Captain Ben Strang got Collegiate firing early when he powered his way over the try line following a monstrous maul from his fellow forwards. Photo / Bevan Conley
Captain Ben Strang got Collegiate firing early when he powered his way over the try line following a monstrous maul from his fellow forwards. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui Collegiate School 1st XV players were drawn to the tryline like moths to a flame at their home ground on Wednesday afternoon.
Collegiate ran in 16 tries as they hammered the Whanganui High School 1st XV 96-0 in a contest that was as one-sided as the score suggested.
The first try of the match almost came within a couple of minutes when Collegiate centre Sione Osamu dotted down, but play was called back for a forward pass.
It meant little in the long run as Collegiate's hooker and captain Ben Strang scored in the fifth minute, driving over on the back of a monstrous rolling maul.
After Strang scored, the tries kept coming and it felt like every time WHS kicked off, Collegiate were crossing the line within minutes.
The WHS team did not lack effort, they tried hard and threw themselves into everything, but the Collegiate team were simply on another level.
Collegiate midfielder Te Atawhai Mason scored 15 of Collegiate's 96 points with a try and five conversions. Photo / Bevan Conley
The gap between the two sides is represented by the fact Collegiate play in the highly competitive Central North Island competition and are currently leading it.
They are ahead of teams such as St Paul's Collegiate from Hamilton, Francis Douglas Memorial College from New Plymouth and Wesley College from Auckland.
Meanwhile, WHS plays in the Whanganui secondary school competition, where they drew with the Whanganui Collegiate School 2nd XV a few weeks ago.
As time ticked over, so did the scoreboard and when the halftime whistle blew the score had blown out to 41-0.
The second half started ugly for both teams as WHS earned an early penalty, kicked to touch, won their lineout and midfielder Anthony Sellers kicked wide.
The ball was caught by Collegiate's Shaun O'Leary who took the ball into contact, but the ball was then knocked on at the breakdown.
WHS fed the scrum and won it, trying frantically to find a way into the match, they spread the ball wide and it was tipped into touch by a Collegiate player.
WHS won their lineout, but Collegiate turned the ball over and sent it wide to prop Tawhiwhi Karaitiana who stormed down the sideline for an impressive runaway try.
And the demolition continued.
Collegiate ran in eight more tries and the scorers began drop-kicking their own conversions, completing the thrashing at 96-0.
Whanganui Collegiate School 1st XV 96 (H Godfrey 2, H O'Leary 2, G Meyer 2, S Sherriff x 2, B Strang, D Adrole, H Morrison, T Mason, T Karaitiana, S Osamu, J Abernethy, A Lennox tries; T Mason 5 con, H O'Leary, H Godfrey, A Lennox cons bt Whanganui High School 1st XV 0. HT: 41-0.
