On a blue streak

SILVER: The Wanganui Under 15 Blue team were second in A Grade at the Molly Dorne tournament.

The Wanganui Under 15 Blue representative team got a sense of how good they are in the central region by coming runnerup in their grade at the Molly Dorne tournament in Levin.

Wanganui were second in A Grade for Under 15, only losing their opening match to the undefeated Wellington Black squad, then going on a four game winning streak.

Coach Te Ora Nyman said her girls took too long to adjust to Wellington's strong defensive play as well as dealing with the torrential rain, although they scored more goals than anyone else against the capital team in the 28-13 loss.

Moving forward, captain Imogen Flower encouraged her team to re-focus on the goal of being runnersup, which started with a 20-16 win over home team Horowhenua.

Nyman felt the team rediscovered their edge during this match and they confidently moved on to play Kapiti.

Shooters Flower and Montel Vaiao-Aki were on song once again as Wanganui led comfortably at half time 24-6.

Nyman took this opportunity to bring on her bench of Kaewa Potaka GA, Talitua Leo GD and Rebecca Tamati at centre, with the tempo remaining high in the 43-13 win.

Hutt Valley were next and held a 2-1 winning record over Wanganui in the last three representative tournaments.

Nyman was not taking this game lightly and stayed with the same lineup for the duration, as the shooters Flower and Vaiao-Aki made no mistake finding the net at their end while the defensive trio of Taina Nagua GK, Talitua Leo GD and Kristin Thompson WD were strong and caused many turnovers.

Centre Kiana Millar and Keilani Tyrell WA were fast and balanced in the midcourt, as Wanganui's strategic plans took them to a 29-23 win.

The final game was against Kapi Mana and all 10 players were interchanged during the contest.

Wing defence Sarah Gower-James in particular had an impressive turnover rate, playing a solid role in 36-18 victory.

Nyman was rapt with the girls performance and stamina, boding well for the upcoming Under 15 North Island representative tournament in New Plymouth this month.