2012 NORTH HARBOUR UNDER 18 DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Please click on the below link to view the 2012 Representative Programme.
Representative Programme
Results:
Date: 22 September
Venue: Silverdale RFC
Opposition: Waikato Harlequins
Half-time Score: 11 (NH) 0 (Harlequins)
Full-time Score: 11 (NH) 22 (Harlequins)
Point Scorers: Peter Hurst try; Tyler Castle 2 pen
Match Report - 22 September
With the Auckland Divisional XV having all but sown up top spot in the Northern Region U18B competition, North Harbour U18 Development and the NZ Harlequins U17 met at Silverdale RFC to effectively play off for second place.
Harbour won the toss and elected to play into the strong wind blowing straight down the field. Having encountered similar conditions the previous 3 weeks, Harbour knew the recipe and set out to deny the Harlequins any ball in the first half. The first 35 minutes were easily the best of Harbour’s season. A committed forward pack, strong running backs who were only too prepared to help out when required and great control and patience from the inside backs all combined to see Harbour take a well-deserved 11 nil half time lead.
The highlight of the half being a great try by Peter Hurst. Turning the ball over deep inside their half, half back Jo Hasler set off down the blindside. Seeing fullback Peter Hurst lining up in support Hasler elected to toe the ball ahead. Hurst revved the engine, hit 6th in no time flat and didn’t make a contest of the race to the ball. However, soccer may not be Hurst’s strength as
instead of gently playing it forward, the ball skewed off the side of his foot meaning that the race continued directly across the field. Hurst’s speed meant that Harbour had nothing to fear. Tyler Castle added 2 penalties although failed with the conversion attempt.
Turning with the wind Harbour were keen to try and press home their advantage. Play field position, collect points and try and shut out the Harlequins were the half time catch calls.
The Harlequins however had other ideas. Nobody could hear what coach Deon Muir had to say but it is safe to assume it involved fireworks, behinds and bucking ideas up. The next 20 minutes were all Harlequins. If Harbour were impressive into the breeze then the Harlequins were nothing short of sublime. Harbour literally were powerless to stop the juggernaut as the big Harlequins forwards kicked into gear and ground out 3 tries through a display of power and control. Harbour literally did not touch the ball in the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half and the Harlequins’ pick and go tactics bore fruit as 2 Harbour players were banished to the sinbin for ruck offences.
The match opened up with 15 to go with Harbour desperately trying to gain some parity and get some momentum back. The Harlequins were not in the mood to compromise and put the icing on the cake with 5 minutes to go when a tiring Harbour side fell off a number of tackles to let Harlequins cross to seal the victory 22-11.
Bryce Jamison, Pita Tupou, Peter Hurst, Ben Bugg, James Finlay and Jo Hasler all impressed for Harbour but at the end of the day the plaudits rest with a very physical Harlequins pack.
Players’Player of the Day:
Bryce Jamison 3 points
Peter Hurst 2 points
Pita Tupou 1 point
Date: 15 September
Venue: Owen Delany Park Taupo
Opposition: King Country
Half-time Score: 14 (NH) 7 (King Country)
Full-time Score: 42 (NH) 7 (King Country)
Point Scorers: Ruben Esterhuyse, Peter Hurst, Tyler Ingram, Barrick Liggett, Niwa Whatuira tries; Tyler Castle 4 con, 3 pen.
Match Report - 15 September
The North Harbour Under 18 Development XV travelled down to King Country with their confidence riding high after an impressive victory over Thames Valley the weekend before.
Looking forward to playing on a first class ground for the second weekend in a row, the excitement levels were tempered somewhat by the weather conditions upon arrival. Once again a strong wind and drizzly conditions would have a significant bearing in the outcome.
Winning the toss, Harbour elected to play into the stiff breeze. Once again the forward pack and mid field backs were up to the task with the boot being put away and the ball being tucked up the jumper. In the forwards, Teancum Kahaki, Niwa Whatuira, Ruben Esterhuyse and Pita Tupou were strong with ball in hand. Centre David Alofaki was once again direct in midfield and got through a power of work. The inside back combination of Simon Anderson and Tyler Castle combined well to effectively deny King Country any decent possession and keep Harbour's momentum.
The reward for Harbour into the breeze was a nicely worked try to winger Barrick Ligget whilst Castle struck 3 penalties into the stiff breeze. A fortuitous intercept try from inside their own 22 (had it gone to hand it would have been another try for Harbour) was all King Country took from the first 35. Halftime score - 14-7 Harbour.
