The fourth and final week of the Northland junior representative rugby season was played out at Old Boys RFC in Whangarei on Saturday, September 13, and saw Mangonui teams competing in all grades.
A report from the visiting team noted the fields didn't fare too badly given the amount of rain over the week while conditions on the day saw a few passing showers on Saturday but the weather generally fine, although the kids did manage to make a mudslide on the hill.
All the Mangonui teams did well, with the under 12s and 13s making the finals and playing for 1st and 2nd placings overall. The 12s eventually went down 15-5 to Whangarei in a closely contested game, while the 13s won 15-5 also against Whangarei after trailing 5-0 early in the match.
Team spokesman Eddie Evans noted the Mangonui under 13s played sensibly in the second half and repelled a strong finish by Whangarei to take out the game. He added the side dominated the grade this year, scoring 126 points for and conceding only 12.
Mangonui's results from the day were, Under 10s lost to Northern Wairoa to place 4th overall, U11s won against Rodney/ Otamatea to place 5th overall, U12s lost to Whangarei placing 2nd overall, while the U13s (as noted above) beat Whangarei to place 1st overall. The U9s won both their round robin games earlier in the piece, but were not able to attend finals as the other sub unions were unable to field a team.
