The boys left everything on the field and truly put their bodies on the line, falling just short in the Division 2 Trophy semi-final to Christchurch. The ‘Yams’, as they have been colloquially named, came out firing in the first half, knowing they had a tough hill to climb against an opposition that had beaten them soundly by nearly 60 points in the first round. The week of training leading up to the fixture was quite productive, and the coaching staff named a very strong squad going in. The lads, especially the forwards, knew they would need to front up, starting on defence against a sub- stantially larger Christchurch pack. The cry came early, as Christchurch attacked around the fringes of the ruck, time and time again in the early stages, but each time they were met with the cold, hard shoulder of Varsity.

The Yams would actually have the first scoring opportunity with an attacking lineout resulting from some strong running from wing Jack ‘Bus’ Mcleod, but a miscue left points begging. Christchurch would eventually score first off a penalty, followed shortly by a try in the right corner off of a scrum move. However, the boys did not let their pressure waver and spent practically the remainder of the half deep inside Christchurch’s end, driving lineout again and again close to the line. The penalties began to pile up for Christchurch, and eventually Captain Andy Ireland decided to go for 3 instead of 5, missing narrowly to the right. A silly penalty allowed Christchurch to get 3 more points right before half; the score 11-0. The team was still determined going into the half, with the wind now at their backs. The game though became a bit of a stalemate.

The Christchurch scrum began to show dominance, with the referee allowing the cumbersome Christchurch front row to drive straight up; the bigger dog is always going to win in that fight. The management tried key substitutions to bring on fresh legs, but the boys could just not get the front foot. With Duke Chambers in the bin, Christchurch would score a couple real late to blow out the score of an otherwise tight contest. The team has gone from 13th to 7th and to now finish 4th on the table over the last 3 seasons, and hopes to only better that record next year.

The team would like to thank the contributions of its coaching staff, Jared Brixton and Mark Ranby and its manager, Andy Hall for putting up with the boys this season. A special congratulations also needs to go out to our captain and fearless leader Andy Ireland, who hit 50 games for the Div 1 side the previous weak in their semi-final. Good on ya, sir. Special mention in this semi-final goes to Nga- rongo Selby-Rickit, for another dominating performance at the lineout. Liam Murphy and Adrian Pitman were devastating in the tackle and true ball stealers. Henry Boon and Andy Ireland had great games with ball in hand and off the boot. Player’s Man of the Match (and Outstanding Player of the Year): Brett Menefy, who was an absolute weapon and gave everything, just as he has done all sea- son, for the full 80 minutes.