Match 5 Westlake Vs St Davids

Today was a much better performance all round. Straight from the Haka you could tell everyone wanted to win and make-up for our last performance.

Early on you could see and sense an improvement in the way we attacked and we looked much more committed and accurate in our defence and attack.

Good individual efforts from key players saw us gain an early lead, wrapping up the game in the first thirty minutes with depth on attack, added accuracy and precision in our handling, and all round good team play.

The second half saw us with a massive wind at our backs. Perhaps we were not as convincing as the first half but we still managed to pick up 2 really good tries, with Kieran menzies dotting down after a great Jamal Thompson offload.

All round it was a much better effort, which resulted in a great win 52-0.

Group 5 - Josh Cooke, Tyler Rakch, Kieran Menzies, Ben Searle, Jared Lester.

More Pictures of the tour

Here are some more pictures of the tour, all pictures taken are in the process of being organised onto discs ready to be given to each of the parents. Anyone wanting extra copies please contact me on tlynall@westlake.school.nz.

Match 4 Westlake Vs Uplands College

Match 4 Westlake Vs Uplands College

 

A disappointing game, we underestimated our opponents and were embarrassed by the final result.

 

Westlake had early possession and territory and got on board early in the game with a penalty kicked by Chris Winks. After a messy kick off Uplands managed to score two quick tries and race out to a 12-3 lead. Westlake attempted to fight back and Kieran Menzies managed to score a well-constructed try on the back of some good forward play to reduce the deficit to 2 points. Kieran also touched down in the second half to take Westlake to a 15-12 lead but unfortunately this lead was short lived as Uplands struck back with a lucky try aided by the ref to take the game to 19-15.

 

The team were all disappointed with our efforts and knew we should have won. Stand out performances were from Josh Duley and Kieran Menzies.

 

Lessons will be learnt from this game.

 

Group 4 – Josh Duley, Jamal Thompson, Gus Hellesoe, Brook Tibbits, Sam Davison and Steven Hong.

Picture Update

Here are a few pictures from some of the games

Internet Trouble

We have had a few problems accessing the internet over here mainly due to the load shedding here in South Africa. The tour is going really well and the boys are all in good spirits.
We have spent the last two days at the Kruger national park and this afternoon we head up to Uplands College where the team will be playing their 4 th game.
I will try and keep you updated as often as I can.

Match Report Game Three

Game 3 – Westlake Vs Maritzburg College
The intensity of the game was set right from the word go with an emotional Haka from Westlake. Early on in the game the new rules posed a difficult challenge for our boys as Maritzburg had been playing them since last year and took full advantage.
Maritzburg took early points with a brilliant run away from the locking duo, this is when Westlake kicked into gear and some wonderful defensive lineout steals from Kima gave us good attacking opportunities.
However, Maritzburg managed to cross the line again just before half time and along with their early penalty goal took the home side to
17-0.
A good attacking phase from our boys set us up for a penalty right
in front of the posts, which took us into halftime 17-3 down.
The second half proved lethal with Gus picking the ball from the scrum and charging to 1metre short of the try line. Jarrod Soar took full advantage and charged over the line for Westlake’s first try. A fumble from Maritzburg soon after saw Chris Winks use some superb soccer skills to bring in Westlake’s second try and with another brilliant kick converted his own try to bring the score to 17 all.
In our eyes a poor refereeing decision led to another Maritzburg try and unfortunately for the Westlake boys finished the game.
Maritzburg 24 Westlake 17 but hey that’s rugby!
Still an excellent all-round performance from Westlake, and a game to be proud of.
Group 3- Jamie Foster, Conor O’Malley, George Kupu, Brent Duff, Ben Churches and Matt Wannerberg.

Match Report Game Two

Match Report – Game Two Westlake Vs Excelsior High
The game was played in windy conditions today, it rained in the morning so the field was wet to start with, but it quickly dried out.
The boys were amped through training but this seemed to die off by the start of the game. We went down early on 5-0, due to an error. But the boys bounced back quickly and kept their heads high. With a try top Connor O’Malley (1st try of the tour!) just before half time, which tied the game up at 5-5 at the break.
At the start of the second half the wind had picked up even more to favor us. The boys started strong and soon we were up 8-5 due to a penalty. We were then on a good run and scored a following three tries, Josh Duley, Jarrod Soar, and Rory McGahan with conversions made by Chris Winks 2 out of 4.
Excelsior also scored another two tries but was unsuccessful with the conversions, the overall final score being 27-15 to Westlake.
Overall the game was good, hard and physical. Boys played relatively well but there are areas where we can improve. We are pleased with our win, and carry our streak of 2 out of 2 wins onto Maritzburg College ready for Monday.
Group 2 – Chris Winks, Mark Haldane, Jordan Suanui, Kima Iosua, Nick Regal and Logan Stevens.