Whilst the contest was effectively over at half time, Harbour were chasing a 4 try bonus point to keep the pressure on leaders Auckland. With Castle, Anderson and fullback Peter Hurst kicking accurately and wisely, Harbour were always going to have a heavy territorial advantage.
Once again the forwards worked tirelessly, especially impressive at ruck time where they were recycling the ball very quickly which made life difficult for King Country. A quick strike straight after the half by Esterhuysen set the tone with Hurst, Whatuira and replacement number 8 Tyler Ingram all crossing the chalk. Castle rounded off a fine individual performance by converting all 4 second half tries. Final score 42-7 to Harbour.
Players' player of the day:
Tyler Castle 3 points
Teancum Kahaki 2 points
David Alofaki 1 point
Date: 8 September
Venue: Paeroa Domain
Opposition: Thames Valley
Half-time Score: 10 (NH) 6 (Thames Valley)
Full-time Score: 25 (NH) 11 (Thames Valley)
Point Scorers: Ruben Esterhuyse, Peter Hurst, David Alofaki, Barrick Liggett tries; Tyler Castle 1 con, 1 pen.
Match Report - 8 September
The North Harbour Under 18 Development team got their season back on track with a convincing 25-11 victory over Thames Valley at a windswept Paeroa Domain.
Harbour won the toss and elected to play into the very strong wind that was directly at Thames Valley’s back. The following 35 minutes was a very impressive display of into the wind rugby by Harbour. A telling statistic being that Harbour only kicked the ball in general play twice. This put the onus on the forwards to work hard and they responded emphatically. First five Tyler Castle and half back Jo Hasler took control and marshalled their troops using the blind side to perfection and despite the conditions still managed to play the game at an electric pace. Strong running from loose forwards Reuben Esterhuyse, Pita Tupou and centre David Alofaki meant that North Harbour were able to maintain momentum and constantly cross the gain line.
The fast paced tempo was rewarded with tries to Ruben Esterhuyse off the back of a sniping run from Hasler and winger Peter Hurst from a quickly taken penalty. Thames Valley never really threatened a much improved Harbour defence with their only reward being 2 wonderfully struck penalties in trying conditions. Half time score – Harbour 10-6.
Turning with the wind, Harbour sought to find a balance between kicking for field possession and keeping the pressure on a tiring Thames Valley forward pack. An early penalty from Castle extended the lead to 13-6. The next 15 minutes however were all Thames Valley. Inspired by some substitutions and aided by what can euphemistically be described as home town refereeing, the Valley forward back really took it to the Harbour boys and it was Valley’s turn to dominate possession. That pressure was eventually rewarded with a try, albeit, Valley managed to directly benefit from a confusing refereeing decision where the Valley player must have been a good 3 or 4 metres offside. However, Harbour sought to take matters into their own hands and struck back almost immediately with a lovely set piece move that saw hard running centre David Alofaki scythe through the Valley back line to crash over. The conversion from Castle was successful, 20-11 Harbour.
Chasing the bonus point, Harbour launched a long range attack from a scrum 30 out from their line. A well-executed set move gave replacement winger Barrick Liggett some room to move 50 metres. With plenty of work still to do he stood up the fullback and then pulled out an old fashioned in and away on the cover defence to finish Harbour’s scoring off in style.
Final score 25-11 to Harbour.
Players’ player of the day:
Reuben Esterhuyse 3 points
Ben Bugg 2 points
Pita Tupou 1 point
Date: 1 September
Venue: East Coast Bays RFC
Opposition: Auckland Divisional
Half-time Score: 6 (NH) 21 (Auckland Div)
Full-time Score: 6 (NH) 33 (Auckland Div)
Point Scorers: Devon Cleaver 2 pen
Match Report - 1 September
After a first round victory, the North Harbour Under 18 Development team came unstuck against the Auckland Divisional XV at
Harbour were playing into a stiff breeze in the first half and looked to control the ball and possession. However, first points of the day came early for
Turning with the breeze and only 21-6 down at halftime, Harbour looked to press the pace and get points up early. However, once again turnovers and lapses of concentration at critical times afforded
Two more second half tries inflated the score to 33-6 with Harbour unable to add to their account in the second half.
James Finlay was outstanding in a forward pack that worked hard for 70 minutes with Lington Kupu picking up 2 points and Devon Cleaver 1 in the Players' player of the day.
