King's 7A 12 - 21 Auckland Grammar
King’s 7A ultimately fell just short in the final against old rivals Auckland Grammar, but they can be extremely proud of their efforts both in this match and throughout the season.
King’s were on the defensive from the kick-off against a physical and well-organized Grammar side and couldn't get out of their own half for the first 15 minutes of the game. By the end of that time, despite some excellent defense, King’s were trailing 12-0 and on the back foot. However, King’s came back strongly and were rewarded for their efforts with a try in the right-hand corner by Archie McInnes (Year 10, St John's) after good work from Harry Rutherford (Year 10, School) to bring the score back to 12-5. Unfortunately, there was still time for Grammar to launch a final attack and, with the last play of the half, they were awarded a penalty which was kicked to make the half-time score 15-5 to Grammar.
As they have throughout the season, King’s didn't let their heads go down and dominated the majority of the second half. Particularly notable were Harry Lyus (Year 9, School), Harry Rutherford (Year 10, School), and Ed Duncan (Year 9, Greenbank) in the forwards and Jonty Batchelor (Year 9, Greenbank), Hugh Smithies (Year 9, Parnell), and Caleb Francis (Year 9, School) in the backs.
Liam Parker (Year 9, Parnell) at fullback defused a number of high kicks and returned them well to keep King’s on the front foot. Grammar extended their lead to 18-5 with another penalty before King’s pressure was eventually rewarded with a try to Hugh Smithies which was converted to make the score 18-12. King’s kept up the pressure but unfortunately were held up over the line on a couple of occasions. However, the King’s comeback was ended by another penalty to Grammar which was kicked to make the score 21-12 to Grammar, which is how the game finished.
The team has really developed with each game throughout the season, and that is down to the hard work that the coaches Jason and Tev have put in every week. The boys were lucky to have such committed coaches to help them develop their skills.
