School rugby: Boys look to turn tables on rival

Rotorua Boys' High School (pictured) will look to keep their season alive against Hamilton Boys' tomorrow. Photo / Ben Fraser

Rotorua Boys' High School will be hoping it's a case of third time lucky when they do battle with Hamilton this weekend.

The Rotorua Boys' 1st XV rugby team will meet up with reigning 1st XV national champions Hamilton Boys' High School tomorrow in a do-or-die match for both teams.

The two schools are looking to qualify for a spot in the National Top 4 competition - in Rotorua next month.

The winning side will move one step closer to qualifying for the National Top 4, reserved for the best schools in the country, while the losing team will draw curtains on their season.

"Our preparation has been going well," Rotorua coach Ngarimu Simpkins said.

"We are trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves. It has been a pretty relaxed build-up to be honest."

Simpkins said they knew they were going into the match as underdogs, having already lost to Hamilton twice this season. He said they would need to be very good at set piece time and accurate with their kicking game.

"We are going to have to really nail our set pieces ... and try to keep our errors to a minimum," he said.

"I guess we will see if we have learned anything as a team from our last two meetings against them."

Like most teams this deep into the season, a couple of players from Rotorua are carrying knocks and niggles. Simpkins said they would assess the boys' fitness at training last night.

Rotorua defeated Tauranga Boys' College last weekend to be crowned Bay of Plenty secondary schools champions and earn the right to play Hamilton (the Waikato champions) this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Western Heights High School 1st XV team are in a similar position to Rotorua Boys' High School.

They won the Baywide secondary schools division one title last weekend at the Rotorua International Stadium and are chasing a spot in the National Top 4 co-ed competition, reserved for the top four co-ed schools in New Zealand.

They face off against Stratford High School (Taranaki) at home on Wednesday at noon. If they win that match they will play either Manurewa High School or Cambridge High School next weekend.

Schoolboy rugby fixtures:
Tomorrow (12pm): Rotorua Boys' High School 1st XV v Hamilton Boys' High School 1st XV (at Hamilton BHS)
Wednesday (12pm): Western Heights High School 1st XV v Stratford High School 1st XV (at Western Heights High)

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