Date: 25 August
Venue: Dargaville
Opposition: Vikings
Half-time Score: 15 (NH) 14 (Vikings)
Full-time Score: 29 (NH) 21 (Vikings)
Point Scorers: Charlie Whitfield, Ben Bugg, Devon Cleaver (2), tries; Tyler Castle 3 pen
Match Report - 25 August
The North Harbour under 18 Development Squad started their season off with a successful trip to Dargaville where they downed the Northland Vikings 29-21.
Both teams were missing players who were still on school duty but that did not detract from what was largely an attractive and free flowing game of rugby. North Harbour set the tone after pouncing on a Viking turnover in the second minute which saw Charlie Whitfeld cross over out wide in the corner after some good interplay by the forwards.
The much bigger Vikings then set up camp in the North Harbour half. A real period of dominance for the Vikings was finally rewarded with a converted try which saw them take the lead 7-5.
Led by captain and player’s player of the day, Niwa Whatauira, the North Harbour forwards finally managed to gain some dominance and much needed field position. The North Harbour backs, on the back of a strong burst by impressive scrum half Joseph Hasler, proved no match for the Vikings with Ben Bugg finishing strongly out on the right flank. 10-7 North Harbour.
North Harbour were not done with the first half yet. Good field position saw the forwards lay another wonderful platform with some strong running and offloading which saw the backs again able to exploit the space and Devon Cleaver strolled over with 2 men unmarked out wide. Tyler Castle missed the conversion which took North Harbour into half time with a 15-7 lead.
The Vikings started the second half with a hiss and a roar and were rewarded from set piece after some sloppy defending by the North Harbour backs. 15-14 North Harbour. Straight from the kick off North Harbour found themselves under the pump once more. Sloppy defence again allowed the Vikings’ midfield to slice through the backline and it was only an outstanding cover tackle by energetic openside flanker James Finlay that prevented the Vikings from taking the lead.
Danger averted, it was Finlay again who combined with Whatuira to effect a crucial turnover which led directly to a straightforward penalty opportunity which Castle converted. 18-14 North Harbour. With a slight wind at their back, the North Harbour inside backs started to wrest control of the match and dominate field position lead directly to 2 more penalties for Castle which extended the lead to 24-14. The Vikings who were now forced to push the pace tried a tricky short kick off. Finlay pounced on the loose ball and fed it quickly to Cleaver who set replacement winger KJ Ng Lam off down the sideline. Some neat footwork from Ng Lam (who looked dangerous every time he touched the ball) bamboozled the defence and Cleaver was rewarded for his earlier quick hands as he benefited from Ng Lam’s break and crashed over in the corner to stretch the lead out to 29-14.
The Vikings scored a consolation try right on fulltime which left the scoreboard showing 29-21 to North Harbour.
Players’ MVP:
Niwa Whatuira – 3 points
KJ Ng Lam – 2 points
James Finlay – 1 point
Under 18 Development Team
| NAME | SCHOOL/CLUB |
|
Cody Sweet |
Albany Senior High |
|
Tyler Ingram |
Birkenhead |
|
Andrew Scott |
Kristin College |
|
Herman Botha |
Long Bay College |
|
Pita Tupou |
Long Bay College |
|
Barrick Ligget |
Long Bay College |
|
Joseph Banks |
Mahurangi |
|
Callum Wadman |
Marist RFC |
|
Sam Pulini |
Marist RFC |
|
Devon Cleaver |
Marist RFC |
|
Ryan McGreal |
Massey RFC |
|
Tyler Castle |
Massey High School |
|
Lington Kepu |
Massey RFC |
|
Sam Wilkinson |
North Shore RFC |
|
Niwa Whatuira |
North Shore RFC |
|
Simon Anderson |
Orewa College |
|
Nicolas Fuller |
Orewa College |
|
Adam Allison |
Orewa College |
|
Bryce Jamison |
Rangitoto College |
|
Charlie Whitfeld |
Rangitoto College |
|
James Finlay |
Rosmini College |
|
Jo Hasler |
Rosmini College |
|
David Alofaki |
Silverdale RFC |
|
Mitch Michelsen |
Takapuna Grammar |
|
Matt Dillon |
Whangaparaoa College |
|
Reuben Esterhuyse |
Westlake Boys High |
|
Nicolas Costa |
Marist RFC |
|
Teancum Kahaki |
Takapuna RFC |
|
Ben Bugg |
Westlake Boys High |
|
Peter Hurst |
Westlake Boys High |
|
|
|
|
Simon Porter |
Coach |
|
Scott Uren |
Asst Coach |
|
James Hinchco |
Asst Coach |
|
Graham Rush |
Manager |
| Jed Smethurst | Physio |