. There being no conversion, the final score was 40-10 to the visitors.
Time heals most things and distance can lend perspective: Palmerston North played extremely well and were well-worth their win. They were impressive.
GBHS looked a dangerous team at times also, and their Most Valuable Player on Saturday, Maxwell, is not just tidy at fullback — he is creative and skilful. The black and red team has a good line-out, their forwards were up with the play.
There is no doubting the players’ commitment.
Second-year man Simpson-Smith said: “We knew how much a home game means to GBHS players and that we’d have to lift our physicality to match theirs, in that atmosphere, in front of the Rectory crowd. They came out firing but we stuck to our structure and game-plan and it worked. I’m proud of my boys’ efforts.”
Both teams now have a week off before Gisborne host their oldest foes, Napier BHS, here on June 12 at first 15 and second 15 level. Palmerston North have in their sights Hastings BHS at Akina.
They won in style and — in basketball parlance — at the buzzer.
Duane Hihi’s Gisborne Boys’ High School under 15 Colts came from 8-nil down at half-time to beat Palmerston North BHS 15-13.
PNBHS halfback Kallum Gullery kicked a penalty goal for 3-0 to open the scoring in the 20th minute, followed by a try to their right-wing Richie Schaaf in the 25th minute for 8-0.
Gisborne reserve lock Cody Tarei scored the first of his two tries in the 45th minute. First-five Wade Perrett converted the first Tarei try for GBHS 7, PNBHS 8, and kicked a penalty goal to give the home team a 10-7 lead after 61 minutes.
With three minutes left to play, Palmerston North reserve Basantha Subba scored for 13-10 and the giant Tarei cut the line to win the game on fulltime.
Both teams missed the wettest part of the day and played good, willing rugby.
Hihi knows that his team was very proud to have won their first Super 8 game, but made life hard for themselves with errors which Palmerston capitalised on: he aims to address those as “work ons”.
GBHS captain openside flanker Clayton Wright said: “I never doubted the team for a second — I knew we’d pull through. Our defence in our 22 and communication skills throughout the game helped us to finish strongly.”