The Wellington U18s won their fifth consecutive Hurricanes U18 title on Saturday, beating 24-16 Manawatu in the final in Palmerston North. In other WRFU representative results, Wellington Development had a big win over Tasman Development and the Wellington Maori, Pride and U20 teams all lost their games.
In inclement conditions it was a much improved Manawatu U18 from that of a fortnight earlier when the two teams clashed at the same venue in the round-robin phase. Manawatu made several changes for the final with their NZ Schools and Barbarians players returning. Wellington U18 resisted the temptation to do likewise with the exception of Eti Sului, who came on to the reserves bench for the injured Saio Salevao.
It was the locals who started strongest and may have taken a lead in the first minute had they not left their kicking tee in the changing room. After the referee curiously allowed Manawatu to reverse its decision to kick for goal, they set up a sustained period deep in Wellington territory. It culminated in a converted try after ten minutes when Wellington was unable to contain Manawatu’s influential halfback from a quick tap from another penalty.
Wellington looked threatening once they gained possession and dominated the remainder of the half. A well struck Liam Berry penalty goal from 42 metres got the visitors underway before No. 8 John Tufele powered his way over for a try in the right-hand corner from a 5-metre scrum. Two further Wellington penalty goals without reply took them to a deserved 14-7 lead.
A crucial period of play enveloped the five minutes immediately prior to the break. Not only did Manawatu repel multiple Wellington’s forward drives from close to the tryline, but a strong wind quickly developed to replace the preceding calm. Suddenly Wellington’s advantage looked tenuous as they turned to play into the tough conditions.
Manawatu reduced the deficit with a penalty goal as early as four minutes into the second stanza and then moved within a point when they repeated the dose midway through the half. Wellington withstood the pressure well throughout that challenging and tense period though, none more so than an assured Sam Chamberlain from fullback. With the forwards toiling hard, Wellington’s halves, with great support from second five-eighth-eighth Wes Goosen, controlled play with a calm maturity.
In a match typified by penalties at the breakdown, it was no surprise when this area provided another significant moment in the match. Soon after Berry had landed his fourth penalty goal, a further infringement saw Manawatu’s No. 8 sin-binned for the final ten minutes of the final. However, it didn’t prevent the home team hitting back with another penalty goal, after some petulant Wellington play, to once more make it a one point game.
The decisive moment of the final came after Wellington was awarded a midfield scrum just inside their opponents half. Halfback Luke Campbell gained valuable ground running right and the Wellington forwards kept it tight and showed good composure at the ensuing rucks. The phases climaxed with Wellington moving the ball and Ivan Vaisagote’s overhead pass found fellow replacement Dylan Hayes ranging wide to crash over for a match-winning try. Berry capped his best goal kicking performance of the year when his successful conversion, from a seemingly impossible position just in from the right hand touchline and into the elements, secured the game with less than two minutes remaining.
Elsewhere, the Wellington Development XV broke the shackles and romped to a comprehensive 63-12 win over their Tasman counterparts in Blenheim.
In slippery, windy conditions, Wellington dominated possession throughout to win by a margin of nine tries to two. They opened up an 18-0 lead at halftime, which could have been greater if not for some missed chances. The sun came out in the second spell and with it Wellington’s A game and they pulled clear and won convincingly.
First five-eighth Seminar Manu scored a try and landed eight shots on goal, while prop Chris Eves scored a brace and five individual players scored the remaining tries, including one each to fellow front rowers Liu Tautavae, Donal McNamara and Nu’u Lene
In atrocious conditions at Porirua Park, Wellington U20 lost to Auckland U20 13-38. However the scoreline didn’t reflect what was a much tighter contest that saw Wellington leading midway through the first half and Auckland with their noses only just in front right up until the fourth quarter when they sailed home and opened up a 25-point winning margin.
In pouring rain that didn’t let up in the first spell, Wellington took a 10-6 lead through a converted try to Andrew Ellis and a penalty to Andrew Wells. Auckland answered with their first try to take an 11-10 lead into the turnaround. Now playing into the wind, Wellington contained the physical Aucklanders until late in the contest before the visitors broke through.
