St Hilda’s more than justifies place in final

St Hilda’s rugby players celebrate victory in the Highlanders final at the North Ground in Dunedin yesterday. PHOTOS: PETER MCINTOSH

If anyone questioned whether St Hilda’s deserved to be in the Highlanders schoolgirls final, they had those doubts not just erased but obliterated yesterday.

The Dunedin school produced a dazzling performance to smash Southland Girls’ 38-5 at the North Ground. St Hilda’s scored six lovely tries, five to the backs, in a wonderful display of entertaining schoolgirl rugby.

It was a perfect way to prepare for the South Island final against powerhouse Christchurch Girls’ High School in Dunedin on Saturday.

And, as coach Erik Va’afusuaga highlighted, it answered any doubts - however slight - that St Hilda’s was worthy of a place in the Highlanders final.

His team was beaten narrowly by Otago Girls’ in the Otago final but was awarded the spot in the Highlanders final as Otago Girls’ chose, to wide acclaim, to keep a valued but non-eligible player from another school in its squad.

"These girls have certainly earned this," Va’afusuaga said yesterday.

"It’s a wee bit of a story with the Otago Girls’ game, which could have gone either way.

"But as we said to Otago Girls’, we just wanted to do the competition proud, regardless of who went through."

St Hilda’s supporters cheer their team.

Va’afusuaga, who used to coach Otago Girls’, had no qualms with the all-girls school team’s decision to knowingly break the rules in the name of team spirit.

"It was their choice, and they made it, and good on them.

"We just wanted to make sure we were good ambassadors for the final game."

Good ambassadors they were.

St Hilda’s took control of the final from the first whistle yesterday as a relentless forward pack and a couple of classy backs combined to create a swag of scoring opportunities.

Hooker Hannah Lithgow was magnificent and combined nicely with aggressive prop Honour Birks, and Anna Duncan and Georgie Chambers worked tirelessly in the loose.

St Hilda’s flanker Anna Duncan tries to barrel past Southland Girls’ second five Nicole Jackson.

In the backs, midfielders Bridget Sinclair and Anya Clark both looked dangerous and scored two tries, Holly Milne was tidy at first five, and fullback Charlotte Va’afusuaga showed her sublime attacking skills.

St Hilda’s jumped to a 14-0 lead before Southland Girls’ flanker Jess Lucy showed great speed to score from 25m out.

It was all St Hilda’s the rest of the game, the Dunedin school leading 21-5 at the break and scoring three tries in the space of seven minutes in the second half.

Clark’s pair were the pick of the tries, the first on the end of a scintillating Va’afusuaga break and the second an individual effort from 50m.

Erik Va’afusuaga is a happy coach even before the chance to play Christchurch Girls’ for the South Island championship.

"I’m pretty proud of them.

St Hilda’s prop Honour Birks tries to shrug off defender Holly McKelvie.

"Sometimes we’ve only had 19 or 20 players this season. We’re not a big school and we’ve only got a couple of rugby teams, so to be able to win this has been great.

"The girls had to stick together. I’m really happy with their efforts."

Southland Girls’ struggled in the backs but some of its forwards were outstanding.

No8 Abby Smith was close to unstoppable with ball in hand, prop Ruby Earwaker was both aggressive and skilled, and flanker Lucy Crombie was hungry for work.