Pre Season Game Feed Back – Dilworth School vs Rotorua BHS

I had my first rugby game of the Season out there in Auckland watching Dilworth School go at it with Rotorua BHS in a Pre Season game. I went not really expecting much at all because I knew that both teams would be trying different combo’s, also new systems and things of that nature to see if change is needed and in what areas. Rotorua BHS are off to Fiji soon and they want to fix up the gaps needed because going over there with some of those big guys they will want to be prepared. Dilworth School have lost a few boys from last year and some key attacking players that for any rugby program it’s not easy to replace. Im just going to give you a run down of what I saw and what I thought of both teams with just a first look.

So we’ll get the score out of the way because it didn’t really matter in the end because most Pre Seasons are not about score lines. Dilworth School going down 45-0 wasn’t all that bad with how many players they had out there in uniform obviously still trying out players and stuff like that so no big deal. Starting with the front row I felt they did all good out there getting around the field and taking the hit ups they were suppose to and then defending around the rucks. They did good work getting around the ball runners and then cleaning out. One area the scrums wasn’t so impressive not being able to hold the weight long enough for the half back to get it out. Not having a strong scrum is not an unusual thing because there are a lot of schools around the country that dont pack a good solid scrum, but at least be able to hold it long enough and that is something they will have to fix before season starts. Sam Fonua got around as usual and made so many tackles and he got a bit faster to which was cool to see. Sio Aho had a good game doing all the simple things well and making it easier for the half back to get the ball out with his clean outs of the rucks. Setaleki Baker who I think was at Blind Side also had a physical game really getting into the tackles and trying to shut down the momentum that Rotorua BHS was building up. Tevita Hala showed a lot of flashes of his talent but wasn’t able to get comfortable in his position with the ball being rushed out a lot of the time and for me, this Dilworth team only works when Tevita Hala gets quality ball to work with. Dilworth do have some good attacking players that will be used a lot this year with David Nanai, Tyrone Mafi and Lolo Liavaa and so through out the year we will see a lot of those guys come into play.

On the other side of the field Rotorua BHS looked like a Top 5 team in the country with the way they played and the execution of their play. They looked like they all knew what to do and what was expected of them through out the game even when the changes came on. Pou Sorenson at Prop showed that he is NZSS material and came back to school looking a lot better in shape cutting that little bit of fat he had and adding some serious muscle. I was real impressed with Stuart Leach who was playing Lock but moves and plays like an Open Side. Which brings me to the Loose Trio of Tuki Simpkins at 6, Manny Crawford at 7 and Malupo Maafu at No.8. These 3 guys really made a massive difference around the field making it to the tackle, working to get the turnover, out working Dilworth in the rucks, dropping back to cover the fullback and wingers when needed and then making some real good returns with the ball. Another player to keep an eye on this year for Raukura is Manu Paea at 9 and Cassius Masi at 12 who both had real impressive games both working hard on offence and even harder on defence. Manu let the game flow and got the ball to as many hands as possible in long phase stretches. Cassius was very physical and breaking tackles and getting into the open field but also put players into spaces as well which was great to watch and he fit a great system and kicked some good goals and is going to be hard to stop this year. Tama Te Aute I think found his position at Fullback and I know that Selesitino Ravutaumada is injured but Tama is looking good back at 15 and Tino might have to take the wing for now.

Dilworth School are going to need to fix up some that stuff with the remaining Pre Season games and making sure that the front row gets better at scrum time and tightening up the grips and really filling those gaps making it strong together. Rotorua BHS look like to me more of a Top 5 team then a Top 10 team and so we’ll see what happens over the next few weeks.