Newington v. Shore by “GPSrow”
Newington 50 – Kings 3
A cloudy Saturday afternoon at 3:15, saw the Kings School take on the Newington College side which would be a David vs. Goliath clash, but Goliath ended up coming out on top.
The vibe
The game was a one-sided affair with the Newington side scoring a series of tries in the match. The behemoth centres of Newington sometimes palmed off two, three, or even four opponents in a single run, then somehow flick pass it off to the wingers Simon Kennewell and Josh Mitchell. Three or four tries were scored in this way.
Unfortunately, for Kings their number 10 get red-carded for poor discipline in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the match which panicked the defence.
In the 70 minutes there were too many soft tries and only two “hard” ones.
The teams
Newington
Even though they won by 47 points, Newington, as usual, did not play to their full potential. They made a lot of errors in ball handling and at the ruck, which halted their try-scoring rate.
Their backline would have to be one the best in the GPS if not NSW at the moment due to every player dominating their opposite man; and often palmed them off if they got the chance.
As an insider from St.Joesphs was believed to have said last week, “The only way the Newington 1st XV cant win is if they can’t win within themselves”
MVP’s for New- 12. Tepai Moeroa, 13. Taane Milne, 11. Simon Kennewell, 1. Vuni Fifita
Kings
They showed their spirit and determination by holding the Newington pack up on many occasions to slow their onslaught of tries — and managed to keep Newington scoreless for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Unfortunately, the backline, especially the wingers, were continually beaten out wide and were often caught short out there.
Kings have had the two toughest rounds first up and have shipped 100 points in the two games. They should be able to stabilise after the break when they play Joeys, View and Shore.
The most promising signs I saw from the Kings 1st XV was their resilience and spirit when playings against such a dominant and imposing opposition. Their forward pack certainly led the way for them and should be commended.
MVP’s for Kings – 3, 5, 9, 15
Other Scores:
1sts 50-3 (New Win)
2nds 23-12 (New win)
3rds 13-0 (Kings Win)
16As 36-12 (Kings win)