The Wellington Samoans beat Wellington Maori 59-15 in the game that followed at Porirua Park, while the Wellington Pride ended their women’s NPC campaign with a 31-43 loss to Manawatu Women in Palmerston North.
WRFU representative results results 13 October:
At Palmerston North: Hurricanes U18 final. Wellington U18 24 (John Tufele, Dylan Hayes tries; Liam Berry 4 pen, con) beat Manawatu U18 16. HT: 14-7
At Porirua Park: Wellington U20 13 (Andrew Ellis try; Andrew Wells 2 pen, con) lost to Auckland U20 20. HT: 10-11
At Porirua Park: Wellington Samoans 59 beat Wellington Maori 15
At Blenheim: Wellington Development 63 (Chris Eaves 2, Liu Tautavae, Donal McNamara, Nu’u Lene, Pau Halafihi, Jeff Makapulu, Seminar Manu tries; Manu 6 con, 2 pen). beat Tasman Development 12 HT: 18-0
At Palmerston North: Wellington Pride 31 lost to Manawatu Women 43 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}The third and final leg of the 2012 American Ambassador's Sevens series is at Porirua Park on Saturday and is part of another bumper afternoon of club and representative rugby in and around Wellington.
Points from the second American Ambassador's tournament at Maidstone Park a fortnight ago will be carried over into this leg of the series to decide the winner of the Men's and Colts divisions. With 24 points up for grabs for the winner of the Men's division and 12 for the Colts, there's much at stake for every team still.
The points tables after the Maidstone Park leg of the tournament is (note the first leg at the Polo Ground was cancelled and no points were awarded):
Men's (top 10): Upper Hutt 24, MSP 20, Tawa and Wests 16, Paremata-Plimmerton, Wainuiomata, Old Boys University and Oriental-Rongotai 12, Avalon 8 and Hutt Old Boys Marist 6
Colts (semi-finalists from the Maidstone Park leg): Old Boys University 12, Hutt Old Boys Marist 8, Petone and Poneke 4
The four Men's division pools for Saturday are:
Pool A: Upper Hutt, Ories, MSP 2, Petone
Pool B: HOBM 1, Tawa, Wainuiomata, HOBM 1, Poneke
Pool C: Norths, MSP 1, OBU, Avalon
Pool D: Wests Roosters, Paremata-Plimmerton, Wellington, HOBM 2
The two Colts division pools are:
Pool A: Upper Hutt 2, Old Boys University, Petone, Wainuiomata
Pool B:HOBM, Poneke, Norths, Upper Hutt 1
Pool play runs from 9.00am until just before 2.00pm. The first of the quarterfinals is scheduled for 2.06pm and the Men's Cup final is at 4.56pm. The presentation follows at 5.20pm.
Heading into this Saturday's third and final leg of the American Ambassador's Sevens, we caught up with leading Sevens administrator Pat Quin for a chat about his involvement in the growth of Sevens in Wellington.
What is your involvement with Sevens in Wellington?
I was the Wellington Sevens Managerbetween 1999-2001. In October 1999 Wellington was awarded the New Zealand leg of the IRB Sevens to be held February 2000. Coach Tony Meachen and I drew up a strategy to attract players to Sevens and of course to win the National title. The three year plan succeeded in the fourth year and we won the Nationals in 2002. I was the HR manager for the Wellington IRB Sevens under Tournament Director Nick Jordan for the first three years then Assistant to theTournament Director Steve Dunbar for about the next five years.
What was the biggest challenge in the early years?
The biggest challenge for the Club Sevens was getting buy-in from clubs to have an end of season tournament culminating in selection of the Wellington Team for the Nationals where Gordon Tietjens would select his team for the IRB International Sevens circuit.
In regard to the IRB Sevens- we were awarded the tournament in late October 1999 and had to be ready for kickoff in the first weekend of February 2000. None of us had any experience at this and to top it off Westpac Stadium wasn't yet open - we were to be the first rugby games there - so we had absolutely no familiarity with the facilities. Nick Jordan led the management group outstandingly and I managed to find 180 volunteers while Steve Dunbar, Lynette Grace, Tony Meachen, John Berryman, Peter Dale, Rodney Moore, Richard Boag and Steve Hirini comprised the rest of the hard-working, pioneering, visionary organising committee.
