Both Southland schools came up short in their bids for South Island First XV titles on Saturday. And one of them will be cursing the game that got away. Southland Boys’ suffered late heartbreak in a 41-40 loss to St Andrew’s in Christchurch. The Invercargill school had done exceptionally well to claw their way back into the game after trailing 24-7 in the 28th minute. Powerful lock Jack McKeay burrowed over for a try in the dying seconds of the first half and Jack Brock slotted a nice conversion to make it 24-14 at the break. Then followed a wonderful spell that highlighted why Southland Boys’ have been so impressive in recent years. No 8 Elliot Wilson started the southern stampede when he dived over from a ruck. Winger Charlie Byrne then glided inside three defenders before scorching back to the outside to score a cracking individual try. When Byrne swooped on an intercept to bank a second and centre Max Savory smartly followed up a knock-on to add a try, Southland Boys’ had scored 33 unanswered points and roared to a 40-24 lead with 15 minutes to play. Just a shame the rest of the game belonged to St Andrew’s. Southland Boys’ lost flanker Cruz Swain to a yellow card, and the Christchurch school scored two tries in his absence. It remained 40-36 to Southland Boys’ when the visitors, seeking to wind down the final seconds, were penalised. St Andrew’s worked their way down the field and scored the winning try well past the 70-minute mark. It has to be seen as something of a statement win for the Christchurch co-ed school, who were not invited to join the breakaway South Island schools competition. They will head to the national finals to play the winner of the Hurricanes final between Napier Boys’ and St Pats Silverstream. Southland Girls’, meanwhile, found the going tough in the South Island secondary schoolgirls final in Invercargill. Christchurch Girls’ rolled to a 48-7 win at Rugby Park. Second five Hanakura Mita scored the only try for Southland Girls’ and Grace Hourston kicked the conversion.
