JHGS Vs. Otumotei College
By Michael Fox in New Zealand
Date: 23rd July


Tries: Details soon...
Con: Details soon...
Pen: Details soon...

JHGS:


Subs:

The team before the start of the game

The most eagerly awaited game on tour was finally upon the JHGS side and the warm up indicated that they were physically and mentally prepared. Every drill, every collision had purpose and the boys looked fantastic, proudly wearing the Harry Mills memorial socks. In the changing room the focus was on not being intimidated by the location or the size of the opposition. Mr. Hill highlighted the defence of the 10- 12 channel as the key to the game. Otumotei started well, fielding their own kick off, but despite a lack of field position John Hampden were able to clear well. For much of the opening period the Otumotei boys had the ball, but the ferocity of the Hamden defence repelled any

 

attacks. Noteworthy hits from Dan Lovegrove and John Smith encouraged the tourists that they could match their opposition in terms of physicality. Eventually however the pressure tolled and a penalty was conceded and duly slotted by the New Zealanders. John Hampden were not down for long. Wilkes fielded a kick deep in his own half and accelerated away from the chasers. A couple of brilliant changes of direction left the covering tacklers for dead and a straight sprint against his opposite man saw him slide over in the left hand corner with 10 minutes played. From this point John Hampden grew in confidence and managed to get hold of the ball. Smithy made a another powerful run, breaking 3

 

tackles- this intensity was mirrored by the other 7 John Hampden forwards. Yards were made by Coombes, Embury and once again Chipchase and Walton did much of the work in the tight. At this point only negative to draw was that body position too high going into contact. Luckily the conditioning of the squad negated these flaws. After 20 minutes Mills broke free onto a loose ball heading for the Otumotei try line but unfortunately he fumbled in the act of scoring. A cheeky grin across to coaching staff showed they were relaxed and enjoying their rugby even with the added pressure of a partisan crowd. Every man was pulling his weight and the midfield defence of T,Parkes, Lovegrove and Hampton held firm whilst excellent support play from the back 3 particularly Haydn Parkes and Abdul Saed exemplified the determination, and it was Haydn who’s kick into the corner allowed Jack Wrenn to storm over for the second try at 25 minutes ; deserved reward for his outstanding efforts on tour. On going behind by 7, the home side raised the intensity and solid set piece work from their No.8 Hayden and newly selected Bay of Plenty prop Sam ensured that they retained possession for long periods. Defence remained strong with the introduction of Frosty in the centre- who along with Toby Parkes prevented the 10- 12 channel from being breached. In the loose the pack seemed to be everywhere with Bradley Embury joining H. Parkes for one of the most thunderous double teams of the trip. The second half began with concerted Otumotei pressure and only some great last ditch defending from George Coombes and D’Uva stopped a certain try as the ball was held up over the line. From the resulting scrum Frost was forced into a brave tackle that meant his early departure. This was unfortunate considering the impact he had made in defence. In the next passage of play Hampden conceded a penalty for diving over the top which was slotted by the Otumotei 10. This brought the score to 10-6 and the entire squad knew they would have to dig deep for a win. Tactical changes by Dan Edwards brought Wolfe in at 10 to counter the physicality of the Kiwi’s. A tenacious performance for Josh Thompson meant that towards the end of the game the Otumotei backs received very little clean ball. For the last 10 minutes the boys hung on and fought for every ball never letting up on the opposition. The fresh legs of Bailey and Hall meant that the collision remained an area of strength with both rising to the occasion. As the final whistle blew a mixture elation and exhaustion demonstrated what a brutal encounter it had been. It’s impossible to pick out individual performances when a team play with such courage and execute a game plan so effectively, this will rank as one of the greatest performances of any John Hampden side. Man of the Motch: George Coombes CD moment: after doing everything right all afternoon George Mills fumbles certain try Moment of Match : Wilkes shreds the Otumotei defence for the opening score.