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Wellington U19s finish third at Jock Hobbs Memorial

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Wellington Under 19s have finished third at the Jock Hobbs Memorial national tournament after a thrilling last gasp 24-17 win over Canterbury in Taupo.

On the back of the power of Oriental Rongotai prop Alex Fidow and Poneke lock Isaia Walker-Leawere, Wellington came from behind to beat Canterbury in the third and fourth playoff of the Graham Mourie Cup premier division.

The Zak Feaunati coached Wellington team trailed Canterbury 17-3 at halftime and 24-17 with 10 minutes to play, before levelling the scores then crossing for the winning try five minutes into injury time.

Fidow sparked the Wellington revival by barging over shortly after halftime to close to 17-10, then Walker-Leawere produced a dummy from a lineout take to pop a clever pass to stand out replacement loose forward Folau Vea, who did well to find the try line and tie the scores at 17 with 20 minutes to play.

Canterbury replied immediately through fullback Will Jordan before Fidow produced a display of raw power to blast through from about 15 metres out and score under the posts to once again tie the scores at 24-24 with just a few minutes on the clock.

What followed was a display of patience and determination from Wellington as they worked their way into the Canterbury 22.

With Kemara Hauiti-Parapara guiding his team well from first five and replacement halfback Regan Sword quick at the base, Wellington worked their way into a scoring position before Walker-Leawere bludgeoned his way over the line for the match winner.

It capped a pleasing finish for a Wellington side that had been disappointed not to be in the final after a frustrating semifinal loss to Auckland a few days earlier when they had failed to translate their dominance into a result.

Against Canterbury a similar plot appeared to be unfolding after Wellington had dominated possession in the first half winning the ruck and maul count 64-23, but conceded 11 turnovers as they struggled to turn pressure into points.

Canterbury halfback Corey Taylor had opened the scoring when he dived over in the corner on the blindside of a ruck and opened up a handy 17-3 lead when Tom Christie scored his fourth try of the tournament.

However, Wellington showed their character and composure to slowly turn things around and eventually find a way to win.

The third place finish, while not the result the team were looking for, was an improvement on Wellington's fifth place finish in 2015.

Scorers:

Wellington 31 (Alex Fidow 2, Folau Vea, Isaiah Walker-Leawere tries; Kemara Hauiti-Parapara 4 con 1 pen). Canterbury 24 (Corey Taylor, Tom Christie, Will Jordon tries; Josh McKay 3 con, 1 pen). HT: 17-3 (Canterbury).