Manawatu wins by a whisker | Taranaki Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Taranaki

IN THE dying minutes of Saturday's pre-season game in Stratford, victory was snatched from the Taranaki Under 16s boys team with a last charge from Manawatu.

Having lead right up until the last four minutes of the game, the 24 27 loss Taranaki suffered at the hands of Manawatu was a frustrating end to what had been a good, clean game.

"The Taranaki boys definitely had the better game for the first 60 minutes," said co-ordinator, Chris Drummond.

"I think they just relaxed a bit too much when they got in front and let their guard down."

Despite the loss, there were certainly memorable plays from some of the local lads, with high praise going to Lachlan Bunn for stand-out play in the mid-field and Jacob Gopperth for solid work on the side flank.

The Taranaki Girl's Secondary Schools Team team fared much better taking Manawatu down in a 35-0 slam-dunk in another excellent showing from the team.

Both teams will be heading south to Wanganui for Hurricanes tournaments in coming school holiday weeks, playing teams from Wellington, Manawatu and Hawkes Bay.