Photos: above, Joe’s Garage AshHutt Under 15 rugby side taste victory winning the secondary school girls Under 15 competition; at right, in action.
PHOTOS SUPPLIEDThe Joe’s Garage AshHutt Under 15 rugby side have won the 2023 Under 15s secondary school girls competition.The Joe’s Garage AshHutt Under 15 rugby side have won the 2023 Under 15s secondary school girls competition.It was a Mid and South Canterbury school girls age group competition.
The Joe’s Garage AshHutt Under 15 rugby side have won the 2023 Under 15s secondary school girls competition.
The combined Ashburton and Mount Hutt colleges side beat defending champions Craighead 37-19 at Pleasant Point showgrounds last week in what was described as ‘‘an absolute cracker of a game’’.
The new side was under the coaching direction of Stirling Clark and Jarrod Ross.
Under 15s team manager Tania Hill said the girls started off the game the way they wanted to finish, in front of a supportive crowd. They won the Under 15s cup, which will be shared between both schools, and each player got their own championship medal.
‘‘They were pretty determined. It was quite an amazing game, they played great,’’ Hill said.
‘‘We had lots of supporters as well, which I think helped.’’
‘‘It was a great game and the girls played their hearts out to come home with the win.’’
AshHutt had beaten Craighead in the previous round of the competition, and around six AshHutt players had faced them in the competition final last year.
‘‘We are so proud of them and how far they have come,’’ Hill said, of the new team; many of whom had not played before.
‘‘A couple of them hadn’t even held a ball before and didn’t even know how to throw a pass.’’
‘‘They have come together as a team and are a tight family unit.’’
In the Under 18 girls bronze final the Joe’s Garage First XV AshHutt girls side beat Timaru Girls High School 24-22 at Southern Rugby Club, in Hinds last week.
They started the game with a squad of 15, and kept the pressure on to secure third overall in the South Canterbury Secondary School Girls competition.
The Under 18s competition was won by Craighead who overwhelmingly beat second placed St Kevin’s/Waitaki Girls side 82-27 at Pleasant Point.
Such was the success of the girls rugby in Mid Canterbury this year, four of the AshHutt First XV players have been named in the Hannan Shield Under 18 squad this month. Angel Hauiti-Spooner, Edelma Kelsall, Siasini Satui (all Ashburton College) and Savannah Clark (Mount Hutt) will represent the district in the 24-women squad.
