St Pat’s Town face twin threat
THE St Pat’s Town first XV survived a twin attack last Sunday but now face another.
Town’s ability to restrict the damage caused by twins Peter and Thomas Umaga-Jensen was a key factor in their 19-8 victory over Scots College in the Wellington premiership final.
That earned Town a weekend off but they will be up against another double act when they meet Hastings Boys’ High School, at home on August 22, in a semifinal of the Hurricanes schools competition.
Hastings are led by centre Antonio Mikaele-Tuu and his twin Marino will be at No 8.
Marino was a member of the New Zealand Barbarians team last year, as a year 12, and is an obvious contender for the national schools side this winter.
Both brothers were selected for the Hurricanes under-18 training camp this year, though only Marino made the final side.
Hastings are having their best season for years and will be a tough obstacle for Town to shift.
The Hawke’s Bay school beat St Pat’s Silverstream 31-10 at the festival pre-season tournament and finished fourth in the Super 8 competition, just one point behind third placegetters New Plymouth Boys’.
Hastings had a four win, three loss record in Super 8, beating New Plymouth 21-10, Gisborne Boys’ 21-17, Palmerston North Boys’ 15-12 and Tauranga Boys’ 34-23. The win against Palmerston North was the first for Hastings since 2004.
They lost against the eventual Super 8 finalists, Hamilton Boys’ and Rotorua Boys’, but it was a shock loss against Napier Boys’ that cost them a home semifinal in the Hurricanes competition.
The seedings for the Hurricanes region are calculated from matches played between schools in the region and Napier’s 18-13 win over Hastings meant that Gisborne was the top Hurricanes qualifier from the Super 8 competition.
‘‘Rotorua and Hamilton are two good teams but the Napier game was easily our worst of the year and cost us,’’ Hastings manager Steve Small said. That was the only Super 8 match that Napier won.
Hastings, who have a
sizeable
Town coach Glenn Donaldson pack, also beat Wellington College, Kelston Boys’ and St Paul’s, from Hamilton, in pre-season games and have twice beaten Lindisfarne this winter.
Tongan lock Viliami Kaipouli, who was new to the school this year, has been a big contributor to the Hastings pack and year 12 fullback and Hurricanes under-18 triallist Danny Toala has made a mark. ‘‘Danny is one to watch,’’ Small said.
However, Hastings have some homework to do on St Pat’s Town. ‘‘Our perception had been that we were likely to be meeting Scots and we had done a bit of work on them but didn’t know a lot about Town,’’ Small said.
Hastings will also be without their head coach, Jack Wiggins, for the final stages of the season. Wiggins left New Zealand last weekend to take up an academy role with London Wasps.
Town will appreciate a weekend off after a tough but successful period which included four premiership games in less than three weeks.
Town had two games against Silverstream and also met Wairarapa College in the leadup to the final.
First five-eighth Zac Donaldson will have a shoulder injury assessed but otherwise Town have come through the schedule in good shape.
‘‘There were some sore bodies [after the final] but they have got time to recover now,’’ coach Glenn Donaldson said.
In addition, the result will have helped ease any pain the Town squad was feeling on Monday.
‘‘It [winning the premiership] doesn’t happen often,’’ Donaldson said. It was Town’s first title since 1995, when the side was also coached by Donaldson and John Bishop. Five other schools had won a premiership between the Town wins.
‘‘It was a different feeling this time,’’ Donaldson said. ‘‘The game at this level is more professional now and there is more hype, compared to 20 years ago.
‘‘There is greater exposure for the top teams, with the television coverage, and you have to be more rigorous in your preparation.’’
Scots went into the final as favourites, a situation that Town were able to exploit.
‘‘We took the view that we had nothing to lose and Scots did,’’ Donaldson said. ‘‘They were the national champions and Wellington champions. It’s not easy to defend a title and there is the expectation and pressure that goes with it.
‘‘Some of the leadup games might have been a bit too easy for them [Scots] too. They hadn’t had to work for a win for a while.’’
Town’s triumph was based around a committed defensive effort and Scots did not score a try till the game was an hour old. ‘‘We really did defend brilliantly, especially in the first half,’’ Donaldson said.
The coach had special praise for second five-eighth Willie Schutz, who was marking Thomas Umaga-Jensen. ‘‘He was my man of the match. You can’t rely on one person marking the twins, because they can turn up anywhere, but Willie did a great job defensively and was good on attack.
‘‘Sefo Numia was dynamite – he used to be a 100m sprinter and now he plays at prop – but it really was a good team effort,’’ Donaldson said. ‘‘The team has gelled and is peaking at the right time.’’