King's First XV miss win in Palmerston North

There was a strong wind blowing straight down the ground, the sun was shining but the field was very soft and boggy underfoot. The team had not played on a field like this all season and did struggle to adapt to the conditions. We played with the wind at our backs in the first half and never really used the wind to our advantage.

Ciarahn Matoe opened the scoring with a penalty mid way through the half. Palmerston North Boys' High School's First XV bounced back and when our boys tried to run it from inside our own 22m, the ball was eventually turned over and the opposition scored a try that was converted by their kicker to give them the lead 7-3.

King’s then started to play the ball down in their half and used the pick-n go effectively that eventually saw tighthead prop, Takaji Young Yen, score and Ciarahn Matoe convert to give us a 10-7 lead at half-time.
 
In the second half, Palmerston North did use the wind advantage well and tried to keep us pinned down in our own 22m. We made inroads into their half on several occasions but each time we threatened their tryline, we made mistakes or were not clinical enough to score any points. Palmerston North were awarded three kickable penalties and their kicker converted all three to give them a well-deserved 10-16 win.

Overall, this was a disappointing performance as we certainly had opportunities in this match but did not take them or were simply not accurate enough. 
 
We did not pick up any serious injuries, which is very important given the task that lies ahead. Our season hangs in the balance this weekend with a must-win match against Mount Albert Grammar School if we are to make the semi-finals of the Auckland 1A Competition.