Sacred Heart will test Gisborne

HITTING THE GAP: Gisborne Boys’ High School first five-eighth Ricardo Patricio takes on the Napier Boys’ High School defensive line in a match at the Rectory last month. Picture by Paul Rickard

Belief: from an idea held or the verb, to believe.

“Belief” here means self-belief, belief in the team. The Gisborne Boys’ High School first 15 have both. And first 15 head coach Mark Jefferson wants more of both at 11.15am tomorrow against Sacred Heart College, from a team good enough to beat Wellington College 47-24 and push another Tranzit Coachlines heavyweight — St Patrick’s College, Silverstream — to the brink before losing 22-21.

And little separated the teams when Gisborne Boys’ High lost their first two home Super 8 games this year — 32-25 to Palmerston North Boys’ High and 22-19 to Napier BHS.

For the first time since Game 1 against Lindisfarne College on April 6, captain and tighthead prop Jordan McFarlane will start at home. He came on in the 57-5 loss to Rotorua a fortnight ago.

The team have lost all five Super 8 games played to date, but McFarlane — one of four Gisborne Boys’ High players (loosehead prop Sione Mafelio and flankers Khian Westrupp and Amos Roddick being the others) selected to attend the Hurricanes under-17/18 camp this month — aims to end the bad trot tomorrow.

Also back from injury will be workaholic lock Tiaan Barbara-Hei, who scored a hat-trick on debut in the 10-try, 66-12 win against Lindisfarne. Every member of Jefferson’s squad — whether able to play or rendered powerless to help — has felt the hard results of the past three months to their core.

Yet every week, players have stepped up. Loosehead prop Amanaki Tonga scored against New Plymouth. Against Hastings, fullback Braedyn Grant got across the line. First-five Ricardo Patricio caught Rotorua napping here. Reserve flanker Lochi Mead has gone from leading Gisborne Boys’ to third place in the 2018 Hurricanes u15 tournament to having started for the first 15 at home.

Across the board, Gisborne Boys’ High teams have had to dig deep to be successful this season. The second 15 came from 14-12 down to beat New Plymouth 29-19 at McNaught Field last Saturday — their first win since the 12-10 gut-check against Tauranga here last year. That was the Seconds’ first taste of Super 8 victory since 2016.

Sacred Heart College, who are fourth in Auckland’s 1A competition, have a six-from-eight win-loss record and five returners from their first 15 of last year — including six Blues’ u17/18 representatives.

They will be without regular captain, fullback Brian Lealiifanoa. Second-year man No.8 Sionekau Lokeni will lead the visitors in their defence of the Generation Cup. The fixture wasn’t held in 2018 due to road closures during August.

Sacred Heart lost 28-23 to Kelston Boys’ High on May 4 and 20-19 to St Kentigern College a week later — both were away games. At home, they beat Auckland Grammar 29-17 and away they beat King’s College 32-29. Perhaps Sacred Heart’s finest hour in Gisborne has been their tremendously gutsy loss (39-20) to the first 15 world champion Gisborne Boys’ High School team in 1994.

“We have a lot of young players in our squad this year, but they’ve been tracking well,” said Sacred Heart assistant coach Josh Loughnan, standing in for head coach and former Tongan international and Ngati Porou East Coast halfback Gus Leger.

“The boys have grown in confidence and as a team.”

The match officials for tomorrow’s traditional interschool fixture, at the Rectory at 11.15am, will be Heartland referee Damien Macpherson. First assistant will be Isaac Hughes and AR2, Royce Maynard.

GISBORNE BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL: Sione Mafelio, Amanaki Tonga, Jordan McFarlane (captain), Tiaan Barbara-Hei, Ofa Tauatevalu, Khian Westrupp, Amos Roddick, Nikau Maxwell, Nicolas Proffit, Ricardo Patricio, TK Reihana, Tuteari Te Rauna-Lamont, Niko Lauti, Matthew Proffit, Braedyn Grant. Reserves:Setefano Tolu, Nathaniel Hauiti, Kauri Waitoa, Lochi Mead, Kirk Ngatai, John Horua, Whetu King-Taufa.

SACRED HEART COLLEGE: Peter Meredith, Charlie Hankins, Ascott Mafi, Petero Mailulu, Millar Rewi, Luke McDuff, Milan Kriletich, Sionekau Lokeni (c), TJ Seuoti-Folau, Bono Napota, Taua Heather, Tamati Gribble, Tomasi Maliepo, Ravuni Uluilakeba, Grady Walshe. Reserves: Peter Neli, Sifa Ma’asi, Jadin Kingi, Joel Casey, Sean Weir, Josiah Unga, Curtis Finnigan.