Waitaki Boys' High School claimed a 41-31 win over Otago Boys' High School 2nd XV in Oamaru today in the final round of the Otago Secondary Schools First XV competition.
It was a messy encounter, as both teams returned from their break.
"You could tell that both teams have been on holiday," Waitaki Boys' coach Wayne Kinzett said.
"It was quite an open game and it would have been a good spectacle for the crowd, I would think.
"It was good running rugby, the conditions suited that as well, but defensively you could tell they'd been on holiday."
Waitaki Boys' scored an early try before both teams went one-for-one through to halftime, at which Waitaki Boys' led 19-17. The second half saw Waitaki Boys' begin to pull away, before Otago Boys' fought their way back in the later stages.
Kinzett said the open game was one Waitaki Boys' were looking to play, although one he had thought they might struggle with early. He said the Otago Boys' pack was very good using the pick and go, which led to a couple of tries.
A semifinal looms, although Waitaki Boys' have another game before then, with their interschool against Otago Boys' High School on Wednesday. In that they will take on the school's First XV, a challenge Kinzett was not shying away from.
"They're obviously a very, very good side and we'll have to play right up there if we want to be in the game," he said.
"But they're coming to our town and we need to front up and do the business."
That leaves them with a short turnaround, although they have proven they can deal with those, having beaten St Kevin's College and King's High School in consecutive days a fortnight ago.
While he was happy with how they are tracking, Kinzett said they needed to shake off their rust quickly.
"Obviously I want to get that defence right," he said.
"It was [right] before we went away on holiday, so we've got to get that back within a couple of days really.
"And I think we can do that, it's just ironing everything out."
In other games John McGlashan College beat South Otago High School 19-3, their closest game since beating the same opponent 22-12 in the third round of the competition. They remain undefeated and finish top of the table. King's High School clinched a playoff spot with a 55-12 win over Dunstan High School.
In the bottom six Kavanagh College beat Otago Boys' High School 3rd XV 59-7, Mount Aspiring College beat South Otago High School 2nd XV 39-10 and St Kevin's College beat Taieri College 53-10.
