Day Six: 1st XV Sanix World Cup Campaign

We’re up early for breakfast and training. Coaches walk us through the new plays again. There is half hour of downtime before pre-match routines begin. We’ve all become very competitive, trying to nail a starting spot for the games to come.

 

Usual warm-up and we’re back in the shed, jerseys on. Out of the tunnel and into the haka. Saga players are the first team to really challenge our haka and we end up nose to nose. Kick-off and we instantly show our game plan by moving the ball through several phases before winger Luke Masirewa dashes 20 metres to score in the corner. He’s on fire today and scores three more tries in the first half. Centre Regan Ware is all class and adds two tries of his own. Hohepa Gibb continues to be a real force in the midfield and breaks through half the team to run 50 metres and score. 1^st 5 Te Raina Richards-Coxhead is kicking superbly and adds six conversions. The coaches make heaps of changes at halftime and the scoring continues with tries to Ryan Keleher, Paea Fangufangu and two to Josh O’Flaherty. As well, he adds three conversions to the final score of 75-12.

 

We’re pleased with the 75 but the two tries against us are disappointing. Prop Joe Walsh is a standout for his work-rate and he picks up the Grassroots Trust forward of the match. Lock Jacob Skeen is another with an impressive game. Regan Ware gets the Lodge Real Estate back of the match.

 

Warm down, ice, injury checks by the Doc and shower up. We then settle in to watch the other quarters with Toin Gauken (the second top Japanese school) and Ivybridge (England) winning through to the semis. In the last quarterfinal Paarl (Sth Africa) is up against Fukuoka. In an amazing spectacle, Paarl go ahead and look like they’ve got it won, before Fukuoka storm back to level with a try and make it 24 all in the play of the game. Their kicker has been impressive all day but misses a simple conversion which means the Sth Africans go through for scoring more tries.

 

We find out fairly soon after this that we have drawn Toin Gauken in our semi, while the English will play the South Africans in the other.

 

Dinner and team meeting. The coaches have an official dinner tonight at a traditional Japanese restaurant so they have organized our Doc Tiwini Hemi and his brother Jojo to take us to a local mall. We enjoy some time away from Global Arena. Back early, and the Japanese are lined up for more clothing swaps. We’re all pleased to get an early night.

 

Sayonara