What are some of the highlights of being involved in Sevens in Wellington?
The National title Wellington won in 2002 under Tony Meachen and Dave Meaclem was a highlight because I had developed the strategy, gained buy-in from all the stakeholders and saw the improvement each year until success seemed inevitable. I brought Dave Meaclem into the management team in 2001 to ensure that the systems in place continued the following year - they did and we won. Scott Waldrom was the captain and I think Fa'atonuFili and Polonga Pedro are the only members of the team still playing.
As for the IRB Sevens I had the pleasure of working with a group of extremely talented and fearless people. Putting on exactly the event you see today without a hitch could not have been done in only three months without optimism (that it would be alright on the day!) talent and outstanding organising ability. After the first IRB Tournament in 2000 it took me about two months to get over it and settle back into work and family etc. It had been hugely exciting and successful. A group of us went to Hong Kong six weeks later to check on what was deemed to be the best Sevens tournament in the world and we felt Wellington had surpassed it on every measurement.
How important do you feel is the American Ambassador's Sevens Series?
The American Ambassador's Sevensis very important. Club rugby finishes for some in late July to accommodate representative rugby and leaves a huge gap in the year where there is nothing to do. The AA Sevens encourages players to keep training and fits with the ethic of camaraderie that rugby generates. There used to be a transition between Club, National and International Sevens that was lost when Queenstown were given the rights to hold the Nationals in January but the American Ambassador's Sevens has lots of entries and are enthusiastically attended as I saw at the Upper Hutt leg of the tournament is two weeks ago.
What are your thoughts on Sevens at the Olympics?
About time. Tony Meachen, Nick Jordan and I went to Beijing for the IRB Sevens in 2002 because it was being trialed there for inclusion in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Unfortunately Sevens missed the cut for Beijing 2008 but is of course included for Rio 2016.
The Wellington U20s play Hawke's Bay U20 in the final of the Hurricanes region U20 competition at FMG Stadium in Palmerston North at 12.00pm. Hawke's Bay won their previous clash 37-27 and Wellington are the defending champions, so this final could be a thriller.
The Wellington U18s play their last round Hurricanes region U18 competition match against Taranaki at Yarrow Stadium at 2.00pm. Wellington has already booked their place for the following weekend's Hurricanes U18 final, but will want to continue their strong form into this encounter.
In the other match of the Hurricanes U18 tournament, the Centurions play Manawatu U18 in Palmerston North at 12.00pm.
The Wellington Pride play the Canterbury Ewes at Christchurch at 1.00pm in their penultimate round-robin game of the women's NPC. Following last week's defeat to defending champions Auckland, the Pride must win this to stay in contention for the final. Canterbury are the current leaders.
The sixth and final round-robin RDO Cup match between the Wellington Maori and Wanganui B at Maidstone Park at 12.30pm is a virtual final.
In a friendly representative match at Evans Bay Park, the Wellington Development and Wellington Samoan teams square off at 1.00pm.
Representative fixtures in Wellington on Saturday:
Home matches:
Away matches:
There's an old saying in Wellington Rugby, that if there's a southerly on the way, it will arrive at kick-off, and depart at fulltime.
So it was in the Division 1 Don Broughton Shield Final played between Wellington A and Hawke's Bay at the Petone Recreation Ground, won by Wellington 29-0
Throughout the Tournament, Wellington's line was not crossed once, with the team scoring 117 points, and conceding only 9
In the final, Hawke's Bay started facing an ominous bank of cloud reaching over the ground from the south, before the rain began. By halftime, Wellington had scored two tries, and fumbled at least three others, but the visitors would have felt confident turning with the wind at their back.
That confidence was quickly replaced by scrambling defence, as both forwards and backs from Wellington punched repeated holes in the Junior Magpies defence. A further three tries were scored by Wellington before the final whistle, with the home team deserved winners.
In the earlier Division 2 Saracens Cup Final, played in calm but overcast conditions, Poverty Bay fought for a 17-12 win over the Wellington Development team. Both teams were guilty of not converting scoring opportunities which may have changed the outcome.
The boys from Gisborne had beaten Wellington Development earlier in the week in a "friendly" match, and this earlier victory would have given them the edge on the day. Poverty Bay's grit and determination were instrument in giving them the win against Wellington today, who to their credit never relented.
