PASS IT ON: New Zealand's Martin White looks to get his pass away to brother Jason White in the fourth test against Australia Under 21 at the McNab Domain yesterday.PHOTOS/BEVAN CONLEY
PASS IT ON: New Zealand's Martin White looks to get his pass away to brother Jason White in the fourth test against Australia Under 21 at the McNab Domain yesterday.PHOTOS/BEVAN CONLEY
After two furious tests, the New Zealand and Australian Under-21 polocrosse teams could not be split at Kaiwhaiki's McNab Domain as their four-match series culminated yesterday afternoon.
With the other club polocrosse matches rained off by yesterday's wet weather, all eyes were on the final game between the teams offour males and four females, with the series tied 1-1 after the previous weekends matches at Tokoroa were followed by a draw in the Saturday match.
Heading into the final two chukkas, New Zealand were down 19-15, but on their last turn the three Kiwi girls controlled possession and managed to close the gap to 19-18 through two goals and a penalty, before the Aussies broke away from two scrambles to score and extend their team back out to a 21-18 advantage.
As the lads then cantered on to finish the match, Australia struck first for 22-18, before New Zealand came roaring back with some strong passing to score four straight and tie the test 22-22.
In the final desperate scramble for the loose ball, New Zealand couldn't quite grasp it and the Australians finished the match on attack. Two draws meant the Australians would take the series on goal countback by only two points, as they won the opening test in Tokoroa by three, whereas the Kiwis beat them in the next encounter by one goal. New Zealand's Martin White was named the player of the weekend.
