Henry Kilmister will lead Wanganui Under 18 into battle in the Secondary School Shield final against Wellington Centurions tomorrow.
Henry Kilmister will lead Wanganui Under 18 into battle in the Secondary School Shield final against Wellington Centurions tomorrow.
It is a big afternoon for the Air Chathams Wanganui Under 18's who have a golden chance to be the first team from their union to win the Trustbank Secondary School Shield in the final against Wellington Centurions tomorrow.
Being held as the curtain raiser to the Mitre 10 HeartlandChampionship game at Cooks Gardens, both Wanganui and Centurions are unbeaten, with bonus points being the deciding factor for hosting the game in Whanganui.
In the eight team competition, Wanganui accounted for Poverty Bay (51-18), East Coast (40-14) and then last week Hawke's Bay Saracens (41-18), finishing top qualifier as Centurions got wins over Wairarapa Bush (36-22), Wellington Samoans (17-12) and Horowhenua-Kapiti (62-10).
The core of the Wanganui team is the successful Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV, who finished runnerup in both the CNI competition and the annual Quadrangular tournament, with the class of 2019 being the pride of the school's rugby director Te Ahu Teki, their representative coach.
Teki is a little nervous as Collegiate host their annual school ball tonight, but he expected those players to take it easy before the big match.
"They don't want to be bridesmaids again," said Teki about the lost school finals.
"That's why we worked around getting clarity in what we're doing."
Wanganui had trailed Saracens at halftime at Spriggens Park last week, while they only held a narrow advantage over Poverty Bay, but in both cases they pulled away with dominant second half performances.
"They get back into a rhythm and it takes away the stress, and when they can open them up, they open them up," Teki said.
There had been some noise from down in the capital about playing the game 'half way' for both teams in Palmerston North, but Teki is pleased his young men will get to play on the main stage of Wanganui rugby.
For some, it may be their only chance before heading off to bigger horizons, such as standout first-five Te Atawhai Mason, who attended the Hurricanes Under 18 camp this year and will be off to join the Manawatu union in 2020.
Wanganui will miss their New Zealand representative Ben Strang tomorrow.
The star of that gathering was hooker Ben Strang, who was only player from a Heartland union selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team, which means he is unavailable today as he goes into camp with coach Mark Hammett's squad.
However, Teki said Centurions have also lost two players to the same New Zealand camp, so the disadvantage is balanced out.
As well as Mason, the other noteworthy players will be powerful No 8 Semi Vodosese and midfielder Sione Osamu, both whom it is understood could well be sticking around Whanganui next season, and experienced captain Henry Kilmister at lock.
Sione Osamu
The side will miss the injured Tomasi Connor, while halfback Max Crowley and fullback Beau Hourigan are currently bracketed to start, subject to passing fitness tests.
Teki laughed that he had to tell the squad to make sure they bring running shoes to Cooks Gardens, as the pre-match warmups will be held on the running track rather than the field, which will be a new experience.
