Top 4 Report: Southern Cross Campus

The Blues Region Rep was Southern Cross Campus and not knowing anything at all really about this team or any of the Girl’s teams I was keen to see what they were capable of doing. Seeing that it was Southern Cross Campus I knew that it would be an almost all Islander & Maori team but I was wrong, because it was an ALL Islander & Maori team haha. Anyway, seeing them in their first match up against St Mary’s I thought “Cool, St Mary’s kind of came into this National’s as the favourites so lets see what they can do”.

The first movement of the ball that Southern Cross got was to Captain and Prop Luti Sikoloni and she took that first hit up like a “Champ”, and just ran over like 4 of St Mary’s team and all of us on the side line were like “DAYYYYYYYUUMMMMM!!!”. Then a couple of phases went by and then again “LUTI COMING!!!” and she just ran over another 3 St Mary’s players. Here is the thing that shocked me and I really didn’t expect was that all the big Props that were at the Tournament, they were all fit girls and they ran the whole time. I really give it up to them as well because they played the way boys played too and the game was very entertaining from a Rugby skill stand point not because it was the finals. Luti was very fit and she marched her team on up the field because of her running. I really liked that Southern Cross was a running team that would setup runners and then play for phases and not just try break the line with every run. Lock Tili Moli also did a few hits ups that got the team moving forward as well as Tuiala Iakopo the Blind Side that was one of my favourite players of the Tournament. She did a lot for the team and it was just running the ball, it was tackles, clean outs, setting up players and even putting her body on the line when she needed too. This St Mary’s team was very good but Southern Cross were holding their own and Tuiala and Luti were big reasons for the strong hold on the game.

Another key player was 2nd 5/8 Sarah Filimoeatu and she was maybe and I mean maybe because their were a couple of them, but she was maybe one of the best players there. Sarah had a very strong and up in your face running style and she would pick out tackles and pretty much run through them and hold her balance to eat up more meters. She was always good at recognizing the situation and knowing when to give that pass

and Zoya To’ofohe was the perfect player to give the ball too cause she was also one to run through players. That midfield was skillful, physical and very unselfish. I think the wingers Lavinia Tauhalaliku and Shaniah Lui were lucky to be out there with two players that created a lot of space for them and all they needed to do was finish it off. The Southern Cross girls had the wind blowing in their faces and St Mary’s played the game deep into their back field and made them run everything out, they really had no choice cause that wind was really blowing hard out. Fullback Oloatua Magele was a very good player bring the ball back and was a good link for the midfield to work with and she broke some tackles on the way too. The wind got to much for them in that first half that in the second they were trying to catch up and back on track and it was to much for them to make all the points back up.

The game against Southland I thought was a fare one because both of the teams were so different and they hard very different strengths about them. I liked the way this game went because the Southern Cross girls went up the middle of the field and the Southland Girls spread the ball from one side to the other and both teams had difficulty trying to stop the other team. Faith Filimoeatu Hooker and other Prop Tilila Hifo had very strong games in this one and they made the most of the ball when they got it taking some real big hit ups. I thought they could have kept the same structured form from the last game where they mixed things up but this game it was really just straight ahead and the backs sort of had to really fight to get the ball out wide and the ball came late in the second half. I think Southern Cross had a very talened stacked team and almost all the girls were comfortable with every part of playing rugby and so that’s why their plays worked so good. I’m not sure about how they will go next year but for this team I think they did their school Proud.