Brought to you by Whanganui Rugby.
The Air Chathams Whanganui Under-18 Boys are out of contention to claim the inaugural Gordon Noble-Campbell Cup after a rugged 36-19 defeat to a big Wairarapa Bush U-18 side at Spriggens Park on Saturday.
Part of the four-team Division B in the Trustbank Central Secondary Schools Shield competition, while Division A will contest the traditional shield, Whanganui needed the win after a tough 19-7 loss away to Wellington Māori U-18 the previous weekend.
Wairapapa Bush, meanwhile, were coming in off a 71-10 smashing of Horowhenua-Kāpiti U-18 and brought with them a muscled-up forward pack.
In wet conditions, the game became a testy affair at times, with the visitors striking early as their pack rumbled forward for first prop Manu Lio and then lock Murphy Henricksen to drive through and score from the rucks.
Lio then got his double from a planned move at the lineout, with halfback Ricky Aeto slotting all the kicks for 21-0.
Whanganui gave themselves some hope just before halftime when, from a set move at the lineout, first five Noah Ioasa took a wrap-around pass and fed fullback Angus Allpress, who dashed at the line and, when brought down short, Ioasa was there to dive through from the breakdown and convert his try from near touch.
But ill-discipline cost the home side in the second half as a penalty try to Wairarapa Bush came when fullback Vinnie Swanson was tackled chasing an attacking kick in-goal. Although Whanganui replied through a brilliant solo try by second five Jonathan Solomona - breaking through on halfway to beat the cover - some errant words saw a penalty reversed in front of Whanganui’s posts for Aeto to kick his team to a 31-14 lead.
Again, Whanganui lifted as a short-side play saw hooker Campbell McKerras stopped just short, with reserve forward Marika Tukuwasa Delai then taking the ball over in the corner.
But the visitors had the final say, as reserve winger Abe Wheeler beat his tackler to score on the blindside from the last scrum.
Whanganui will host Horowhenua-Kāpiti U18 next weekend.
Wairarapa Bush Under-18s 36 (M Lio 2, M Henricksen, A Wheeler tries, penalty try; R Aeto pen, 3 con) bt Whanganui Under-18s 19 (N Ioasa, J Solomona, M Delai tries; Ioasa con, M Henry con). HT: 21-7.
JUNIOR REP: The Longrun Spouting Whanganui Under 18 Girls secured an impressive 26-0 win over King Country U18 at Rochfort Park in Ohakune on Saturday. The Under 16 Whanganui Girls had a comprehensive 57-7 win over Wairarapa Bush U16 on Memorial Park No2 ground in Masterton. At Spriggens Park, the AGC Training Whanganui U16 Boys lost 22-12 to Wairarapa Bush U16. This followed on from the Heartland U16 Carnival tournament the previous weekend when they defeated King Country 48-12 and Eastern Bay of Plenty 36-5, but lost to Thames Valley 17-5.
MCCARTHY: Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV’s Jack McCarthy has been named in the NZ Māori Under-18 squad, Ngā Whatukura. McCarthy (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) has been chosen for the 25-man team for the second season.
WALKER: Steelform Whanganui wider squad member Beau Walker is departing for a Northern Hemisphere season with Kilfeacle & District RFC in Ireland. The 26-year-old Taihape loose forward will join the Tipperary-based club, who compete in the Munster regional competitions.
CYCLONES: The undefeated Manawatū Cyclones, with their contingent of Whanganui players, have romped into another Farah Palmer Cup Championship final with a 72-0 hammering of North Harbour Hibiscus in their semifinal at Massey University on Saturday. The side had Sosoli Talawadua at prop, Anahera Hamahona at flanker, Hollyrae Mete at centre and Taylah Barrett as reserve halfback.