Not quite the triumphant margin of previous years but a win none the less, the end of day points roundup saw Raroa come out on top with 8 points to 5, to retain the Williams Cup, in our annual sports exchange, held here at Raroa on damp Tuesday 28 June.

Girls Basketball Triumph in Fashion

As part of the exciting sporting exchange, the girls basketball team took on Tawa at Onslow College Gym on Tuesday. It was a very competitive game but in the end the Raroa girls were too strong and took it out 40-12. All the girls played incredibly by sticking to the plan and working together. In the end all the baskets were shared between the team.

The first half was a very tight contest with Raroa only leading by 8. When the second half begun there were up to 150 Onslow seniors lifting the roof off with their support. This lifted the entire team and the girls got a quick and easy 10 points right at the start which pretty much put the result beyond doubt. By the end the girls were just getting point after point and stopping Tawa from getting some of their own. It was a great game by both sides and we are looking forward to playing Tawa again in future tournaments.

Team: Jemma Catherwood (c), Sophie Edwards, Amanda Parlane, Pepi Olliver-Bell, Waimarie Carter, Paris Tuimaseve-Fox, Caitlin Revell, Ruby Mcauley, Emma Hardy, Eve Waititi, Lili Clarke.

By Sophie Edwards and Jemma Catherwood.

1st XV Rugby

The Tawa vs Raroa rugby match is always a special part of the big sporting exchange. All 19 of us were excited, especially the year 7s as it was their first game representing Raroa. Tawa performed an impressive rendition of Ka Mate that got the hairs on the back of our necks standing up. Tawa had a huge size advantage and that was clear as the teams lined up. Their right winger was lightning quick and he proved the major difference scoring all 3 first half tries.

Mr Price and Mr Morris gave a highly motivational speech at the break and the lads came out firing.The whistle blew and we were back on attack. We had nice big and strong runs from the forwards and backs and scored a well deserved try. For what felt like 10 to 15 minutes we hammered their defence with strong attacks, great teamwork and a never say die attitude. We scored and it was amazing. Loud cheering from all of the school lifted us and put smiles on our faces.

From a captain's point of view Raroa had the best team spirit, never say die attitude and great motivation.I loved the fact the boys tackled hard until the very last minute. I would like to thank the Tawa first XV for coming and having a great match, the referee for refereeing the game and Mr Morris and Mr Price for using their mornings and lunch times to coach the team.

https://goo.gl/photos/gorMMf41YPzFKfgc7    for photos.

By Zachary Woods

Badminton

Badminton is a unique sport. Not many people get to play it as it is a quite unknown, not one of your go to sports. Luckily Raroa offers it as a sport to compete in many opportunities. On Tuesday 28th of June, we sent a team of four students to the Tawa Badminton Hall to play badminton for the Tawa Exchange.

It was an amazing opportunity, with Victor Han, Leo Allen, Katie Chu-Fong and Emma Chung participating as the two boys and two girls required for the sport. Each student was ranked from 1-4 in each team, and they played against their equal in doubles with a partner. There were six games played in total, as each member of the team had to play with each other. Some games were quite close, but Raroa pulled out as the clear winners in the end with a score of 6-0 games.

We would just like to say thank you to Tawa for displaying amazing sportsmanship and putting up such a great competition for us, as well as remaining awesome, talented opponents.

By Katie Chu-Fong and Emma Chung

Girls Volleyball

Tuesday’s game for the Girls Volleyball Team was a fantastic debut for the team. Playing in their first match against another girls team, the 9 students involved all rose to the occasion. Whilst the first set was lost because of Tawa’s excellent serving, we came back strong in the second. It came down to the wire, with one point in the balance and Tawa serving. It was a great serve and a great receive from our team. We went on to win the rally and take home the second set. Our last set was a short one with only 15 points in it, but our girls had warmed up to the challenge and we won the last set by more than 4 points. Congratulations to Kate, Unity, Maia, Leli, Eliza, Emma, Jemma, Pepi & Sophie Edwards; our player of the match. We are now looking forward towards the Inter-Intermediate Tournament coming up in Week 3 of Term 3.

