FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS: Kaitaia College claimed the 2016 Northland secondary schools mixed touch championship title earlier this month. PICTURE/SUPPLIED
The two Kaitaia College senior touch teams enjoyed successful campaign at the Northland secondary schools touch championships in Kaikohe on Friday, March 4, returning home with both a winners and runners-up trophy.
The mixed team won their final, beating defending champions Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Kaikohe by 2-0, thanks
to two well constructed tries to Te Paea Cook-Savage and Memphis Ngaruhe.
Coach (and college principal) Jack Saxon noted the side had been training together since October of 2015, and this showed with the side winning all three games in pool play prior to dispatching Bay of Islands College 6-2 in the semi-finals. The play of the middles Brody Tamarua and Te Kahi Nathan, and the outstanding ball skills of their links, Shayna Rogers-Christensen and Seroya Nankivell were points of difference throughout the day.
Elsewhere, Kaitaia's two inexperienced girls' units both had big wins throughout the day with the KC Girls A team losing a closely contested final against Whangarei Girls.
Both teams represent Northland in their divisions at the North Zone qualifiers in Auckland this Saturday. The North Zone will be contested by the the top two teams from Northland, North Harbour and West Auckland, with the top three placegetters in each section progressing to the nationals later this year.
