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In a nail-biter of a match, Mahurangi College’s first XV rugby team won their final against Kaipara College after clawing their way back from 12 points down at half time.
A Japanese TV crew was there at the QBE North Harbour stadium to film a feature on the Kiwi love of rugby. They couldn’t have picked a better game.
In the first half there was a fair bit of fumbling that resulted in a half time score of 24-12.
But the Mahu boys started putting their drill sets to good use. They managed to deny Kaipara a single try for the rest of the game and pushed their own score up to 22.
In the last 10 minutes, captain Cooper Rodden had a chance at a critical penalty kick.
He exhibited cool control over his kick in a high-tension situation and successfully made the goal.
Undeterred, Kaipara gave it one final push and made it back to the 22-metre line, where the referee awarded them a penalty kick.
The ball skewed away from the posts and the game was Mahu’s.
The crowd erupted with cries of foul play from Kaipara supporters and tears of joy from the victors as they spilled on to the field.
Mahurangi was awarded the North Harbour Secondary Schools 1st XV B grade plate, making history for the second year in a row.
Father and son, Coach Rodden and Cooper.
Kaipara crumbled with the final kick.
