Collegiate first XV rugby coach Paul Brown is adamant the team deserves its spot in the annual quadrangular tournament, despite losing again in Wellington yesterday.
Collegiate went down 22-14 to Christ's College (Christchurch) after leading 14-10 at halftime, but Brown couldn't speak highly enough of the team's effort to bounce back following the 78-0 drubbing by Nelson College in Monday's opening match.
"We turned it around and played some of the best rugby we've played all year," Brown said.
"It was a disappointing result but the effort and the turnaround, and the pride and the character that they showed after Monday could not be faulted."
Brown made three changes to the starting lineup for the match - James Scott and James Milliken came in at loosehead prop and lock respectively, while Vunisa Samu moved from No 8 to second-five.
The changes paid off with Scott outstanding up front and Samu providing direction and go-forward out wide. In fact, Brown said it was a real team effort, and the players had stuck to a simple game plan.
"We kept it close and got a bit of forward momentum, then we took it wide.
"It was just a real step up. We came out on Monday and we stood back and watched Nelson do what they wanted to do. Whereas today we got on the front foot, and we went forward in defence and forward in attack and we created pressure." However, discipline let down Collegiate at times, and Christ's was awarded a penalty try midway through the second half because of a high tackle.
Christ's scored three tries, Collegiate two. As for the future, Brown said Collegiate deserved its place in the tournament despite some big losses in recent years.
"Absolutely we've got to stay in it. We've got to put steps in place to make sure we are competitive with these schools. "What they are I'm not sure about. I've got to sit down and assess what we can and can't do."
Brown suggested specific, off-season training programmes as one possible step in a bid to build the players' physiques. He said the tournament was a fantastic experience for the boys and he would "hate to see" Collegiate not part of it.
Wellington College beat Nelson 18-10 in the final.
Collegiate recover some pride
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