The 1st XV faced their biggest challenge of the year, playing Hamilton Boys High School. St Paul’s playing with the wind, got off to a poor start, giving away penalty early. HBHS kicked the 3 points to take a 3-0 lead.
HBHS were awarded another penalty shortly after. They kicked to the corner and after a series of rucks scored close to the posts, to take a 10-0 lead.
St Pauls finally won quality possession and were cut down short of the line after a good back line strike by Tom Yarrall. St Paul's capitalised on the territory advantage shortly after, with a penalty to Tyrell Martin.
HBHS continued to control possession and territory for much of the first half, with St Paul’s courageous on defence. However, HBHS scored two more tries through weight of possession, to lead 23-3 at the break.
The second half was pretty much one way traffic, with St Paul’s struggling to retain possession for long periods. HBHS’s width of attack and effectiveness at the break down proved too hard to contain and HBHS ran away with the game.
The 1st XV squad should be proud of their season, only losing two competition games all year. It was always going to be a tough ask mentally and physically after last week’s final. However, the game provided a good yard stick for the 1st XV and demonstrated the level for skill they need, if they want to compete with the best 1st XV teams in New Zealand.
