Rugby Results 27 June 2015

WBHS 1st XV vs Rangitoto College
Last Saturday’s top of the table clash proved to be less tight than expected, after Westlake Boys High School coasted to a deserved 26-0  victory over Rangitoto College in the 1st XV 1A North Harbour Rugby competition. After a tightly contested first half Westlake displayed their title credentials, cruising past a Rangitoto team that were plagued by errors in defence. Rangitoto showed moments of brilliance in attack, but a resilient Westlake defence prevented the home side from taking anything away from the match.

Rangitoto started the match strongest, dominating the majority of possession in the first half. Half-back Matthew Beasley was often creating promising chances, but a strong Westlake defence ended Rangitoto’s hopes of reward. The first half was slow and stagnant at times, with both teams cancelling each other out in the final third. It was no suprise that the deadlock was broken by a penalty; a poor Rangitoto tackle gave Westlake kicker Ammon Moller the opportunity from the spot, which he duly dispatched to give his team a 3-0 lead. The remainder of the half was much of the same, with both teams having long spells of possession but gaining little reward.

After half time though Westlake broke the mould, using their physical advantage to pin Rangitoto inside their own half for the rest of the game. Within the first minute of the half Ammon Moller doubled the Swans lead, with another penalty. Rangitoto’s tight five did well to stave off their opposition’s relentless attack, shutting out Westlake with a solid 15 minute defensive display. However the pressure was insurmountable and a strong Westlake scrum allowed centre Baylee Katipa to burst down the right wing and score the first try of the game. A subsequent penalty five minutes later extended Westlake’s score to 14-0, an advantage that seemed unassailable. A brief spell of momentum for Rangitoto brought the home team a glimmer of hope, that was quickly snuffed out by a beautiful counter-attack, capped off by great finishing from Calvin Vari.

The final try of the game was of a similar style with Westlake’s Arno Mouton scoring.

Pictures by Riana Mouton – 2015 WBHS Rugby Action Photos Facebook page.

Congrats to Westlake Boys 1st XV players Izaak Scheib, Ammon Moller, Ben Reidy and Captain Luke Dewar who have been selected to attend the Blues Development camp over the school holidays.  Leon Thambiran, Sam Babb, Arno Mouton and Fine Inisi are part of the Blues U17 Development Squad, who will train over the holiday as well.

WBHS 2nd XV vs Birkenhead College
Westlake’s 2nd XV faced a very spirited performance from Birkenhead College on Saturday. Similar to the last outing against this opposition, discipline and penalties significantly hampered Westlake’s efforts. After an early penalty Westlake conceded a try and only managed to answer back with a try of their own on the stroke of halftime.

The second half proved to be a true arm wrestle and when Westlake scored a second try they seemed to have the game in the bag. But a well taken penalty pulled the game level. This is how it would remain until the final whistle with both teams deadlocked at 10-all.

WBHS 4th XV vs Glenfield
Glenfield began the game strongly using the pick and go effectively putting Westlake under pressure for the first ten minutes of the match. The opponents scored a try to get ahead and soon after more of the same was on the cards. However, some excellent Westlake defending prevented Glenfield from scoring another try immediately. When Glenfield did score their second try of the match, Westlake finally managed to created pressure scoring a converted try to take the score 10 to 7 with five minutes to go in the first half.  Poor work at the kick off saw Glenfield score under the post and convert to give them a handy 17-5 half time lead.

Westlake dominated play in the second half scoring three tries of which two were converted, swinging the score in their favour to a 25 to 17 lead with about five minutes left on the clock. The game finished with Westlake staunchly defending their 22 as Glenfield attempted to score by pick and go.  Westlake held on to win the match in an excellent team performance.

WBHS 5A vs Massey High School
Westlake’s 5A defeated the unbeaten Massey 5A on Saturday by 22 points to 19. Westlake did have to come from behind on three separate occasions during the game. It was a real team effort with captain Jarrod Ferguson leading the way converting three out of four kicks showing strong leadership skills on the field. Tries were scored by Cale Tu’inukuafe, Tom Hemmington and Luke Walker.