Representative rugby finals

North Harbour Representative Report for 24 September

The North Harbour U18 Girls for the first time in history did the Union proud by winning the Northern Region competition beating Bay of Plenty 31-20 who had won the Chiefs pool.  It was a great battle with the Harbour Girls leaving it all on the field. Tries went to Pia Tapsell, Rona Wharawhara, Florida Fatanitavake, Sophie Fisher, Isla Norman-Bell with Sophie kicking three conversions.   Well done to coaches Callum Finlay and Mark Tapsell and manager Lester Dallow for such a successful season.

North Harbour Under 16 White played the Blues Region final in less than ideal conditions which was still a treat to watch for all of the spectators as Auckland Central took out the U16s final from a determined North Harbour side 19-0. North Harbour battled hard against an extremely resolute defensive Central but could not break their defensive structure. Central were quick to capitalise on any Harbour error and successfully breached the harbour line on three occasions.

Under 16 Cardinal struggled in the Blues Region 3^rd/4^th play-off with Auckland South scoring after 5 minutes and consistently kept the foot down for the entire game to win 43-0.  The score does not reflect the effort put in and the number of chances given away.  Credit goes to the Cardinal side who never gave up.  Under 16 Cardinal ended up finishing in 4th place overall with a won 2 lost 2 record.

The Under 14 Cardinal and White sides met for the 7^th and 8^th play-off in Blues Region finals.  The result was a 5 all draw with both sides having the opportunity to take the game with several minutes on attack in each other’s territory.

The Men’s B team travelled north to Whangarei  to play the Taniwha but went down 16-38 to a strong Northland team.   The Harbour forwards threw everything at Northland during the first 40 minutes but couldn’t score tries with three penalties to David Hala’ufia versus Northland’s 17 points at half-time.  Blake Hall’s perfect try after half time and Hala’ufia conversion wasn’t going to be enough against the rampant Taniwha’s. The Taniwha’s continued to run riot and the points started to add up and it wasn’t through lack of trying by Harbour but they just couldn’t finish strong. Player of the Day was Kima Iosua.

North Harbour U85’s hosted Wellington at Harvey Wright fields in Harbour’s final game of the season but lost 8-21.  In wet and windy conditions Harbour again started strongly and put pressure on the Wellington line from the kick off. Good defence kept them out and as the game settled down possession evened out and play see-sawed from one end to the other.  Wellington scored a converted try from strong attack through the mid-field and Harbour countered with a penalty by Jarrod Soar after 30 minutes.   Back on attack and Harbour’s Dan Lasei crossed for a try to take the lead 8-7 at half-time.   The second half began with both forward packs coming into the fore as the weather conditions worsened. Wellington took their opportunities and scored two more converted tries to win despite some sustained pressure from Harbour.

The North Harbour Under 18’s travelled north to Whangarei to take on Northland in their final fixture but came away with a close 7-13 loss.  A try to Nathan Vaatausili and a conversion to Miller Hazelman.