Hurricanes region secondary schools finals tomorrow

Above: Scots College will be celebrating a spot in the National Top 4 tournament in Rotorua should they overcome Palmerston North Boys' High School tomorrow.

There is sure to be more than a few cars heading north from Wellington on Saturday morning, bound for Palmerston North as three Wellington schools compete in their respective Hurricanes region finals and with it, a shot at the National Top Four competitions.

Boys' Final

Hurricanes YRC Cup

Scots College v Palmerston North Boys' High School

2.45 pm, FMG Stadium

The major game of the day is at 2.45 pm, with Wellington Premier 1 champions Scots College taking on Palmerston North Boys' High School, with the winner progressing to the National Top 4 in Rotorua.

The two sides have already met once this year in the Tranzit Coachlines-sponsored 1^st XV Festival back in early May with PNBHS winning 37-28 in a free-scoring encounter. Since then both sides have competed in their respective competitions, Scots triumphant in Premier 1 beating Silverstream 21-18, while Palmerston North lost the Super 8 competition final to Hamilton Boys by 21-3, but were the Manawatu provincial winners and beat Hastings Boys' High School 22-18 last weekend, while Scots ran riot on Gisborne BHS's Rectory Ground in winning 57-22.

Palmerston North won four and drew one of their seven Super 8 round-robin fixtures, notably winning the annual Polson Banner match against Napier Boys' High School. They also beat St Pat's Silverstream at home in their traditional clash.

Scots have lost just three games this season, the aforementioned one to Palmerston North and Auckland's Sacred Heart and in competition to Silverstream, though having reversed the latter result they will be hoping lightning strikes twice. They will again look to their stable of game breakers in the outstanding centre Malo Tuitama (if available), first-five TJ Va'a and the Umaga-Jensen twins, Peter and Thomas, to make use of the efforts of the forward pack led by prop Alex Fidow and No.8 Patrick Fenika. They will have to contain a solid Palmy forward pack led by blindside Liam Giltrap, while their midfielders Taare Ferris and Shadyn Osgood will be a challenge.

Co-Ed Final

Co-Ed Cup

Tawa College v Fielding High School

12.00 pm, Arena 3

Tawa College won through to this stage by firstly winning the local Co-ed Cup competition, dispatching Bishop Viard and Naenae en route to beating Porirua College 35-10 in the final; then followed that up by beating Horowhenua College 36-3. Last weekend they reversed one of only two losses they've suffered all season to beat Wairarapa College 15-11 in the Premier 2 grade final (the other was to the St Pat' Town 1^st XV in grading), meaning that they now hold three trophies, with the Porirua regional Beard Trophy joining the Co-ed Cup and Premier 2 Murray Jensen Cup in the cabinet.

Their 22nd game of the season will be one of their toughest. Feilding High School is an impressive rugby school in their own right in both boys and girls, and while this season they only finished with a four from seven record and lost out to Hamilton school St Paul's Collegiate in their Central North Island competition semi-finals, they also beat both Wellington College 41-27 (coming back from 12-27 down) at the start of the year and later Rongotai 50-3, and also pushed Silverstream in their preseason encounter.

?A yardstick to measure the teams by is their results against their only mutual opponent - Wairarapa College - with Feilding winning their contest 17-12 a month ago and playing most of the match with 14 players after an early red card. Tawa's hopes will rely on their big ball-running forwards, led by No.8 Folau Ve'a, creating a platform for their backs, while the work of openside and captain Jonty Boyd at the breakdown will be critical to their chances.

Girls' Final

Rex Kerr Cup

St Catherine's College v Feilding High School

2.45 pm, Arena 2

By winning the Wellington title, St Catherine's College earned the right to play on this stage. However, it is a steep mountain they will have to climb, taking on the might of two-time defending National Champions Feilding High School as well as overcoming the fact that their matches to date have been 10-a-side and 25 minute halves and having to step up to 15s and 30 minutes.

St Cath's won the Wellington title in a thrilling contest 24-22 over Porirua, and only dropped one game all year, 26-33 to Aotea after conceding two tries in the last 3 minutes. Feilding have continued their nomadic campaign looking for quality matches up and down the country and have won all their games, bar a loss to Onehunga High School.

St Cath's will look to get direction from the halves pairing of Ana Afuie and Tina Hamlin-Vaaua, and go forward from captain Khanya Scheck and loose forward Alicia Print, who was also part of Oriental-Rongotai's championship women's team.

Strong relationship between Tawa College and Tawa Rugby Football Club

Sky Sport's First XV website editor Adam Julian spoke to Tawa College's No. 8 Folau Finau Vea this week about the relationship between the school and the Tawa RFC and the keys to the team's success this year.

A strong relationship has been fostered between the school and the club. The Tawa College First XV has trained with the premiers since January and been assisted by former All Black Dion Waller and Steven So'oialo.

Folau Finau Vea is a bustling No. 8 in this year's First XV. He says the relationship between the school and the club has been invaluable.

"It's real good. We get a membership to their gym and they help us out with good advice."

Folau says Tawa's maiden success in the Jubilee Cup made him "proud" to come from Tawa and the moments after the final were highly emotional. Folau says, "I remember running out on the field and hugging all the boys. It was awesome."

This season Tawa College is coached by Matthew Boyd, the brother of Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd. Matthew was a coach of the Tawa premiers in 2013.

Tawa College plays a very structured game that has yielded them 19 wins from 21 matches this season. Tawa has scored 708 points and only conceded 228. They won two out of three grading games and might have been a Premier One side had they not run into St. Patrick's College, Wellington who made the Premier One semi-finals this year.

In last week's Premier 2 final Tawa beat Wairarapa College 15-11. Winger Esekele Komavaisai and prop Daniel Leone scored tries. First-Five Dre Melvin kicked a conversion and a penalty. Folau recalls the final whistle.

"I was speechless. I hugged the nearest?teammate. It was such a tough game. To win it was the highlight of my life."

Folau says Tawa's success can be attributed to a strong brotherhood, Folau expands, "Everyone agrees. Everyone gets on really well. We work hard as a team."

Tawa qualified for the Hurricanes co-education final by winning the Wellington competition. On a wet night at Porirua Park, Tawa beat Porirua College for a third time this season, 35-10. Folau?scored a try and had a storming game. Folau?says this performance was another highlight.

"We played real good wet weather rugby. We worked the corners, put the pressure on and took our chances."

Tawa will play Feilding High School this weekend to make the National co-education Top Four. Tawa will be the underdogs, but Foalu says if they can "shutdown" the Feilding backs they can win.

Regardless of Saturday's result, Tawa has had a tremendous season. Tawa only has four teams (First XV, Second XV, Under-15's, 65A). They have had two boys selected for the Wellington Under-16 development squad and four trialists for the Wellington Under-18's.

Folau says after the October exams, Tawa will be training hard with the intention of playing Premier One for the first time in 2015.

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