Tauranga Boys are a well drilled rugby team. They produced a comeback display against Hamilton Boys High the week before.
The scene was set for us to host a top performing team. St Paul's players were aware of the need to continue growing thier game to compete. For the first 20mins St Paul's played with continuity and pressure resulting in three penalty goals to Arjun Singh and a try to Connor Fullerton.
Late in the first half time Tauranga staged a comeback and produced two long range trys out wide to lead 15 -14 at the break .
The second half produced a combative game with St Paul's ability to play several phrases working our way up the paddock and Tauranga Boys ability to comeback with speed on the outside. Four late trys to Tauranga sealed the game and ran out eventual winners 35 points to 14.
I asked coach Gibbs to provide information for this report. I couldn't have said it better. It's the work the coaches have nurtured and the vibe within the team is building each week.
"We have been working really hard on our defensive line speed and tackling round the legs behind the gain line. We did really well in this area for about 60 minutes of the game. We have also been focusing on ways to get top quality 1st phase ball and hold on to it for four phases minimum. We held onto the ball for long periods of time in the first half and converted pressure into points. Ultimately lack of doing this cost us dearly in the second half.
"I am proud of the teams continual improvement over the last three weeks and am looking forward to our game against St John's this weekend too. Let's keep the mental toughness and intensity going."
Well done St Pauls.
MVP's
