WAIRARAPA College 1st XI boys football coach Aaron Perkins admits the outstanding success of his team over the 2015 season was completely unexpected.
There were just four Year 13 students in the squad when they met for summer training in February with the team being picked with an eye to the future, something evidenced by the inclusion of one Year 9 boy and four Year 10s.
That being the case it would not have surprised had they struggled to produce consistent results but they had one of the best seasons in recent memory for a Wairarapa College 1st XI boys team, making the division two final of their Wellington competition, narrowly going down to the powerful Napier Boys' combination in their annual interschool fixture and achieving strong victories in other interschool games against Rathkeale College and Havelock North.
The most impressive result, however, came at the Trident Trophy tournament in Napier this month where they topped their pool to qualify for the quarter-finals and, in the process, giving themselves a decent shot at achieving their highest seeding at this tourney. They did that in style, beating Western Heights in the quarters before pulling off a massive upset win over Wellington division one champions, St Pat's Silverstream, in the semis.
Wairarapa College then faced St Pat's Town in an exciting and enthralling final held at the Bluewater Stadium, home of one of the highest-profile clubs in the country, 2015 Central League champions Napier City Rovers. Cheered on by a big group of supporters, including the school's 1st XI girls' team who arrived in haste from their national tournament in Taupo, Wairarapa College levelled the scores with just a couple of minutes remaining on the clock and forced the game into extra time. No extra goals came there so the result depended on sudden death penalties and while it was St Pat's Town who prevailed the Wairarapa College squad had done themselves proud.
