By Holly Williams and Zara Hooks
Rugby legends
The Westlake Girls Premier Rugby team played in the North Harbour Rugby Youth 17 final on 22 August. Our opposition was Birkenhead College a composite team made up of girls from there, Northcote, Glenfield, and Carmel Colleges and Hobsonville Point Secondary School.
Birkenhead College came to play and the first half was closely contested. It was a tough, physical game fitting of a final. Our forwards made some strong carries, and the backs executed some smart kicking and at half time we were in the lead 24-14. In the second half our defence took over with any Birkenhead attacks shut down by our relentless tackling and team commitment to not concede any more points. On attack we spread the ball wide and ran in some excellent team and individual tries. The final score of 51-19 resulted in the team being crowned North Harbour Champions for the 2nd year in a row. Our girls premier team has now moved on to compete against Auckland Girls Grammar to qualify for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Girls 1st XV Rugby Championship which is held in Palmerston North.
Editor’s Note: A massive congratulations to the players and team management for all their effort and hard work this year. A special mention to our year 13 students Holly Williams, Ava Jericevich, Zara Hooks and Kat Hall for their commitment to the Girls Premier Rugby team over the past five years.