The Convener of Age Grade Selectors for the Hurricanes Region, David King said, “Our role there was to view and identify talent across the Hurricanes region to go to a one day camp in December run by New Zealand Rugby for the Hurricanes region.”
“The quality of players at this year’s tournament was of an extremely high level which is very exciting for the future of the Hurricanes region. To have such a strong pool of depth, from both the under 18 camp in July and this tournament at under 16 level, bodes well for the next generation of players coming through the development systems within the Hurricanes region.”
Scores:
Wellington U16 A, 29 : Hawkes Bay 0
Poverty Bay U16, 17 : Wellington U16 Development, 12The Wellington U20 and U18 representative sides enjoyed comfortable wins over their Manawatu counterparts in their respective Hurricanes region competition matches on Saturday, the U20s winning 50-0 and the U18s 45-10.
Elsewhere, the Wellington Maori beat Horowhenua Kapiti B 36-24 in their fifth round RDO Cup competition match, and in two defeats, the U18 Centurions missed out 19-20 to Taranaki U18 and the Wellington Pride went down 0-65 to the defending champions Auckland Storm in their fourth round women’s NPC fixture.
In the first of three games at a sun-drenched Petone Recreation Ground, the Wellington Centurions U18s pushed the Taranaki U18s hard all the way before losing by a point. Both sides scored two tries each, but the difference came off the kicking tee where Centurions second five-eighth Mitchell Purvis landed three first half penalties but was unable to convert the tries scored by right wing Ryan Saunders and replacement halfback Luke Donaldson. Taranaki scored a converted try and a penalty in each half and led 10-9 at halftime.
In the feature game that followed, the Wellington U20s outplayed the Manawatu U20s to earn a convincing win, combining well-organised defence with strong support play and continuity on attack. The result was that they had their bonus point try and the game won by halftime when wing Ambrose Curtis skipped around to score their fourth try with the last play of the first half. First five-eighth Aviata Silago added the extras and they led 30-0 at the turnaround.
After halftime, Wing Te Wehi Wright added to his first half try with two more to complete an individual hat-trick, while second five-eighth Nick Grigg , No. 8 Tuakana Metaurau and replacement back Andrew Ellis scored three of the other seven tries.
Wellington opened the scoring midway through the opening spell when local Petone player Grigg flew up and intercepted a Manawatu pass and ran 20 metres for his try. Wellington hooker Dion Lealofi and centre Timoci Serawalu both stood out, and it was Wellington’s good work at the breakdown, led by Lealofi, and Serawalu’s strong running out wide that created their second try to Metaurau. Next, Serawlau crashed the ball up from a scrum, freeing up space for the speedy Wright and Wellington led 20-0 after half an hour.
Silago kicked a penalty to extend the lead to 23-0, before Curtis completed a very good team try at the end of the first half and it was game over by the oranges.
Wellington will meet Hawke’s Bay in the final of the Hurricanes U20 tournament this coming Saturday at Palmerston North.
On the far field at Petone, Wellington Maori pulled away to beat Horowhenua Kapiti B in the second half after scores were locked up at 17-17 at halftime in a tense opening 40 minutes in which the Maori scored three tries. The run of play remained tight after the interval, with one more try and the boot of Deina Morate seeing the Maori home.
Wellington Maori play Wanganui B at Maidstone Park in their sixth and final RDO Cup game this coming Saturday, where a win would likely see them retain the silverware for another year in the competition also involving Wairarapa Bush B.
The Wellington Pride were outgunned in the sun at Westpac Stadium by a rampant Auckland Storm side who scored 10 tries on their way to a comfortable win. At least five of these tries were scored from turnovers from deep inside their own half and through long-range strikes, Auckland centre Jade Le Pesq running in a first half hat-trick. Unforced errors also proved costly, with Auckland scoring twice in quick succession from attacking scrums, first from a Pride kick-off that didn’t go 10 metres and second after a knock-on from a kick ahead in general play. Auckland led 46-0 at halftime.
The Pride came out in a much stronger vein in the second spell, the forwards in particular competing well in the close quarter areas, and they pushed Auckland close on several occasions. But the visitors held on and the halftime score remained intact right up until the 75th minute mark when the floodgates opened again and Auckland ran in three quickfire tries at the end.
