The King's High School U15 Panthers played the Dunstan High School Colts Team in the 2018 ORFU Secondary Schools Colts Final on Saturday 11 August.

It was clear early on that Dunstan were going to struggle to contain the size and power of the King's team.

Hard running props Mahonri Auva'a and Steve Salelea were well supported by hooker Fatai Koloi and the loose forward trio of Jay Davis, Kobe McDermott and Neemia Vaiangina . 

Number 8 Jay Davis provided his team with a dominant lineout display with lock Sab Makene adding more firepower in the engine room. Over all it was a good display from this big forward pack which began right from kick-off when Dunstan opted to clear from near their own line only to find themselves defending it moments later and being penalised for not rolling away.

The scrum option was taken and five phases later fullback Jonah Palu scored the first of his three tries for a well deserved man of the match performance where his clinical running into the backline and silky skills provided problems for the Dunstan team.
Moments later Dunstan again found themselves defending their line when slick ball movement down the blind side with Jonah Palu sent winger Isaac Dolan in for the second try of the match with a deft touch pass. 

Jonah Palu’ s second try came from a sweeping backline movement after a scrum where skillful center Benjamin Freeman put Jonah Palu into space with an audacious backhand pass 45 metres out.
Dunstan to their credit tried to stem the tide of points and ran it at every opportunity, but the King's line speed proved hard to penetrate and Dunstan found themselves committing too many unforced errors which ultimately led to a scrum 20 metres out. Jay Davis ran blindside with support from halfback Finau Fosita who had a dream run behind his forward pack who fed Jonah Palu to send winger Zack Renouf over in the corner for a halftime score of 22/0; four tries with one conversion by first five eight Ben Paku who led the team around the park well.
Prop Mahonri Auva’a scored after 14 mins into the second half following some good aggressive play by both sides. The conversion made it a 29/0 lead and a tough hill to climb for Dunstan who finally showed the reason they deserved to be in the final 14 minutes into the second half when they scored two quick tries to their best player on the Park, their hard running number 8. 

Lack of discipline from the King's team almost cost them more points when Captain Trevor Elisara was sent to the bin and when he was just short of returning to the field, winger Isaac Dolan joined him but time was running out and  a good forward drive and try to Neemia Vaiangina snuffed out any thought of a comeback. 

Tries to replacement Duncan Trevithick after a tighthead scrum win and Jonah Palu’ s third try sealed a deserved and hard-earned win for the home side. 

The U15 team now focus their attention on Tournament Week where they will attend the Hurricanes U15 Rugby Tournament in Wellington 4-8 September. They have the opportunity to play schools from all over the country such as Westlake Boys', St Peter's, St Patrick's Silverstream, Scots College, Kelston Boys and Fielding High; just some of the schools that make up the 16 team format.