The Kingswood 1st XV defeated a determined Woodridge on Saturday by 19 points to 3. Conditions were perfect for an entertaining game of rugby but unfortunately the match was a scrappy affair with both sides making unnecessary mistakes. Kingswood after their K-Day victory over St Andrew's College definitely under estimated the Woodridge outfit and it was obvious that Woodridge were the more motivated side on the park.

The game was evenly matched during the initial stages. Both teams had an opportunity to take the lead but missed kickable penalties. Kingswood gradually started stamping their authority on the game with captain, Ruru Msutu, putting in a number of good runs. It came as no surprise when Kingswood opened the scoring through a good try by their powerful centre, Migael Wahl. Laine Collett, who did not have a good day with the boot, missed the conversion.

Soon after the restart, Woodridge was awarded a penalty which prop Anthony Haralambous put over to bring them back into the game. The half time score was 5-3 in Kingswood’s favour.

The second half saw Kingswood showing far more urgency with their forwards winning a lot of good ball at the breakdowns. Rhett Shillaw and Laine Collett were particularly impressive in this regard. This pressure was rewarded when eighthman Collett powered his way over to score Kingswood’s second try, which he converted to take the score to 12-3.

Kingswood left points out there by not finishing off many promising moves. The match lost momentum during the latter stages until Kingswood scored the best try of the game. Flyhalf Lihleli Xoli, who had an outstanding game, broke the line before offloading a reverse pass that would have made Australian winger, David Campese proud. Good inter-passing resulted in Rhett Shillaw crashing over midway out. Collett converted to move Kingswood into a 19-3 lead, which was the final score.

By KC Man