It was another tough day at the office for the AshHutt rugby girls on Wednesday night, taking on Timaru Girls’ High School (TGHS) in Timaru, and going down 63-24.The Ashburton College and Mt Hutt College combined side were two tries down in the first couple of minutes, and although they struggled to get into the game from there, coach Grant Elvines said they were competitive most of the time.

Elvines said they were just guilty of missing too many tackles in defence, and not looking after the ball when we had worked so hard to get it, and TGHS pounced on every mistake.

The AshHutt forwards were dominant, with the three loosies Tyla Harraway, Megan Hurley and Aidan Elvines doing a lot of the donkey work in defence, and running strongly when they had the ball.

Second half subs Margret Eli and Grace Bleach also made some good metres with the ball, with Bleach again being rewarded with another two tries.

The backs had their chances as well, with Manee Mannex-Peters being solid on the wing, and Telita Manu making her fair share of tackles in the midfield.

Elvines said his side still had work to do, but it was reassuring to see improvement every time the girls take the field.

Due to next week’s teacher strike, AshHutt’s next game will be against Waitaki Girls at Alpine Stadium, Timaru on June 5.

Last week, AshHutt went down to Craighead 53-27, and the week before that they lost to Roncalli College 20-17.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 24 May 2019