Up Close & Personal

24/5/2010

Stalemate. In the much anticipated, live-televised clash between Otago Boys' High School and defending champion Southland Boys' High School, a last-minute penalty goal from the visiting side sealed a dramatic 16-16 draw at Littlebourne.

The results mean there is a logjam at the top of the competition table.

OBHS and King's have four bonus points and share top spot with 22 points. Southland Boys' (21) is in third place with four wins and a draw, and Gore, with two bonus points, is in fourth place.

Southland Boys' first five-eighth Scott Eade may have let out a sigh of relief when he slotted the penalty to clinch the draw, but his team must have been wondering what might have been.

The visitors dominated possession and territory for most of the game, in front of about 1500 fans, The Southland forwards out-enthused OB's and looked well-drilled. They used the rolling maul to gain valuable metres and get the team into scoring positions.

But the backs let the side down with some poor execution and sloppy passing. Some of the decision-making was not the best, either. Southland turned down two kickable penalty opportunities in the first half, preferring to kick for touch and keep the pressure on instead.

Having traded penalty goals, it was Otago Boys' which scored the game's opening try. Classy fullback Liam Edwards launched a superb counter-attack from deep in his own half. He weaved, dodged and outpaced four or five would-be tacklers in a 60m run.

Southland defenders looked to have repelled the threat but were eventually out-flanked, with hooker Ryan Williams scoring out wide. Looking like a young Christian Cullen, Edwards sliced through the Southland Boys' cover defence 10 minutes later and off-loaded to right winger Makisua Tanavasa. Tanavasa was pulled down short but kept the ball alive for halfback Kurt Hammer to pick up and score.