He's not a winger. He's not a first five-eighth. Nope, he's a 120kg prop.
Jonah Aoina scored five tries in Otago Boys' High School's 55-0 drubbing of John McGlashan College in the semifinal of the Highlanders First XV competition at Littlebourne on Saturday.
The 17-year-old used his large frame to barge his way to the line but also displayed the ability to step.
He brought the crowd to its feet with the last of his five tries. He ran a good angle, collected a smart inside pass from the halfback and ''did a big Benji Marshall step'' to beat the fullback and score under the posts.
''The whole crowd got up and clapped in appreciation,'' coach Ryan Martin said.
''But most of them were pretty close to the line - pick-and-go kind of tries.''
Martin believes it is the first time a prop has scored five tries for the school's first XV.
While Aoina was an obvious standout, Otago Boys' also defended extremely well, and that bodes well for its title defence.
''We've been really happy with our defence. To keep a team scoreless in a semifinal was something to be pretty happy with.''
Southland Boys' High School beat King's High School 39-14 in the other semifinal to set up a rematch of last year's final. The final is expected to be hosted at Littlebourne on Saturday.
The other notable result was St Kevin's College smashing Mt Aspiring College 55-15.
No 8 Filipo Veamatahau had a storming game for the Oamaru school, picking up three tries, while captain Jacob Coghlan had a strong performance from the side of the scrum and Matthew Vocea was incisive at centre.
The game was still in the balance at halftime, with St Kevin's leading 13-10.
''[Mt Aspiring] played very well in the first half,'' St Kevin's coach Justin Fowler said.
''We just kept hold of the ball a little better in the second half and just created more opportunities.''
The victory enabled St Kevin's to claim a berth in the final for the top co-educational secondary school in the South Island. It will play either St Andrew's College or Burnside High School in the final.
More immediately, though, St Kevin's will play Waitaki Boys' on Saturday for top spot in the middle four of the Highlanders First XV competition. It will be the third time the two schools have met this season.
In other results, South Otago High School beat St Peter's College 37-25, Dunstan High School downed Gore High School 48-12, and Waitaki Boys' High School defeated Menzies College 36-26.
