Rugby: Whitgiftians late show denies Haileyburians

Old Whitgiftians left it late to defeat Old Haileyburians on Saturday.

The hosts scored two tries within in five minutes in the final quarter of the match to seal the points.

The first half was a dour struggle with both teams displaying more tenacity in defence than attack.

By half-time, a penalty each had been exchanged, with Whitgiftians' Les Todd having bounced one off the post with an earlier attempt.

After the interval the home side capitalised on the notorious Croham Road slope and it always seemed likely Whitgiftians would eventually prevail.

Gordon Coletta popped over another penalty, but a further 25 minutes passed before Whitgift added more points when skipper Schad shimmied over for a try.

The hosts repeated the trick with a very similar move four minutes later, with Quintin Keanie this time scoring in the corner.

Gordon Coletta added the conversion with an excellent kick from the touchline.

Haileyburians reacted by raising the determination in their game, but their come back was far too late, and a solitary penalty goal was their only reward.