Kings College Rugby reports for Saturday 5 May ... - King's College

Kings College Rugby reports for Saturday 5 MayFIRST XV (1A)The FIRST XV lost 15-24 to Mt Albert at University Park on Saturday.King’s started well with a well taken try to Tim MASKELL. Mt Albert retained theircomposure to kick two penalties to lead 6-5 before constructing an excellent try fiveminutes before halftime to lead 11-5. On the stroke of halftime, Mt Albert broke clearfrom a King’s loss of possession to score again and go to the break 16-5 ahead.Immediately after the resumption MAGS kicked another penalty to lead 19-5.They thenscored a further try to lead 24-5 and threatened to run away with the game.To their credit,King’s fought back with a try to Kahu INGRAM, and then right on time Liam VANDER DRIFT crashed over handy to the posts. However, a rushed conversion attempt wasastray, and a precious bonus point went missing for the second week in a row.King’s were plagued by the same errors as last week. Specifically, they fell off far too manyregulation tackles, failed to control hard earned possession and unnecessarily pushed50/50 passes.There is still a great deal of work to do if we want to be a serious contender for a semi finalberth.Graeme SymsManager2 nd XV (2A)King’s College 2 nd XV vs AGS, played away, lost 5-16 (non-competition)Scorers: try Harry LEWISIn a non-competition game, King’s showed their potential early with a number of widesweeping plays that outflanked Grammar. This early ascendancy was transferred intopoints with a charge down from Sam LEVENE and a lovely pick-up from Harry LEWISto score out wide. King’s then failed to build any sustained pressure, trying to constantlyscore off every phase, and ultimately paid the price. Turning down over 10 kickablepenalties will not form part of the in-season plan. Grammar scored two tries, but the gamewas very evenly pitched. For King’s, special mention needs to be made of Max HUNT,who played the full game (and very well) before heading off to 1 st XV commitments. Otherhard working players included LEVENE, Conor MADDIX-WIKAIRA and CaptainCharlie WILTON. Lots of work is needed on protecting ball and getting our continuityright, but the signs are there of a very competitive team in this grade!Kevin PuttCoach

Colts (2B)Colts vs SHC lost 26 – 29Tries to: Kurt BARKER, Jay NAND, b, Sinclair MCGAFFIN;3 cons to Ashley TUIASHC scored first to lead 7-0 after 5 min. They used their big forwards to go forward andwe did not react well to their big ball runners. When we got our hands on the ball welooked a different side and scored two excellent tries that involved multiple phases andquick ball. Both tries were scored close to the posts by Kurt BARKER and CasperHARVEY, giving King’s a 14-7 lead. Just before half time Jay NAND intercepted a passand ran 50m to score under the posts. They responded and scored just before half timeand the score was 21-14. In the 2nd half Sinclair MCGAFFIN scored early for us to lead26-14. However, the last 15 minutes was dominated by SHC who scored 3 tries to win29-26.Mark KennellyCoach2D (Barbarians)Lost to Otahuhu 2D 0-48 away (friendly game)In their first match of the season, a considerably smaller and less experienced 2D sidestruggled with a well-drilled Otahuhu XV that constantly rumbled forward from the kickoff, led by their powerful-running tight five, before spreading the ball wide to devastatingeffect for four tries in the first fifteen minutes. King's adapted to Otahuhu's tactics afterthat and slowly began to make incursions of their own before the whistle to end the firsthalf. King's were much more cohesive in the second half and it is a shame that concertedpressure inside the opposition 22 did not yield any points even though King's mauledacross the Otahuhu try line twice. Either side of King's best ten minutes, Otahuhu scoredmore points and in the last ten minutes two more tries were conceded by a tiring King'sside.Players to stand out for the Barbarians - Tim BOYD , Matt HOPE, Nick OLDFIELDand Kit SCOTT fullback who made some great try saving tackles.Ken Carrington and George TressiderCoachesUnder-15AKing’s U15 vs Kelston U15: Away gameScore: 45-7 Kelston (Half time 19-0)Try scorer: Sam HAYES Conversion: Henry MCGARRYPlayers of the day: Trent TIPENE / Brandon YOUNG YEN.From the kick off King’s went straight into attack from big runner Brandon YOUNGYEN and after 5 minutes of pressure, we were awarded a penalty, which was unfortunatelytoo far out for our kicker. So King’s opted for a line out close to the Kelston line. To our

disappointment the throw wasn't straight and the first opportunity was lost. This wouldundoubtedly be the case for the rest of our game. Missed opportunities. Last passes, pooroption taking, knock ons. Solid defence by Trent TIPENE and KJ APA in the forwardsand good midfield tackling from Matt OLO-WHAANGA keep the pressure on Kelston.However, set formats slowly fell away and through a lack of concentration saw King’s 'gift'Kelston 2 converted tries late in the first half. A well planned Kelston scrum moveproduced a try one minute before the break and saw them leading 19-0.The 2nd half started the same as the first, King’s on attack looking good for a come back,but loose play saw Kelston steal the ball from us and score in the corner. 26-0. King’s nevergave up and after some quick thinking from Brandon YOUNG YEN, his solid runresulted in Sam HAYES scoring between the posts and the subsequent conversion madeit 26-7. Unfortunately, Kelston scored immediately from kick off and did not stop.Eventually winning 45-7. There were some positives to take from this but after 4 losses,there is a lot of work to be done! ie; FITNESS!Lincoln SavageCoach4A4A won 22-5, away, against a spirited St Peters College.After strong work from the forwards, Matthew WILSON grabbed the opportunity tofind a hole to score the first try. Excellent execution from the backs on the back of aforward drive, created space for Mark CHAPMAN to dot down by the posts for theteams second try.St. Peter's were then awarded a try that was clearly a half metre short. However, King’skept their composure to score two further tries to Oscar ROBINSON and Oliver EADY.There should have been even more tries and the focus this week will be on accuracy inpassing and kicking.Harry WichmanCoach5AA well drilled Botany Downs team beat King’s College 5A 38-17.However there were some really positive signs for King’s with some dominant forward playand great attitude. We just let ourselves down sometimes by some missed first up tackles.In particular Patrick BRUYN and Matt DUIGNAN scored some great tries in givingsome real hope for the future.Jim DickinCoach

