Super 8 Rugby
The Rotorua Boys' High School First XV has finished the Super 8 competition with a 50-29 win over New Plymouth Boys' High School.
The victory sees them finish third, behind Hastings and Hamilton who will playoff in a straight final next weekend.
While the winning margin was a convincing one, it doesn't tell the whole story as Rotorua were pushed yesterday all the way by a New Plymouth side who refused to go away.
Rotorua opened the scoring within the first five minutes when they won a lineout against the throw before shifting right to fullback Selesitino Ravutaumada who broke the first tackle and showed great speed to race in and score next to the posts.
It was the first of three tries for Ravutaumada, who is a joy to watch in full flight and looks dangerous every time he touches the ball.
New Plymouth worked their way into the game and hit back with a try to winger Jamhal Hapi on the back of some tidy backline play.
Rotorua were starting to look the more dominant team and tries to No8 Tuki Simpkins and lock Stephen Schwenke made the score 17-5.
New Plymouth ended the half well with a period of sustained pressure and it paid off when fullback India Huta bulldozed over to score and make the score 17-12 at halftime.
New Plymouth kicked a penalty at the start of the second half to get within two points but it didn't last long as Rotorua went straight back down the other end and Ravutaumada had his second.
Minutes later he had his hatrick as Rotorua worked their way to the New Plymouth 22 and he shot through a gap to go in under the posts.
They added another try through captain and centre Hayze Perham from a superbly weighted grubber kick by first five-eighth Quinn Collard and were looking comfortable at 36-15.
New Plymouth came back strongly and reduced the deficit to seven points with tries to prop Tutarangi Anderson and lock Michael Loft.
With 10 minutes to play the class of the young Rotorua side shone through as Schwenke scored his second before Perham added another try with an ankle-breaking piece of footwork that left the New Plymouth fullback on his backside.
Rotorua coach Ruki Tipuna said it was an improved performance from his side but they were guilty of mental lapses which let their opposition back into the game.
"We leaked tries and let them score too many points. It's a mental thing and potentially a little bit of complacency - it looks quite sharp and fluid but then we panic and rush and give opportunities back to the other teams.
"We said top three was what we were after and this win secured that. It was a tough campaign with a couple of losses and a couple of really good wins. It's a young team and they've done well," said Tipuna.
Rotorua's focus now shifts to a home game against Tauranga Boys' College next weekend where they will battle for the right to play off against other teams in the Chiefs region for a spot in nationals.
"That's huge - if we lose we're out," he said.
'I was going to do that anyway but now I’m forced to – shout-out to Nassourdine for that.'