The weather forecast looked dodgy, however, another fantastic two days of competition and friendship was held during the recent sports exchange with Mahurangi College. All the games were played in the spirit that is becoming of this annual ‘fixture’ and as a result the competition to take the trophy was a fought affair. After another great Powhiri by both colleges it was down to the business of the sports with the Boys Football kicking off the competition on the Tuesday afternoon. Due to HPC not having a senior boy’s team this year, a request from the Mahurangi boys to field a team for this event was organised thanks to some keen footy lads who gathered up some troops consisting of rugby and hockey players. Thanks to the wind, Mahurangi dominated first half with HPC dominating the second half, however, Mahurangi proved too strong winning 6-3. From the field to the gym where both our basketball teams were tearing up the court. The HPC Boys Basketball evened up the ledger with an 83-37 victory with the HPC Girls taking out their game 68-24, giving HPC the lead. Next we headed down to the Events Centre at Ngatea Primary School to watch the netball with the HPC College A team playing outstandingly well and winning their game 44-19. The final game of day 1 was the Boys Hockey where HPC displayed some sharp skills and goal scoring with an 11-0 victory. This meant that after a full day of competition the game ‘score’ was 4-1 to HPC. As a result – the three games on the Wednesday were vital to who was going to win the trophy, as three wins to Mahurangi could result in a draw. It was an early start at the turf Wednesday morning to watch the Girls Hockey, not to be outdone by the boy’s game the night before HPC girls went out firing and won 6-0. Back down to HPC where it was fantastic to see that the HPC Senior Management team had allowed a period swap so that the entire school could come out and support the teams in the 1st XV Rugby and Girls Football games. The Mahurangi Girls Football proved too strong winning 7-1 whilst the final game of the exchange resulted in a win to HPC 27-3. Afterwards it was back to the hall for the after match speeches where Mahurangi presented our Sports Leaders with the trophy followed by a leaving Haka from Mahurangi. All students enjoyed a bite to eat (food organised and set up by the Hospitality student leaders) before saying their final farewells to their billets and friends. As the Mahurangi students pulled away HPC responded by the 1st XV doing their Haka. Finally – Hauraki Plains College would like to thank community volunteers who helped umpire/ref games, coach, provide food and support our teams on the sidelines, and of course all those families who hosted students. Without this commitment these exchanges just wouldn’t happen.
