Canterbury ‘B’ have Edge over Colts
Canterbury ‘B’ Coach Wayne Burleigh says the game for them was about “credibility” more than anything, as it was the classic challenge of the young up-and-comers, against the slightly older and more experienced B side. Although the Colts played some good rugby and the match was by no means one sided, Wayne says he never felt like his side was going to lose. He says that while they didn’t play the best rugby they’ve played, and perhaps should have put a few more points on the board it was a “worthy” performance and they were happy with the result. It’s been a difficult year for the ‘B’ side this year, after the NZRU ‘B’ Competition was scrapped, and local regional competitions were used to fill the void. Wayne says without a real competition to play for, it’s been difficult for his players to keep motivated. To make matters worse, the team lost a number of players to injuries over the last few weeks, with 6 ruled out for the season. The Canterbury B side travel to Wellington this weekend for their last match of the season against the Wellington B side, at Porirua Park, in which Wayne says, will be “tough”. The Wellington ‘B’ side was successful in winning the Hurricanes Region Development Competition this season, beating Manawatu 42-15 in the final. The last time Canterbury played Wellington was in the semi final of the NZRU ‘B’ Competition last year. Canterbury trailed 18-31 with 25 minutes to go, but remarkably came back to win the match 54-31, taking them through to the final, where they beat North Harbour
Last weekend’s match concludes the Colts season, which has been a successful one. Spending the majority of it traveling to play their opposition, the Colts have won 5 of their 8 matches, only losing to the South Canterbury Heartland side, Otago Colts, and Canterbury B last weekend. Locationhttp://www.crfu.co.nz/main/index.cfm/1,248,3235,html Copyright © CRFU 2012 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Canterbury Colts challenged the Canterbury B side in a close encounter at Rugby Park last Saturday, with the ‘B’ team, winning 23-19.
Although Wayne says his guys have been lacking slightly in experience this year, after losing a number of players to other regions, they’ve really stepped up, and it’s “made them better footballers”. He says that as coaches, they not only judge their success on results, but their players making the step-up to the next level – And with 12 players from last year’s squad playing Air New Zealand Cup rugby this season for various provinces across the country, it’s a real credit to them.Site by Orbital Ltd