Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV fall to old foe Palmerston North Boys High in traditional rugby clash

The Whanganui Collegiate School 1st XV fell to old foe Palmerston North Boys High on Saturday in their first clash since 2009.

The schools first played in 1923 and there have been 81 games between the two seats of learning since, with WCS winning 23 and PNBHS 55 and three draws.

Palmerston North were the first to strike on the Collegiate No1 ground, with a fifth-minute penalty to first-five Curtis Heaphy.

WCS were quick to respond with a penalty of their own to halfback Adam Lennox.

PNBHS then built pressure through their big forward pack and from an attacking scrum they moved the ball wide for left winger Tavita Henare Schuster to score, converted by Heaphy.

With four minutes of an even first half to go, WCS centre Waqa Waqaicece made a beautiful break through the midfield to score a well-deserved try under the posts after being denied minutes before for a forward pass. His try was converted by Lennox.

WCS went straight back onto attack and were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Captain Harry Godfrey turned down the certain three-pointer, opting instead to kick into the corner for a lineout.

The ball was thrown to Josefa Namosimalua and the much lighter WCS pack drove the opposition back over the line from seven metres out for flanker Tom Pease to score.

When the half-time whistle went, WCS were up 15-10.

PNBHS started the second half well and applied early pressure through their big forwards. After some brave defence by WCS, PNBHS prop Javahn Stevenson was driven over by his propping partner Feleti Sae-Ta'ufo'ou, who wouldn't look out of place in a Super Rugby line-up. The try was converted by Heaphy.

The next 15 minutes remained even, with neither side threatening the line. WCS, though, had been warned for penalties at the breakdown and eventually the referee lost his patience and sin-binned hard-working flanker Te Ana Proffit.

With a man advantage in the forwards, the visitors put together several phases and eventually moved the ball wide for No 6 Joe Simpson-Smith to score in the corner.

WCS then had a good spell on attack but just couldn't control the ball when close to the line. With time just about up, PNBHS managed to move up the field and scored a try in the corner to make the final score a somewhat flattering 27-15 to the visitors.

WCS statistics
Tries: Waqa Waqaicece, Tom Pease
Conversions: Adam Lennox 1. Penalties: Adam Lennox 1