League: Three out of five not quite enough to advance

Whangarei Boys' High School finished 19th in the country at last week's NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament. Photo / File

Whangarei Boys' High School have had their best finish at the NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament, finishing 19th with a solid 24-4 win over Greymouth High School.

Boys' High won three out of their five games and would have made the semifinals of the development competition had they not slipped up on the first day to Christchurch League Academy school Aranui High School 24-18.

"We had the game in our grasp, but the bounce of the ball in the final 10 minutes gave the game to Aranui," Boys' High manager Willie Cooper said.

"Aranui were a strong opponent and, with the broken preparation we had, it wasn't surprising that, under pressure, Aranui took that game."

Cooper was referring to the fact that three days before the tournament, it looked as if the team wouldn't make it because of a shortage of funds.

Boys' High bounced back on days two and three, beating Pakuranga 26-16 and Rosehill 48-8. However, in the Rosehill match, they lost star loose forward James Cherrington to a broken ankle.

They then went down 24-10 to Mt Roskill Grammar before beating Greymouth 24-4.

Coach John Komene was pleased with the team's performance.

"In three years attending this event, this is the best we have done, winning three games out of five. It's a great experience for the boys, it's such a professionally run tournament and the quality of league is superb."

Meanwhile, Kelston Boys' High School retained their national title, defeating rival powerhouse St Paul's 24-10.