The Go Bus Southland Boys' High School First Fifteen have been on the road the last few weeks, playing against Waitaki Boys' in Oamaru, King's in Dunedin, and back home to play John McGlashan College.
v Waitaki
This game was played in perfect conditions on a very hard and fast field. Southland Boys' started the game strongly, dominating the contact area which provided some quick ball to the backs who ran with real purpose and were able to show their attacking skills as a group. With Southland Boys' dominating the set piece Waitaki were under pressure and found it difficult to get any go forward ball. Building pressure by building phases saw the forwards and backs combining well and there were some sweeping movements that went 50/60 meters.
The final score 69 points to 8.
v King's High School
Played in very windy conditions on a good ground, Southland Boys' won the toss and elected to play into the wind. After some early exchanges which saw King's win the collisions, Southland Boys' spent a lot of time defending. A lot of missed first up tackles saw King's get easy gain line and Southland Boys' were very fortunate not to get behind on the score board. A couple of break outs and some individual play saw us score two tries - both converted to take a 14/0 lead. A penalty and then a well worked lineout drive saw King's narrow the gap to 14/10. Southland Boys' scored 5 minutes before the break after building a number of phases. 19/10 at the half.
The second half saw King's continuing to dominate the breakdown and gaining line. A breakout saw us sweep 80 meters with forwards and backs combining well to score under the posts 26/10. King's narrowed the gap from some poor defensive work and lack of commitment from Southland Boys' - 26/17. A try with ten minutes remaining saw Southland Boys' pull away and finally secure a 33/17 victory.
V John McGlashan College
Played in beautiful conditions on the SBHS No 1 field, the Go Bus Southland Boys’ High School First Fifteen started strongly and dominated all areas - especially around the collision area. The set piece was accurate and McGlashan were under pressure. The first 25 minutes saw the Firsts play error free rugby, with all players knowing their role and executing with real purpose and precision. They ran in 3 tries, all converted, to lead 21 points to nil. McGlashan started to fight their way back into the game and scored a try from a drive close to the line. This was converted. With the forwards providing quality quick ball, Southland Boys’ continued the onslaught and scored two more well taken tries - 33/14 at the break.
Southland Boys’ made a number of changes after halftime and the new players fitted in seamlessly. The backs were looking dangerous every time they moved the ball and were making great inroads in the McGlashan defensive line. With the forwards continuing to work hard, the tries continued to flow in what was a very impressive performance. Southland Boys’ ran out the victors 66 points to 21.
