Local colts make top six

PLAY MAKER: WHS first five Mitchell Millar played a major role in his team's win over the Dolphins on Saturday scoring a try and kicking all conversions.PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

BOTH Whanganui teams have reassessed their goals after making the Top 6 of the Manawatu McDonalds Colts rugby competition

St Johns Wanganui Metro and the Wanganui High School 1st XV both had notable wins in their final games of round one last Saturday, but like fellow Top 6 contenders start from scratch this weekend in the race to make the semi-finals and final. Each have five games in the Top 6 competition before the semis kick in.

Last weekend playing on adjacent Cullinane College fields, Metro and WHS both won their clashes. Metro handed out a 48-12 thrashing to Freyberg to deny that team a spot on the Top 6, while WHS showed real grit to hold out 21-17 against Old Boys Marist Cafe Cuba Lightning Dolphins. The Dolphins had beaten Metro during round one.

WHS manager Richard Bennett said it was a gutsy performance from the side to hold out, especially after Dolphins were hard on attack during the final five minutes of the match.

"It was a good clean game and a tough game. The difference was we kicked all our conversions, while they didn't," Bennett said yesterday.

While WHS had finished second to Massey White in this competition last season, a new look team had set a goal of making the Top 6 then take each game as it came.

"We will reassess our goal going into this next round and that will probably be to make the semi-finals. We have effectively been juggling three competitions this season - the colts, our inter-school challenges and the Coed Cup that we put our hand up for in the inter-schools.

"We need to be mindful of all three challenges ensuring our players pace themselves to produce their best, that's first and foremost. We also have players named in the upcoming wider Hurricane camps and those guys need to be at their best to impress at that level," Bennett said.

WHS play Massey Ag in Palmerston North on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Metro also set a goal to make the Top 6 in their debut season in the colts division.

Darryl Malcolm said he and co-coach Carl Gibson were getting a clearer picture of starting line ups as the next round of competition loomed.

"It was a very good win at the weekend and the combinations are starting to work well and pay dividends. Out goal was to make the Top 6, so what happens from know is a bonus. While our starting line ups are starting to become clearer there is still plenty of competition for certain positions. We are just stoked the boys are in a great frame of mind and that we still have the guys in the squad we started with. There's still plenty left in the tank," Malcolm said.