St Andrew’s v Christ’s Match Report May 22ndA beautiful day with a cool nor’easterly ensured that there was a large crowd gathered in support of their teams and after a hearty warm up by both sides, the stage was set for the annual Christ College v St Andrews encounter. On paper, both teams were well matched with both schools looking for a win to consolidate their victories from the previous couple of weeks. St Andrew’s College was welcomed onto the field with a rousing welcome and a tunnel of supporters – notably the “SMURF” squad. However, right from the kick off, with the breeze at their backs and with pin point accuracy, Christ’s College exerted their dominance in the game. It took 12 minutes for St Andrew’s College to get the ball back into their half and even then it was only fleeting. The very accurate boot of Christ’s College’s fullback, Marty McKenzie was to provide Christ’s College with a very good advantage over St Andrew’s College. Christ’s College dominated the first half not only with possession but with territory as well. A rather heated exchange with St Andrew’s College Ben Ward and Christ’s College’s C Cruickshank sidelined the St Andrew’s College player for the mandatory 10 minutes. In tnis time Christ’s College took full advantage scoring a 3 point penalty kick. Martin Solofua and Hector Roose-Clarke were strong on attack but constantly shut down by the strong defense from Christ’s College, and in the 17th minute Christ’s College capitalized on possession and territory turning it into a further 5 points. This first half was dominated by Christ’s College and it took 20 minutes before any serious play in the St Andrew’s College half occured. The heat of the moment once again erupted into a scuffle and the referee James Munro calmed down the players. Christ’s College’s Marty McKenzie showed his dominance on the game and a kicked a nice drop kick which put Christ’s College ahead 11 – 0. Small mistakes continued well into the second half and Christ’s College took full advantage. Scrums reset over and over again, the penalty count in St Andrew’s College favour but unable to convert to points with the strong Nor East wind hampering kicks, however in the 33rd minute Ritchie Mo’unga took matters into his own hands and potted the drop kick. 11-3, all is not lost. This inspired St Andrew’s College into attack and we were once again rewarded with a try by left winger Ben Ward, thus bringing the score to 11-8. At half time, you could feel the tension in the air, let alone on the field. With the easterly picking up, and temperature dropping St Andrew’s College took to the field with drive and determination, however basic fumbling errors cost the team at least two sure tries. Forward passes, dropped balls and bad timing all culminated in costly errors that Christ’s College picked up on. With only 12 mins gone in the second half, Christ’s College scored again from a runaway intercept. Score 16 – 8. By now Christ’s College appeared to have the game well in their control, and another try by the College No 7 took the score to 21-8. There were patches of brilliance by the St Andrew’s College team, but in the main we have all seen the team perform at a higher level and we only hope that the shine from previous games returns and this is only a momentary glitch that has now passed. The statistics for the past four years in playing for the Anderson-Deans Shield is now equal. In 2007 & 2008 St Andrew’s College won and in 2009 & 2010 Christ’s College have won. Afternoon tea was well received from the large gathering of parents and supporters. Christ’s College try scorers: S Chamberlain, G Wigley, T Smith and H Brown. Linda Duncan Locationhttp://crfu.co.nz/main/index.cfm/1,538,3414,0,html Copyright © CRFU 2012 |
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