Whangarei Boys' a class apart in tourney finals

Whangarei Boys' High School won the old firm derby over Kamo High School to take out the senior and junior divisions at the Northland Secondary Schools' rugby competition.
Both competitions were held on Thursday at Morewa (open) and Otiria (U15s) in the Bay of Islands - a new departure for a competition that traditionally has been held in Whangarei.
The WBHS senior team won their first three games at a canter over Otamatea, Broadwood College and Okaihau College, without conceding a try. But they were pushed in the semifinal against Kaitaia College, which they won 21-5.
The final against Kamo was also close but they won 22-5. Coach Harry Darkins said they mastered a dominant style of sevens rugby.
"All of the boys played extremely well with every player contributing in a strong team performance - I was pleased with the boys, they stuck to the game plan throughout the day," he said.
The team based their win on solid defence and Darkins said the team's player of the tournament was forward Michael Ganley who was always first to the breakdown and put in a lot of solid tackles that put them on the front foot.
He was also devastating with ball in hand and scored a couple of outstanding solo tries.
Captain and midfielder Kurt Benny was also outstanding, scoring five tries throughout the tournament. Josh Brown was another key player - he converted 19 out of the 25 tries they scored at the tournament.
Trent Dean was nippy around the ruck, displaying a strong passing game which generated quick and free flowing ball for the backs to work with.
David Nair, Jacob Coleman, Leroy Broughton and Ramon Buller were other standouts and always among the action.
The team will go through to represent Northland at the Condor Sevens national secondary school competition in Auckland later in the year.
The competition drew a record 16 teams in the open division and 10 teams in the U15s, with NRU rugby development officer Hector Davies saying the northern venues had made it easier for more schools to participate.
Condor Sevens representative Phil Gaze was on hand to watch the tournament and was impressed with the players and management of the tournament.
Davies said the Condor organisation were hoping to include an U15s and schoolgirls' grade in the 2012 tournament.
RESULTS:
Under 15: Plate Final: Bream Bay 38 Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Whangaroa Blue 0; Cup Final: Rodney College 22 Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Whangaroa White 14; Championship Final: Whangarei Boys High School 10 Kamo High School 5.
Open Grade: Bowl Final: Northland College 31 Panguru Area School 5; Plate Final: Tikipunga High School 19 Rodney College 14; Cup Final: Okaihau College Green 24 Bay of Islands College 14; Championship Final: Whangarei Boys High School 22 Kamo High School 5.