They didn't get to dance on the big stage but Wanganui Collegiate's First XV still danced hard in a 55-0 flogging of Canberra's Daramalan College on Sunday afternoon.
The second game of Collegiate's three-match tour of Australia had originally been planned as a huge occasion because it was to havebeen the curtain raiser to Sunday evening's Super 15 playoff between the Brumbies and Cheetahs at Canberra Stadium.
However, extremely cold and wet conditions had left officials worried about the state of the ground after the Canberra Raiders beat the Parramatta Eels 14-0 in their NRL game the night before.
Therefore, not wanting to risk the pitch opening up, officials told Collegiate and Daramalan just 90 minutes before kickoff they would have to play at the school ground instead.
Disappointed they did not get to play in the stadium, Collegiate took it out on their hosts, who were probably relieved they were spared the embarrassment of conceeding eight tries in front of thousands of their compatriots.
"I think the guys turned it on a little," said acting Collegiate coach Barry Touzel.
Once the backline got over the biting cold weather, with temperatures plummeting to 7C, they capitalised on the platform the forward pack were laying down.
"They started cutting them to pieces and putting some phases together.
"[Daramalan's] forwards were physically strong ... they slowed the ball down.
"When we sped it up, they were a yard or so slower than us."
Hooker Nick Cave scored a hat trick, while Ruslan Casey was moved from the wing into flanker and grabbed a double. He was also named man of the match by Daramalan.
The Act school were third in their competition, although Collegiate knew little about them before they lined up.
The team were visiting the Bradman Museum yesterday, before heading back to Sydney for their final game against Sydney Grammar tomorrow.