This coming Saturday the Pride play Canterbury at Christchurch before playing Manawatu in Palmerston North in their last match in a fortnight and will need two wins and other results to go their way to make the women’s NPC final.
In warm and firm underfoot conditions the Wellington Under 18s were too strong for their Manawatu counterparts in Palmerston North. While the game at times became loose and unstructured, the fast pace suited the visitors and they regularly threatened on attack. Four tries in the first half – two to big winger Siaosi Finau-Lealiifano – meant Wellington held a comfortable 24-10 lead at the break.
Manawatu were often competitive and there was no further score in the third quarter of the match. However, Wellington’s depth off the bench proved convincing as it ran in a further three tries to replacement players to end the game conclusively.
Wellington has confirmed its place in the final of the Hurricanes Under 18 competition with one round robin game remaining. Wellington will travel away to Taranaki this coming Saturday ahead of the final in Palmerston North the following weekend.
The Hurricanes region U16 tournament is at the Petone Recreation Ground this Monday, Tuesday and Thursday features the Wellington U16A and Wellington U16 Development sides in action. In Pool A, the Wellington U16As play Taranaki on Monday at 2.30pm, Manawatu on Tuesday at 1.00pm and Hawke's Bay on Thursday at 11.00am.
In Pool B, the Wellington Development team plays Wanganui on Monday at 1.30pm and then Poverty Bay in a friendly match at North Park on Tuesday, ahead of finals day against a winner/loser from the opposite side of the draw on Thursday.
Scores:
At the Petone Recreation Ground: Wellington U20 50 (Te Wehi Wright 3; Tuakana Metaurau, Nick Grigg, Ambrose Curtis, Andrew Ellis tries; Andrew Wells 2 pen, con; Aviata Silago pen, 2 con). Beat Manawatu U20 0. HT: 30-0
At the Petone Recreation Ground: Wellington Centurions U18 19 (Ryan Saunders, Luke Donaldson tries; Mitchell Purvis 3 pen) lost to Taranaki U18 20. HT: 9-10
At the Petone Recreation Ground: Wellington Maori 36 (Jason Love, Mykel Herewini, Martin Te Whetu, Jayden Watene tries; Campbell Woodmass pen; Deina Morata 3 pen; 2 con) beat Horowhenua Kapiti B 24. HT: 17-17
At Palmerston North: Wellington U18 45 (Siaosi Finau-Lealiifano 2, Sam Chamberlain, Luke Campbell, Dylan Hayes, Aukuso Tuitama, Jordan Mellars tries; Liam Berry 3 con; Chamberlain 2 con). beat Taranaki U18 10 HT: 45-10
At Westpac Stadium: Wellington Pride 0 lost to Auckland Storm 65. HT: 0-46
At Westpac Stadium: Ricoh Wellington Lions 34 Ardie Savea, Ross Filipo, Lima Sopoaga, Kaipati Gaualofa, Shaun Treeby tries; Sopoaga 3 con, pen) beat North Harbour 28 HT: 20-14
Three leading WRFU representative teams in action in competition matches on Saturday all lost close games, while the Wellington U18s and two Wellington U16 teams won their matches well. The Wellington Pride, Wellington Maori and Wellington U20s all missed out to their opposition. Meanwhile, Wellington’s U18 team pulled clear to beat the Centurions in the first round of the Hurricanes U18 tournament and the U16 A and Development teams had comfortable wins in preparations for their upcoming tournaments.
At Cambridge, the Wellington Pride went down to Waikato 20-24 in round three of the Women’s NPC. The Pride were left ruing a slow start in which Waikato crossed the tryline three times and leapt to a match winning lead midway by midway through the first half.
The Pride came back and dominated the second half, but were unable to overtake the Waikato side. The Pride scored four tries and took two bonus points from the loss. The trysorers were props Muteremoana Aiatu and Rebecca Liua’ana and blindside flanker Kiri Mei (2).
The Pride’s next match is at Westpac Stadium this coming Saturday against the Auckland Storm, in a replay of last year’s final.
At Napier, the Wellington U20s lost 27-37 to Hawke’s Bay U20 in the second round of the Hurricanes region U20 competition.