5B5B lost to Sacred Heart 5B 41-12.SH were a passionate and determined side and deserved their victory. King's failed to holdonto possession and didn’t make important tackles out wide.To the teams credit improvement was evident in the second half with two fine tries toVictor SANDERS and Sam CLARKE.Grant ClarkCoach6A6A vs St Peters, Won 41 – 5.Tries: Hamish MCLEAN, Ollie SIMSON, Ben MULES, Sam BARWELL-SMITH,Pop CHONGCHIRA, Josh WILLIAMS (x2)Conv : Jack LAITY, Harry DAVISONAfter a slow start King’s College started to dominate up front and scored a try after adriving maul. Thereafter we dominated possession, spun the ball wide and outflanked ouropponents on a number of occasions. Stand out players were Pop CHONGCHIRA andHamish MCLEAN.Marcel DelportCoach6B6B lost to Sacred Heart B 26-27 at homeScorers, Harry WONG, Nathan STANNERS, James STANNERS and AlexPANAHO. Some leaky defence saw King’s 6B defeated by Sacred Heart. A muchimproved lineout and some fantastic work at the breakdown created opportunities forKing’s and they capitalised to score four great tries (three converted). With some practiceat kick-off reception, scrums and defensive patterns, 6B are shaping for a good seasonahead.David O’HalloranCoach7AThe 7A team had a hard-fought 6 – 0 win against Scared Heart, a team that hastraditionally dominated this grade. Halftime was 0 – 0.Scorers: 2 penalties to Sam REID.Two injuries to front row players and a torrid workout against a very well drilled forwardpack was countered by another impressive performance by the King’s College backline.

With the third game in five days against St. Kent’s Prep after school tomorrow, the boysare getting a real hard workout...but this will ultimately be an investment for the season.Daryl WilliamsCoach7B7B v Macleans College – King’s College No 4 GroundHalftime Score 47 - 0Fulltime Score 87 – 7Points: Tries: Tyler WARD (3) Tito SANGLEE (2) Jeremy SCHOLLER (2) BenSOMMERVILLE, Ben RANSLEY, Elliot WOOD, Nick TANNER, BrennanJONES, Sam FIELDINGConversions: Marco FRANCIS CHING (7), William EADY (4) Penalties: NilPlayer of the Day – Nelson GREENWOOD (See below)On a stunning Saturday morning at the College, King’s College 7B put on a display ofpower house rugby to extend their season record to 2 – 0. Meeting the Maclean 7B side forthe second time in 10-days King’s showed the wind and field affected 25 – 24 win lastweek was only an early indicator of their potential. With positions and combinationsstarting to take shape, King’s 7B produced some outstanding forward control andexpansive backline movement to completely demolish any hopes the Maclean brought withthem from last week’s close encounter.The forward pack was led by example as Captain for the day Tito SANGLEE scored thefirst try in the first 5 minutes of play. Following the successful conversion by MarcoFRANCIS CHING, King’s then quickly found out Macleans’ were not going to justsimply let them take control and a spirited 15 minutes of Macleans’ attack had to beweathered before King’s again scored courtesy of middle-fielder Ben RANSLEY withMarco FRANCIS CHING’S conversion taking King’s out to a 14 to nil lead. ConstantKing’s pressure across the field soon started to take its toll and forwards BenSOMERVILLE, NICK TANNER, Brennan JONES and Jeremy SCHOLLER alongwith halfback Elliot WOOD and 4 more conversions by Marco FRANCIS CHING hadlengthened the King’s lead to the half time score of 47 – 0.With close on thirty players now contesting game time, a new backline took to the field inthe second half with one change being made to the forward pack.Not to be outdone by their first half counterparts the 2 nd half backline was soon in fullswing moving the ball from one side of the field to the other. However, halftimereplacement forward Tyler WARD, who had previously played at halfback, took everychance offered him and after accepting an opportunity to play at blindside flanker endedthe 30 minute period with a 3 tries for the half. Tito SANGLEE, Jeremy SCHOLLERand Sam FIELDING also added tries and these along with 4 conversions for the secondhalf from replacement fullback William EADY saw King’s finish the game winning 87 –7. Ironically, only 2 points were scored by Macleans and special mention must go toNelson GREENWOOD, who showed outstanding loose forward skills last week and thisweek extremely unselfishly played the whole match for Macleans and ended the day

scoring their only try for them. Nelson was awarded the player of the day award for hisoutstanding play, sportsmanship and attitude.The whole 7B team are to be commended for their approach to the game and the way theyplayed. However, of special note in the backs were William EADY, Christian UHILIA,Elliot WILLIAMS, Oscar BROWN and Max SYNOTT while Tito SANGLEE,Jeremy SCHOLLER, Hamish WINSTONE and Brennan JONES all had notablegames in a forward pack that all deserve special mention.A good start to the season however there is still room for improvement and some aspectsof the team’s game will need attention and focus during the coming week’s trainingsessions.John PowellCoach