Light Bears ready for 'once in a lifetime' clash at Eden Park

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“Keep being relaxed and free, play what’s got you here.”

That is High School Old Boys Light Bears captain Jarred Percival’s message to his troops ahead of their U85kg National Club Cup final at Eden Park on Saturday.

The Light Bears will take on Wellington side Pōneke Wanderers in the decider, which also serves as the curtain-raiser to the All Blacks’ clash with the Wallabies.

Percival said he did not want his players changing their style after beating Pakuranga 23-7 in Saturday’s semi-final – a rematch of last year’s final, which Old Boys lost.

“The worst thing is the boys going into their shell and not playing their natural game,” he said.

“If you love to run it, you run it. Don’t change the way you play just because now it’s a final.”

Percival said playing at New Zealand’s biggest stadium was “once in a lifetime” for his team.

“You don’t get the opportunity often to play at stadiums like Eden Park,” he said.

“It’s a pretty special week and we’re trying to make sure the boys understand what we’ve achieved so far and get the club in behind it as well.”

The Light Bears battered Pakuranga’s defence in the first half of the semi-final, but only led 3-0 at the break thanks to a Taine Cordell-Hull penalty.

Percival said a tactical adjustment opened things up in the second spell.

“I identified pretty early on that they didn’t have a kicking game and they were trying to run everything,” he said.

“In the second half, with a bit of a wind, I just put a focus on booting it long and making them run it out from their own 20.

“Obviously you can’t do that all game, you make mistakes, and we were able to capitalise from there.”

Tries to centre Ryan McNulty and No 8 Billy Sloan, plus the boot of Cordell-Hull – who converted both tries and landed three penalties – sealed a comfortable victory.

Teenage wing Cam Jones, still at Christchurch Boys’ High, made his senior club debut off the bench in the final 15 minutes and is likely to feature again on Saturday.

“Cam’s been training with us the last three weeks or so,” Percival said.

“He’s a really exciting prospect, and arguably the team is even more excited for Cam. What a cool moment for him to still be at school playing in the national U85kg final at Eden Park before the All Blacks.”

The Light Bears’ opponents, Pōneke, beat the Auckland University Slugs 49-31 in Saturday’s other semi-final.

Percival said he did not know a lot about their opponents, but expected them to be a powerful side.

“They're definitely strong and talented, but I’m going to to sit down and watch them play to see where they are strong and identify weaknesses we can exploit.”

The Light Bears fly to Auckland on Saturday morning before the 2.15pm final, which will be live on Sky Sport.

NATIONAL U85KG CLUB CUP FINAL
HSOB​ Light​ Bears ​v​ Pōneke​ Wanderers
Eden ​Park
Saturday, 2.15pm