The Crucial Game... (Holiday Writing)

Today was a crucial game for my Otahuhu Leopards Rugby League Under 13 team because we couldn't afford to lose after previously losing 2 games in the championship round. Today we versed one of the top teams Papatoetoe Steelers who have only lost 1 game this whole season. This was our third game in the Championship round, we have to win our last 3 games to advance to the Semi Finals. 

We had a slight advantage going into the game because we were the home team, we played at Bert Henham Park No.1 field which is the main field of our club. I was really excited because this was my first game after being sick. 

I was nervous but as soon as the first hit up was made I was ready. Our first set was a great set because we gained a lot of meters in our oppositions territory. Sadly after this set Papatoetoe had ran in 2 quick tries and we were down 10-0. We quickly gained momentum and were able to grab a converted try which made it 10-6. Shortly before halftime Papatoetoe also grabbed a converted try and the score was now 16-6 and this was the outcome of the first half. During our Halftime talk with our coaches and manager we were determined to play harder in the second half and force a comeback. 

Indeed we did, we grabbed 2 quick tries and we were able to bring the game within 2 points (16-14). Papatoetoe replied with a long distance try of their own and had pushed out to a 22-14 lead. At this time we knew we had to work harder and we were able to score 2 tries and at this point we were winning 24-22 according to the ref. The score remained the same until fulltime and we were all happy that our final hopes were still alive. Their will be some controversy over the score because the deciding kick from our team was missed yet the ref had said we had won. We'll just take this win and hope for 2 more wins against Manurewa Southern Storms and Ellerslie Blue.