It was a nail-biting match on Saturday when the Selborne College 1st XV rugby team went up against their Hudson Park counterparts in the final match of the Border Schools Rugby Day.
Picture: MATTHEW FIELD
It came right down to the wire but in the end, Selborne snuck through to a 17-15 win with an overtime penalty kick from Warrick Day.
The first half definitely belonged to Hudson.
Blake Diedricks’ penalty kick 16 minutes in put Hudson in a 3-0 lead, while Dillan Kromhout’s try in the last few seconds of the half pushed them to 8-0. It was a strong start, one they would fight tooth-and-nail to defend.
The tables began to turn with Selborne’s Josh van Vreden scoring a try early into the second half, bringing the score to a close 7-8.
This seemed to give Hudson a rude wake-up call and for a while, they fought hard to keep Selborne away from their end of the field. Unfortunately for them, Selborne player Nkoka Ngobe found a gap in their defences and cruised past for another try, putting Selborne in a 14-8 lead for the first time in the match.
Hudson didn’t take this lying down, and a hard-fought try from Josh Jonas in the 55th minute put them back on top at 15-14. With just five minutes left on the clock, both teams pulled out all the stops. When the final whistle finally blew, it seemed all over.
But then, during overtime, a high tackle from Hudson earned the team a red card and gave Selborne a penalty kick.
Day stepped forward, lined up his shot and sent it sailing between the posts to secure Selborne’s 17-15 victory.
The full match can be watched on the School Sport Live YouTube channel.