Netball ~ Year 7 

The Year 7 Rubies team played a thrilling game of skillful netball in terrible conditions. The rain was pelting down as fast as the goals were being slotted. Tawa had a terrace of supporters who were in fine voice, but neither this nor a slippery ball could deter the Rubies. 

Congratulations to Mariah Love, (Goal Attack), who was the teams 'Player of the Day', although the teamwork exhibited by all the girls was a spectacle to be admired. The final score was 25-3.  

Boys First XI  

After many early morning trainings the Raroa Boys First XI finally had the chance to put their hard work to the test against the Tawa First XI. This was especially significant as we had previously lost to them in the final of the Inter Intermediate Tournament last term. The team were certainly pumped and looking forward to getting out on the pitch again for the school. Thankfully the drizzle cleared making for a nice day (albeit slightly chilly) game.

The boys played really well as a cohesive unit. They strung some really good passes together and made some great runs through to make solid shots on goal. The team from Tawa were every bit as strong as we remembered from the tournament last term. Unfortunately the Raroa boys lost the match 3-1, but definitely did not make it easy for them. Our back line really held it together, putting a stop to a number of attacks from the Tawa team.

A special mention has to go out to Paddy Martin who made a number of great defensive plays and ran his heart out to cover and follow through on multiple great tackles. A final mention to go out to Henry Naish, or should I say “Captain Fantastic”. Henry really took control even before we made it to the park. He had worked out strategies of how to approach the Tawa team and formulated a starting line-up based on individual player strengths. On the pitch, Henry maintained that control by directing the team into position and put in a huge effort to control the backs in a sweeper capacity. Well done Henry!!!

I am immensely proud of all the boys in the team - for their commitment to early morning trainings and giving their all to the games they’ve played.

I am looking forward to the next few matches lined up - The exchange with Wellesley, Sports Fest, and hopefully a couple of friendly games before the season ends.                                                                                                          By Mr Bailey.

Boys Volleyball  

With the school hall being out of action, it has been a hard road leading up to the Tawa Exchange for the boys volleyball team. Fortunately the lovely sports teams at Onslow College have allowed us the use of their Rec Centre each Thursday morning to practice and begin working towards developing skills and teamwork.

They had been looking forward to getting on the court for our first competitive game against Tawa, and with most of the team having to rush from their basketball and football games, we finally made it together to start the match.

We played best of three games. Tawa won the first two games, so the third game was played just for fun and a bit more practice. Regardless of the outcome, there were some moments of class from both teams, with some great serving games (in particular some fantastic dipping top-spin serves from Vaea Tagaloa), as well as some good control and rallies. Our player of day went to Frankie Paratene who maintained control under pressure and kept his serving game tight and constant. Well done Frankie.

The games allowed us to see which areas we need to work on, and we are looking forward to nailing those in time for the Inter-Intermediate Tournament in week three next term.                                                                           By Mr Bailey

Netball  

Screams, cheers, applause fill the air while the ball soars nicely into the circle. Netball wasn’t the only sport we played in Tawa exchange, but it sure was one of the hardest. Playing with everyone watching, everyone cheering, everyone there, sure was one of the hardest bits to get over; much different than the usual Saturday games, but we did well to get through it. Even better to come out on top. 43 - 8 to Raroa Eagles, what a score! We played really well, we accomplished a lot of our team goals.

Our determination, communication and positive vibes definitely helped us win the game. We worked very well as a team! Backing up players and straight line plays, we did everything we needed to do to get on top. Our teamwork was definitely one of the best things out on the court.

All the practise on restricting and hunting paid off too, the feeling of flying to intercept that ball is a great feeling to have. Hunting helped us gain most of our team turnovers.

Our defence players did well with getting their hands up and over the ball and blocking out their players from the goal circle.

We were skilful in the way we had control and balance when passing the ball into our goal circle. We were turning fully with the ball so we could face down the court, which then made it easier to pass down the court.

Written by Kyrah Whitman and Paris Tuimaseve-Fox (Year 8A Netballers)