Wairoa College player Inoke Raivalita celebrates a try against Taradale High School in a Hawke’s Bay secondary schools division two grading match between two first fifteens in Taradale on Saturday. The match was drawn 15-15. Photo / Paul Taylor.
The Hastings Boys’ High School first fifteen rugby team got their 2024 Super 8 schools season off to a safe start with a 41-32 win over New Plymouth Boys’ High School in New Plymouth on Saturday.
The home side scored first with a converted try, which was soon matched by Hastings, and New Plymouth took a 13-7 lead with two penalty goals. Hastings got in front with a converted try in the 24th minute, led 21-13 at halftime, and did not relinquish the lead again.
Right wing Triumph Voice, No 8 Metu Manase, and prop Isireli Qaranivalu scored first-half tries for Hastings, with centre Raef Robinson and substitute Yuri Rowlands adding five-pointers in the second half. But the outstanding performance came from first five-eighths Tana Famuina who kicked all the conversions and two penalty goals.
New Plymouth scored four tries, including two, both converted, after Hastings led 41-20 with less than 10 minutes to play. New Plymouth won the second fifteens’ match 17-12.
Napier BHS do not play their first game in the Super 8 until June 8, a week before the big annual match against Hastings BHS in Hastings.
In the CNI schools competition, St John’s College, of Hastings, were beaten by 43-17 by Whanganui Collegiate in Hastings, and Lindisfarne College were beaten 46-22 in Hamilton by St John’s College, of Hamilton.
St John’s host the Hastings derby on Saturday hoping for a first win in four games, with Lindisfarne chasing a second victory, and holding the bragging rights after winning last year’s competition match between the two schools.
Two Hawke’s Bay first fifteens that did face each other on Saturday were Taradale High School and Wairoa College, drawing the division two grading match 15-15 at Taradale.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
