The Wanganui Under 15 XI signalled a return to respectability for their province at this level by scoring three second half goals to beat Southland 3-1 in the playoff for 5th/6th at the national tournament in Christchurch on Saturday.
Their win meant Wanganui went through with only one defeat fromsix games the heartbreaking dying minutes 2-1 loss to Poverty Bay in the quarter-finals.
They rallied to beat home team Canterbury and then Southland to finish fifth, a major improvement on the 15th spot the 2012 side finished at the nationals.
Wanganui beat Waikato and North Otago while drawing with Thames Valley before their quarterfinal game with Poverty Bay.
Against Southland, coach Andrew Spence said they were down 1-0 at the break before "the boys perked up and started playing some good hockey".
Raydon Huwyler scored their first goal, then Ryan Gray added another to his tally for the tournament from a penalty corner.
With five minutes remaining Southland pulled their goalie to bring on another attacker, but it backfired as Jordan Cohen beat three defenders to score the matchwinner.
Wanganui watched the national tournament final and had to think about what might have been as North Harbour beat Manawatu 2-1 after extra time. "Manawatu, we beat them twice before the tournament. We felt pretty confident we could have held our own," said Spence.
