Revenge was sweet for Massey High School’s 1st XV this Saturday after beating Westlake 19-13, thanks to a consistent performance and a timely drop goal right on the full time whistle.  Westlake began the game with some questionable decision-making and steady pressure from Massey led them to make uncharacteristic mistakes.  The first try of the match went to Massey’s Jordan Jacobs after he charged down a grubber kick to run all the way to the try line.  A failed conversion set the score at 5-0.  Massey continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand, using their pace and agility in the backline to make good yardage.  Westlake’s Brandon Morley took charge from the back running strong lines through the Massey defence to recover lost ground.  Dominant in the set piece play, Westlake were also fortunate to have a number of penalties go their way in the first half.  Jacob Botica converted a penalty kick putting his team on the board at 5-3.  Jordan Jacobs soon responded, extending Massey’s lead to 8-3 with another penalty kick.  Westlake looked sharp with quick ball handling and the team took advantage of their powerful front row by punching up the middle with the ruck and maul.  Solid defence from Massey enabled them to stave off Westlake’s advances temporarily, but persistent mauling and quick hands to the wing eventually proved worthwhile when Ben Winks crossed the line out wide for Westlake’s first try levelling the score at 8-8.  Massey’s Abraham Papali’i took a speedy tap and go, following a penalty turn-over, leading his team to an escape from the Westlake try-scoring zone.  A penalty kick converted by Jordan Jacobs put the score at 11-8 before the half-time break.

Westlake’s Ieti Tago began the second half with a promising run down the sideline, but a kick towards the line was scooped up by Massey leaving Westlake short of taking the lead.  Massey demonstrated patience, composure and focus, a noticeable improvement from their earlier performances.  With the three-point buffer Massey executed set moves well and managed to reduce errors, putting the pressure on Westlake to make the mistakes.  In the second half Jordan Jacobs dictated play from the back, showing good vision and confidence to run the ball up the middle.   Westlake tried desperately to seek out weaknesses in Massey’s defensive line but a lack of cohesion between the forwards and the backs meant they were unable to capitalise.  Massey played a strong running game, utilising their speed on the wing.  Massey came away with their second try after a draw and pass left a hole allowing Abraham Papali’i to cut straight through to the tryline.  With the score at 16-8 a gritty Westlake hit back with a great team try, finished off by Sam Quinn after a damaging run by Peter Hellesoe.  The urgency from Westlake came a little too late and the conversion was rushed in the hopes they would instead use the time for another try in order to take the lead.  Massey led 16-13 and Westlake’s attempts to take the game in the dying minutes were cut short when Tamihana Nau scored a soul-destroying drop goal. With a clear shot directly in front of the posts, Nau brought the game to a close with the final score 19-13 to Massey.  

Despite a rocky start to the season, Massey have improved steadily in the past few matches and their ability to take advantage of their speedy backline has proved a challenging defensive task for their opposition.

In the other 1A games, Orewa thumped Mahurangi 67-0 and Rosmini was drawn 3 all with Takapuna at half-time but came out on top 16-13 at the final whistle.

In the 1B games Glenfield continued their winning way thrashing Birkenhead 39-5, Northcote had a 7-5 close encounter over Long bay and Kaipara overcome Rangitoto 14-12 in an upset win.

In the 1C games, Kristin comfortably defeated Whangaparaoa 23-12, Kingsway held out Albany 14-10 and Hato Petera had the bye.  

1A game of the week for 31 July will be Orewa v Massey for the 5th defence of the Woodhouse Shield and will be looking for a win after their first round loss to Massey, 1B will be the top of the table clash between Glenfield and Northcote, and 1C is the battle for second place between local rivals Kingsway and Whangaparaoa.

Orewa College 1st XV brought Westlake’s winning streak to an end last Saturday when they beat them 13-3 on home turf. Orewa started the scoring off when Andrew Fluker successfully converted a penalty kick. This was followed by solid mauling off the set piece plays and Orewa’s Hunter Nelson made good ground up the sideline outrunning the Westlake defence. The home side managed to push the ball across the line thanks to some strong driving from the forwards, however the ball was held up. Westlake were soon to hit back when Jacob Botica scored 3 points from a penalty kick, although yet another penalty was soon awarded to Orewa putting them in the lead once again with a score of 6-3.  An impressive intercept by Orewa’s Warwick Cheney looked to be a try opportunity but he was tackled just before touching down in the corner.  After applying consistent pressure to the Westlake defensive line, Orewa’s Torin Rensford finally crossed the line for the first try of the match and a conversion from Andrew Fluker brought the score to 13-3.  Throughout the first half Orewa occupied most of the territory and they showed a great ability to turn ball over at the breakdown where they gained a lot of possession.  Hunter Nelson made Orewa’s second intercept but was unable to capitalise.  Westlake’s Sam Quinn provided steadfast defence off opposition scrums and did well to prevent advances from the Orewa forwards. 

After half time Westlake were still unable to stave off Orewa’s attack.  Despite some good defence their ball handling let them down and Orewa appeared more hungry for the win.  Westlake conceded a number of crucial penalties and had limited possession to generate try scoring opportunities. Orewa packed good power in their front row and managed to screw the scrum 90 degrees a number of times.  Westlake’s Fabian and Leti Tago demonstrated excellent pace, making good ground on the wing in the dying minutes, but Orewa managed to stave off their efforts to keep the final score at 13-3, unchanged since the first half.

In the other 1A games Rosmini comfortably put away Rangitoto 26-7 and Massey defeated Takapuna in a closer encounter 19-11.  Mahurangi had the bye.

In the 1B grade, Glenfield’s winning streak came to and end losing 10-11 to a fired up Birkenhead side. Kaipara ended Whangaparaoa’s recent good run with a very convincing 34-5 win.  Northcote thrashed Kingsway 69-0, Long Bay predictably beat Kristin 18-7 and Hato Petera celebrated their first win of the season over bottom placed Albany 20-10.