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...

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.

HPC vs Birkenhead College 1st XV, July 25th, 2009

Today was a make or break game for the 1st with both teams tied equal on the table and a win would push us nearer to a finals spot with 3 games remaining. We knew that as a team we had to win and gain some respect back after our disappointing loss to Kristen earlier on in the week.

The game was at home in front of a big crowd and both teams were eager to show some form and good rugby in front of their loyal followers and supporters.

The game started off slow for HP with Birkenhead giving it to us in the forwards with some strong runs from their number 8, trying to break the advantage line. HP tackled fiercely but were penalised in our own 22 for an offside offense. Birkenhead quickly converted the penalty bringing the score to a 3-nil lead to the visitors. Firm instructions were given and could be heard as if it was a trumpet sounding from both Coaches. We quickly gathered our forwards and proceeded to drive forward with some great pick and go work from our loosies Joshua Frazer and Paulie Ranapia. They were supported well with some quick burst runs off the ruck form our dynamic half-back Quinten Heka. Always probing and threatening the defence catching our visitors napping with some storming runs. Our big and strong Tighthead Prop Vernon Isaacs-Brunning gathered the ball and stormed ahead towards the try line taking four defenders with him to score the first of his 2 tries. Nick Poutama converted. Vernon followed this up in the same fashion busting through the Birkenhead defence to bring his try tally up for the year to 11 tries. However what shortly followed was to be the try of the year. Again our forwards dominated the break down and fed our backs good ball with quick hands across the field. A planned move from 40 metres out saw all of the Hato backs touch the ball, drawing and precise passing and good line running finding the hands of our winger Alister Morris. The crowd went crazy and even the Birkenhead supporters applauded this great effort. The half-time score was 17-3 to HP.

The 2nd half started slow for us with some ill discipline and macho issues starting to creep in to our plays and we paid the price. Birkenhead scored 2 quick soft tries in a matter of 10 minutes due to some poor errors and mistakes. However the boys managed to move on and pull their heads in and again our backs fired with a strong break and run from centre Tukairangi Maxwell which saw Alister Morris score in the corner. We then managed to gain some momentum which saw a break from Ardi Mahu who fed inside to Joshuna Frazer to score. Nick Poutama converted. Birkenhead never gave up and managed to claw their way back in with a try on the final whistle bringing the final score to 31-20 to HP. A disappointing way to finish the game however the boys showed true character and we will gladly take the 5 points away with us.

We must thank all our boys from Kura for their support with the barracks and chants on the side-line! Way to go boys hearty win and well deserved one i must say!

HPC vs Kristen College 1st XV, July 21st, 2009

This was to be a mid-week catch up game due to the school's boarding commitments. To the say the least, it was a game of utter frustration, countless mistakes and poor decision making by a team that we feel is far better than it's opposition. However today everything that could go wrong went wrong, it was one of those days and unfortunately it wasn't our day.
The game started with us being penalised by the referee numerous times and to be fair i thought some calls were one-sided and felt the team were hard done by however we must adapt and play the game. Kristen managed to score a try early on and a penalty kick shortly followed bringing the score to 10-nil at the break.
The second half started like the first and the boys were starting to become frustrated with some of the referee's decisions and it impacted on the team's aura and the way in which they played on the field. However we managed to counter-attack with some good pick and go work from the forwards with some good lead up work from Hati Mahanga and Ardi Mahu. We spent a bit of time in Kristen's 22 and a short break to the blind our forwards managed to drive Hemi Hill over the try line but to be called held up by the ref. Throughout the game we had many opportunities to score points but we either lost possession, the ball got turned over or we chose to run it when we should have either kicked for possession or kicked for a penalty conversion. The Kristen 1st Five made us pay putting the ball behind us all day and in the end our forwards tired and our poor fitness showed. In the end Kristen ran away with it 16-0 and well deserved win to them I must say. For our boys it is a game we would like to forget but one that we have learnt from. This weekend sees us up against Birkenhead College at home and a big game it should be with semi-final spots up for grabs. We only have four more games left we must win them all if we are to have any chance of making the playoffs this year.

HPC vs Whangaparaoa College 1st XV, June 27th, 2009.

This was to be our last game of the term and we had a lot to prove after our narrow loss to Glenfield last week. This weekend we were without our workaholic blindside flanker Paulie Ranapia which saw Te Ahikaaroa Maxwell switch from lock to loosie. Due to some injuries amongst the team we had to make some serious changes switching some forwards and backs around trying new combinations. And boy did they hit us by surprise.
The game was played at home in front of a huge HP crowd and this definitely amped the boys to a 'SPARTAN' like attitude. The first 40 minutes saw HP going in to the break 19-nil up. With a rev up from Co-Coach Byron Davis, Hato Petera put Whangaparaoa to the sword by posting a final score of 60-0, including 10 tries. Prop Vernon Isaacs-Brunning completed a dominating display by scoring 4 tries, and Quinten Heka, Alister Morris, Arapeta Bedggood, Tukairangi Maxwell, and John Ngatai all scoring a try each. Nick Poutama kicking 5 conversions for Hato Petera. The win gives us a maximum of 5 points claiming a bonus point which will prove vital coming in to the finals. Well done boys!!! Enjoy your holidays and see yous all at training next Monday!!!