PASSION PERSONIFIED: Wairarapa College's Chaz Matthews - here in action against Wainuiomata High earlier in the season - scored a vital try against Wanganui High School on Saturday.
PASSION PERSONIFIED: Wairarapa College's Chaz Matthews - here in action against Wainuiomata High earlier in the season - scored a vital try against Wanganui High School on Saturday.
Wairarapa College are through to the semifinals of the national co-ed secondary schools rugby competition.
They will confront Manurewa High School at Rotorua on Friday for a place in the grand final but no matter what the result there they have already created a special niche for themselves by beingthe first Wairarapa team to have made it into the top four of this high-profile tournament.
So hectic have been the last couple of weeks for the Wairarapa College squad, their coach Chris Senior is unsure whether they have yet fully comprehended the magnitude of their achievements.
In that short timeframe they have played and won both the semifinals and finals of the Wellington secondary schools division two competition and the Hurricanes Co-Ed Cup competition, the latter just last Saturday when they overcame a stern challenge from a skilful and determined Wanganui High School combination.
"We've had a huge two weeks so there hasn't been a lot of time to think about what we have achieved," Senior said. "And right now the focus is on Friday ... absolutely."
Senior said the match against Wanganui High was typical of finals rugby with neither team giving an inch and the result being in doubt right to the end.
Wanganui High's backs always looked threatening on attack and while their pack lacked real size they too were a skilful unit.
It was, however, Wairarapa College who made most of the running in the early stages with a converted try to Chaz Matthews from a well-worked set piece giving them the lead. Soon after Wanganui High scored with a long-range counter-attack try but it was Wairarapa College who went to the halftime break with a 13-8 advantage, having added two penalties to their scoreline.
The second half very much belonged to Wanganui High in a territorial sense. They used the wind wisely and kept Wairarapa College trapped in their own half for long periods. A try to Wanganui High made it 13-13 and it wasn't until the closing stanza that Wairarapa College launched a series of attacks which ended with Wanganui High conceding a penalty in what was to be the last play of the day.
It was not an easy kick, being 15m from the right touchline and into a strong southerly wind, but Abe Southey was equal to the task, calmly slotting the ball between the posts to give Wairarapa College a memorable 16-13 win.
Coach Senior is expecting another difficult assignment against Manurewa HS.
He said the fact they had made it through to the semis by accounting for several school in the Chiefs region was in itself was a testimony to their strength.
"We will be doing some homework on them over the next couple of days but it's more about ensuring that we perfect our own game plan rather than worry too much about what they might do," Senior said.
