Those boys deserve a .... pat on the back

Little wonder exhaustion caught up with Kuranui College at the Condor national secondary schoolboys sevens rugby tournament played at Hamilton .
With just seven fully fit players in their squad of 11 the task of playing six games in one day was always going to be huge test of stamina so to place sixth overall and reach the semi-finals of the second section, the Bragg-Wahlstrom Cup, represented a massive achievement.
Wairarapa-Bush rugby Union development officer, Lofty Stevenson, coached the Kuranui side with assistance from Tavita Isaac and they were delighted with the commitment and resolve of their players, most of whom had little, or no, experience of sevens rugby.
"They were a great bunch to work with," Stevenson said. "They were raw in terms of skills but they listened and learned??..you couldn't have asked for anything more."
Stevenson said by the time Kuranui reached their sixth and final match they had basically run themselves out.
So it was hardly surprising that the Bragg-Wahlstrom Cup final was a somewhat one-sided affair with Kamo School High winning 49-7.
"They didn't have anything more to give," Stevenson said.."There was just no energy left?.they were out on their feet."
Pool play saw Kuranui lose to Hastings Boys High and Massey High School of Auckland and beat Forrest View High School (Waikato) and the 2003 Condor champions Aranui High School of Christchurch. They won the latter 17-5 with outstanding winger Michael Wilson scoring two tries and Ray Oakley one.
Those results were good enough to place Kuranui second in their pool and straight into the semi-finals of the Bragg-Wahlstrom Cup where they scored a 29-19 victory over strongly favoured home side, Hamilton Boys High. A feature of this game was the 37-metre dropped goal by Oakley which put the game out of HBH's reach.
Not only did exhaustion play a big part in Kuranui's comprehensive loss to Kamo High School in the final but they also had the misfortune to lose Wilson with injury about two minutes into the game. His speed was sorely missed, both on attack and defence.
Wilson had already impressed enough, however, to be named in the national secondary schools sevens team and Kuranui had two other members of their side, captain Tapaga Isaac and Nathan Iro, identified as being on the fringes of that team as well.
Kuranui's results were:
Pool play: lost to Hastings Boys High 12-22 (Wilson and Oakley tries), beat Forrest View High 28-10 (Wilson 3, Kershaw tries), lost to Massey High School 14-31 (Wilson 2 tries), beat Aranui High School 17-5 (Wilson 2, Oakley tries).
Bragg-Wahlstrom Cup.- Semi-final: beat Hamilton Boys 29-19 (Isaac, Holliss and Wilson tries).Final: lost to Kamo High School 7-49 (Tipoki try).
The success of their sevens team,whose trip to Hamilton was funded in large part by donations by former first XV players, must build confidence in the prospects of their squad at a 15-a-side side carnival to be played on Australia's Gold Coast next month.