google539b0260007444c5.html .: August 2009 google539b0260007444c5.html

Saturday, August 15, 2009

HPC vs Kaipara College 1st XV, August 15th, 2009












Today was the brotherhood's last home game of the season and for our Year 13's it was to be their last home game ever in a HATO jersey. So with that in mind we knew we were in for a really battle today with the winner of this game going straight through to the semi-final. With an emotional pre-match ceremony the brothers were pumped and to be honest I felt the occasion may have crept in to us adding pressure and affecting our mental side of the game.
The game started with a hiss and a roar with big tackles and storming runs from both sides. However 10 minutes in to the game Kaipara scored first with some soft defence from HP, putting pressure on themselves. The try was unconverted. Again Kaipara stepped up taking it to our forwards and managed to gain a penalty. The penalty kick was converted bringing the score to 8-nil in favour of the visitors. Once HATO was able to compose themselves and settle in to their patterns we were able to gain momentum with some good pick and go work from Hemi Hill, Ardi Mahu and Te Hamana Maxwell. The ball popped out to our tight-head prop Vernon Isaacs-Brunning who near the line is an unstoppable force which saw him score the first of his 2 tries. The try was unconverted. Just when we felt we were gaining momentum we kept putting pressure on ourselves by being slow to the break-down ultimately turning the ball over to our opposition. The score was 13-5 at the break.
The 2nd half started much better for us with the team scoring early through Vernon who brought up his 14th try of the year in strong fashion. The try was unconverted. Again Kaipara threatened with a planned back-line move which saw their winger score in the corner the try was converted. HATO then began their resurgence and put together some great phases which saw the ball fed to Tukairangi Maxwell who broke through 3 tackles scoring a great try. The try was converted by Nick Poutama. With time running out we were desperate to move the ball around trying to find and create holes in Kaipara's defence and just when we managed to keep the ball in hand with some good pick and go work the ball was turned over and Kaipara kicked the ball out and our visitors ran away with it in the end 20-17.
What a game it was? And regardless of the result we are still all winners at the end of the day. Our boys showed character and pride in themselves and did our school very proud. On behalf of the boys and the coaching staff we would like to thank all our supporters and whanau for turning out for the game. To the brotherhood, you should be very proud of yourselves in what you have all achieved this year. You have all made the impossible possible, by believing in yourselves and the brother next to you for that is the true HATO spirit...

Saturday, August 8, 2009

NORTH HARBOUR BUCKET TEAM!!!











Just some random pictures of 'THE NORTH HARBOUR BUCKET TEAM' from Friday night's game between North Harbour vs Tasman NPC game at North Harbour Stadium.

MEAN MACHINE, HARBOUR, BUCKET TEAM!!!

HPC vs Long Bay College 1st XV, August 8th, 2009






Today was to be the day where a win would give us a chance of staying in contention for the semi's or a loss would put us out of the top 6 giving us no chance of having a shot at finals footy. Today it saw us up against the table toppers Long Bay College who had only lost one game this year and at home they were unbeaten. On paper all the odds were stacked heavily against us however sometimes through adversity it can bring out the best in us all, and today it sure did.
The game started with a Long Bay kick off with HATO rampaging towards the Long Bay try-line. With some great work from our back-line who in recent weeks having been slowly starting to click. A dynamic run with a good turn of pace and strong fend from Arapeta Bedggood found the hands of our right wing John Ngatai who scored in the corner within the first 2 minutes of the game. The try was converted from the side-line by Paulie Ranapia. Again HATO re-grouped and dug deep again with some great work from our formidable forward pack keeping the ball close to the ruck and showing good control and composure. A strong burst 10 metres out from the line from Vernon Isaacs-Brunning saw him take his try tally to 12 for the year. The try was converted by Arapeta. In quick succession Long Bay managed to get 2 penalty conversions which saw the score at 14-6 to HP at the break.
The 2nd half started like the first with HP firing on all cylinders our defence was unbreakable and we were able to force Long Bay in to making lots of errors consistently putting pressure on our opposition. HP emerged closer to the Long Bay 22 with our Half-back feeding the back line with a planned move from our 1st 5 Nick Poutama who was having a blinder taking charge and leading by example. The ball passed through the hands of our backs and found Steven Davis with a good off load from our centre Tukairangi, the try was converted in the corner. With 5 minutes left on the clock Long Bay scored a soft try off a penalty tap catching us off guard whilst were going back our 10 metres. The final score was 22-11 to HP.
For us this was a game played with true wairua, kaha, ihi and mana. It was all of the above and it took a team effort to achieve this wonderful win. We are so proud of our boys and they showed that through all the adversity we can overcome the odds by making the impossible possible and today the team showed that.
Next weekend sees us up against Kaipara College at home which is a sudden death game with the winner going through to the semis. We hope to see all the kura, staff, whanau, old boys, students and friends at the game this Saturday at PETERA at 12pm!!! Please come down and tautoko, THE BROTHERHOOD...

HPC vs Kingsway School 1st XV, August 1st, 2009






This weekend was to be a game that could either determine our fate or a result that would determine our season with many teams claiming to take the 4th spot for a semi. This game was played in challenging conditions with heavy rain and a light wind predicted which changed the structure of the game. The game started out slow for us with Kingsway contesting Hato ball and to their credit scoring a soft try in the far corner. The boys quickly regathered and our forwards worked towards the Kingsway try-line keeping possession close to the ruck. The ball then fed to the backs with some slick passing and running which produced our 1st try of the match to Arapeta Bedggood. The try was unconverted. During the 2nd half what soon followed was to determine the outcome of the game. Some ill discipline started to slowly creep in to our team with the boy's not coming to terms with some of the referees calls however rugby is rugby and we must learn to adapt and just play the game. Kingsway quickly pounced on these opportunities and converted 2 penalty conversions. HP re-organised themselves and pulled their heads in and kept the machine going with our forwards working hard in the rucks and the malls. The ball then passed swiftly across our back-line with some great lead up work from Steven Davis and Tukairangi Maxwell which fed the hands of Arapeta scoring his 2nd for the day. The try was unconverted bringing the score to 11-10 in favour of the home team. Discipline again cost us the game with one of our players being sin-binned for the remainder of the game. However our boys worked ferociously defending on our own try line for a good 10 minutes and true courage the showed to hold them out, however with the time out on the clock Kingsway managed to score a lucky try in the corner. The final score of 16-10 was the result we didn't want but we could have easily won this game if our discipline and focus on the game was at the fore-front.