St.Andrews College vs Orewa College

Two of the stronger teams in the Mixed Grade met on the afternoon of Day 1 of the SAS Secondary School Nationals as St.Andrews of Christchurch clashed with Orewa College.

There were plenty of touchdowns in this game with STAC gaining the early advantage through Ray Nu’u and James Tyrrell.

Orewa were never far behind though with Tom Jordan making some key plays to keep the score close.

Capitalising on some mistakes from St. Andrews, Orewa saw a lot of the ball during the middle part of the game and managed to draw the scores equal at 4-4.

Clay Murray set up the equaliser with an impressive long ball out to the wing.

However, STAC are a team with Championship experience, and showed their class in the second half with four touchdowns in quick succession.

Jack Griffiths and Jess Allan got across the line for STAC in this good run of form.

Orewa still battled hard until the end and Murray showed his playmaking skill by setting up Bailey McGowan for a deserved touchdown.

Final score:

STAC 8

Orewa 5

Nelson College vs Westlake Boys High School

In a very competitive Boys Grade at SAS Secondary School Nationals, Nelson College and Westlake Boys High met in a tight encounter.

This match carried extra meaning as it could possibly decide which team would go through to the top section of the finals round.

The two teams were so even that there was only one touchdown in the entire first half.

Nelson’s Matt Soper got it done by getnig on the outside of his defender before sending a long ball out to the wing for the score.

A strong set of drives from Westlake had the Nelson defenders backpedalling and Casey Stone found himself strolling over the line after a clever dummy.

Now with momentum behind them, Westlake took the lead with Tyler Smith scooping through and giving off for a touchdown and the lead.

Nelson had their opportunities to get back into the game, but made some crucial handling errors and Westlake’s defence made it difficult for them to get through.

Westlake sealed the game when Spencer McDowall capped off a solid game with a late touchdown, leaving Nelson with not enough time to catch up.

Final score:

Westlake 3

Nelson 1