First XV rugby: Hastings Boys’ snatches Hurricanes showdown place after drawn semi-final

Triumph Voice on the break before a try to Hastings Boys' High in their draw with St Pat's Silverstream. Photo / Māori TV

The Hastings Boys’ High School First XV took another step towards a national secondary schools’ rugby championship playoff, despite drawing 20-20 with back-to-back Wellington champions St Patrick’s Silverstream in a Hurricanes Region semi-final in the Hutt Valley on Saturday.

Each side scored three tries and Hastings, who rel="" title="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/watch-the-scrum-hand-of-god-that-may-have-cost-hastings-boys-high-school-a-shot-at-the-super-8-final/7M2O7QSPQBCHJNUN7OAT4SE26E/">narrowly missed a place in the Super 8 final this year, were awarded the result for scoring the first, a refreshing success after last year’s outcome in which Hawke’s Bay had its earliest ever exit from the national championship race.

It revived memories of a draw with Hamilton BHS in a confusing end to the 2017 Super 8 final.

Being down 3-0, it came after a series of attacks on the St Pat’s line, when captain and hooker JJ Lilo-Iosefo, having been among those attempting to barge over in the forwards, dived over wide out, in the 27th minute.

Then, claiming a long throw from a St Pat’s throw about the Hastings 22-metre line, Hastings ran it, putting centre Triumph Voyce into the clear for a major break which ultimately resulted in big lock Eli Southwick scoring at the other end, to make it 10-3 at halftime.

St Pat’s started the second half fired up and scored a try within four minutes.

But Hastings fired back with a penalty goal to first five-eighths Tana Faumuina, who then converted a try scored by No 8 Panapa Peia, as the forwards drove over 10 metres from a lineout, to make it 20-8 with 20 minutes to go.

With the gap closed to five points with a converted try to the home side, Hastings would play most of the last quarter down to 14 players after a 10-minute yellow card card suspension for a defensive infringement as the St Pat’s pummelled the Hastings line.

Hastings hung on for eight minutes of it before Silverstream scored twice to level the scores, missing the crucial second conversion and a longer-range penalty in their desperation to win

In the Hurricanes final, the winner of which will play in the national Top Four against Blues, Chiefs and Southern region qualifiers, Hastings will play CNI schools champions and 2024 Top 4 Hurricanes qualifiers Feilding Agricultural High School, at Massey University.

Feilding beat Super 8 winners Palmerston North BHS 34-28 in a semi-final in Feilding.

While St Pat’s ended their season unbeaten, Wellington remains without a national top 4 contender for the 10th year in a row.

Doug Laing has been a reporter for more 52 years, more than 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, at the Central Hawke’s Bay Press, the Napier Daily Telegraph and, Hawke’s Bay Today, since its establishment in 1999. He has covered most aspects of general news and sport.