After a couple of losses in the local competition, the U15 group were keen to use this game as a yardstick for the season; to see if we can match up with some of the biggest out of school teams despite a lack of success thus far. The boys were hungry from the start going up 7-0 early on through some smart play. The remainder of the 1st half was an arm wrestle, a couple tries.

To start the 2nd half, Shirley came out with a bang taking a 17 point lead off the back of some well built up tries. This, however, didn’t last long as some complacency in trying to exit the red zone cost Shirley with 2 un-converted tries making it a 7-point game. Nelson was hot on attack in the final minutes, looking to tie up the game. A late mistake gave Shirley possession, with that they kicked the ball into touch, ending the game 31-24, Shirley victory.

A well-fought game from two very close sides. We look forward to possibly meeting them again at South Island tournament in late August.