In contrast to the Pride, the Wellington U20s made a fast start to their match and led 17-6 midway through the first half. Hawke’s Bay came back and closed to within a point before Wellington had a player sinbinned and lost captain and lock Joe latta to injury. In this period just before and after halftime Hawke’s Bay scored 13 unanswered point and took a 29-17 lead. Wellington hit back with a try and a penalty to close the score to 27-29, but a try and a penalty to the home side allowed them to hold on over the last quarter.
For Wellington, fullback Andrew Quinlivan, wing Ambrose Curtis and blindside/lock Vaea Fifita were the try scorers, while Andrew Wells kicked all three conversions and two penalties.
Wellington's next match in the Hurricanes U20 tournament is against Manawatu this coming Saturday at the Petone Rec, kick-off 12.30pm.
At Masterton, Wellington Maori lost their first match of the RDO Cup, going down 23-26 to Wairarapa Bush B. Wellington were guilty of making too many errors and the home side capitalised. Wairarapa-Bush led 18-11 at halftime and held on in the second half.
For Wellington, halfback Jared Kahu, James Mei and Joe Hopkins scored tries and Campbell Woodmass kicked three penalties and a conversion. Ricoh Wellington Lions prop Whetu Henry played for the Maori in this match.
The Maori return home to host Horowhenua-Kapiti B this coming Saturday at the Petone Recreation Ground, kick-off 2.30pm.
At Poriua Park, Wellington U18 defeated the Centurions 72-6. At Wanganui, Wellington U16 beat Wanganui U18 53-8 (report below). At Paraparumu, Wellington U16 Development beat Horowhenua U16 42-14.
Wellington U18s sail home to beat Centurions after tight start
The final score belies what was a tight and competitive tussle in the opening quarter of the teams' first match in the Hurricanes U18 competition. Wellington held only a slender 5-3 lead after 20 minutes. However, two converted tries in the final five minute of the half stretched the advantage to 27-6 and afforded Wellington some comfort at the break.
As a valiant Centurions team tired, Wellington’s depth proved decisive as they piled on 40 points in the last 22 minutes of the match. Four Wellington backs – Siaosi Finau-Lealiifano, Falelima Siinei, Sam Chamberlain and Wesley Goosen – each scored a braced of tries. Chamberlain also landed five conversions from as many attempts after taking over the kicking duties mid-way through the second half.
Wellington’s remaining two games see them travel away to take on Manawatu and Taranaki in consecutive weeks.
This coming Saturday the Wellington U18s play Manawatu in Palmerston North.
Forwards dominate their Wanganui Seniors in U16A win
The youth, athleticism and fitness of the Wellington U16A team resulted in a comprehensive eight tries to one win against Wanganui U18. Lock, Lui Okeamoa-Luamanu, and Captain and Hooker, Leni Apisai, each made the decisive plays which turned what was a tight game into an open display of running rugby.
Played in perfect conditions, with a light south-westerly breeze coming off the mouth of the Wanganui River, Wellington started with the wind, and were rewarded with three points after two minutes. The next 20 minutes were dominated by Wanganui on the scoreboard, with a try and penalty giving them a 5-point buffer heading into the last quarter of the first half.
Okemoa-Luamanu had looked dangerous earlier, and in the 24th minute he broke the Wanganui defence close to the line and evened the score. On the stroke of half-time he was in the clear again with a storming run to take the score out to 13-8 at the break. The score flattered Wanganui, with seven points missed by the boot by Wellington in the deceptive breeze, and they would have felt confident in pulling the deficit back, turning with the wind at their backs.
They weren’t counting on Alex Fidow and Apisai, who in the 8th and 11th minutes scored two barging tries which arose from picking a straight line and running for the in-goal. This was enough to break the Wanganui defence for the remainder of the game, with further tries being scored through the fresh legs of Wellington’s backline substitutions at almost clock-work 5 minute intervals.. To their credit, Wanganui finished strongly, with their size and experience causing problems for Wellington at the breakdown as the game wound down.
Coaches Earl Va’a and Justin Gray will be pleased with this strong performance leading up to the Hurricanes U16 Tournament which starts on 1 October in Wellington.
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