Motueka HSlose in Condor semis

The Motueka High School girls’ team has missed out on the big prize despite a competitive showing at the annual Condor Sevens national secondary schools tournament in Auckland.

Motueka had emerged unbeaten from pool play following wins over Manurewa High School (31-10), Cambridge HS (43-0) and Southern Cross Campus (19-12) to progress through to the main draw.

They were made to work for a 12-0 quarterfinal win over Palmerston North’s Manukura School. But despite leading eventual champions Hamilton GHS 10-7 at halftime in their semifinal, three unanswered second half tries eventually pushed Hamilton out to a comfortable 24-10 win.

Nelson College had missed out on qualifying for the main draw in the boys’ competition after a 22-7 pool loss to Wellington’s Scots College.

Rangitoto College’s withdrawal meant a first round bye for Nelson, who subsequently responded with a convincing eight-try 50-0 romp over Otahuhu College. But they couldn’t get past Scots in their final pool match, relegating them to the second tier plate competition.

Feilding HS held on for a tense 14-10 win over Nelson in the plate quarterfinals, although Nelson proved too strong for St Bedes College with a decisive 33-7 win in their consolation plate semifinal. They didn’t fire in the final, losing 17-0 to New Plymouth BHS.

Hamilton BHS beat Scots 21-10 in the boys’ final to claim their third consecutive title. Hamilton GHS also proved too strong with a 20-5 win over Christchurch GHS in the girls’ decider.

Garin College were among the 32 teams contesting the under-15 boys’ division and were eventually eliminated 29-10 by Feilding HS in the bowl semifinals.

Garin had opened their campaign with a heavy 46-0 loss to Westlake BHS, conceding seven tries, before beating Tamaki College 28-5 in their second pool match. They ended pool play with a tight 19-14 loss to Cullinane College.

Garin scored a 45-5 win over St Pauls of Auckland in their bowl quarterfinal but were eventually undone by Feilding in the semis. Feilding beat Taupo 10-7 in the bowl final.