Finals victory for rugby teams
Matamata College Under 14 and Under 15 teams both won finals at the weekend to take out their respective Waikato Secondary Schools Rugby Competitions.
The Under 15 team beat Hillcrest High School in their final, 15-12, at home.
Matamata were up 10-nil at half time after a solid first-half performance.
Dion O’Leary scored a try after some good lead up work by the backs and forwards combining, while George Samuels was on target and kicked the conversion, then added a penalty.
Kodie Wharepapa scored a great long-range try in the second half to extend Matamata’s lead.
Two late tries by Hillcrest closed the gap to 15 to 12, but Matamata were able to hold on for the win.
Halfback Nui WharawharaMuriwai and first-five George Samuels both had good games, as did Tai Leaf and Gareth Watkins.
The Under 14s travelled to Hamilton Boys’ High School and managed to come away with a well-deserved 28-10 win in their final match.
Matamata started the game well and were soon in the lead after a try by Kadaphi King that Matt O’Brien converted.
HBHS came back strongly, but good defence by Matamata kept the opposition side scoreless in the first half.
Further tries to Ethan Wallace and Matt O’Brien extended Matamata’s lead to 21-0 at the break.
HBHS scored early in the second half, but a fourth Matamata try scored by Kyle Smythe put the game beyond doubt.
Matt O’Brien made it four from four with the boot by adding the conversion.
A late try by HBHS rounded out the scoring making the final score 28-10.
The U65kg team finished their season in style with a seven tries to two, win over HBHS Red in their third place play-off.
Bailey Tuhakaraina grabbed three tries in the second half and Kurtis Purtab kicked five out of seven conversions.
Other try scorers were Ryan Blackstock, Riley Pratt and Jordan Ruck (2), making the final score 45-10.
Player of the day was Dylan Ryan.