Kate Donald looks to make a bust up field during her Ashburton College/Mount Hutt College combined first XV’s win over Roncalli College in Ashburton on Wednesday. Photo Erin TaskerWith only one more game to go before the finals, the Ashburton College/Mount Hutt College girls’ combined first XV rugby side are on track to defend their Aoraki girls’ rugby title.

The Ashburton/Mount Hutt team played their final home game of the competition on Wednesday night, downing Timaru’s Roncalli College 38-7, and were sitting at the top of the leaderboard alongside Craighead with only Geraldine left to play in the round robin.

They’d play Geraldine in Geraldine next weekend before heading into the finals, where if results went as expected they’d end up lining up against Craighead in what should be a hard-fought final.

Ashburton/Mount Hutt coach Grant Elvines said his side had only lost one game so far this season and that was their first game, against Craighead. They lost that one 27-20, but the second time the two sides met this season Ashburton/Mount Hutt turned the tables and won 17-10.

“Craighead has a very good team this year, so hopefully it will be us and them in the final, and that will be a cracker game,” Elvines said.

Last year, Timaru Girls’ High School were Ashburton/Mount Hutt’s biggest opposition. The two sides met in the final and Ashburton/Mount Hutt won 64-40.

“We got off to an absolute flyer and they just kept mowing us down,” Elvines said.

“Even though it was 20 points in the end, with a few minutes to go it could have gone either way. I was a cot case, to be honest.”

That team featured Mount Hutt’s Te Moananui triplets – Chloe, Erana and Jamee – who had been an integral part of the Ashburton/Mount Hutt team over the past three years and heading into this season, with the triplets having finished school, some questioned how the Ashburton/Mount Hutt team would go without them, Elvines said. But they needn’t have worried.

“The 15 girls on the paddock have all stepped up. They’ve sort of come out of the shadows,” Elvines said.

“They can all do what the triplets could, and now it’s their turn to blossom.

“Every team evolves. You lose players one season and the next season you get new ones in. It’s not just us, it’s the All Blacks as well, like when Richie McCaw and Dan Carter finished up people were worried.”

Like the All Blacks, Ashburton/Mount Hutt had shown they were still a force to be reckoned with, and they were hopeful they could go all the way again this season and take the competition out.

Last year, Ashburton/Mount Hutt went through the whole season unbeaten. The year before that they lost just one game, and the year before that, they were unbeaten.

“Losing just isn’t on our radar. The girls have always been competitive, but don’t get me wrong, it’s a really good competition – the Timaru schools are really strong,” Elvines said.

Unfortunately for them, Ashburton/Mount Hutt had proven to be just that little bit stronger in recent years.

Elvines said while the 38-7 scoreline against Roncalli on Wednesday may have flattered his side a little, he was still impressed by much of what his side produced.

“The first half was really good rugby. The girls just struggled a bit with the wet weather to be honest,” Elvines said.

With the competition’s semi-finals and final played in Timaru, the game against Roncalli was Ashburton/Mount Hutt’s final home game for the competition.

By Erin Tasker © The Ashburton Guardian - 10 August 2018