9 April 2023

The U16s playoffs kicked off day 2 of NZRL National 9s, where Wellington took on Auckland in the first girls’ semi-final.

It was all Wellington in the first half as the Capital managed to keep Auckland in their own forty, scoring two unanswered tries. The Capital kept their momentum in the second stint running away with a convincing 20-4 win booking them a spot in the girls’ final.

Canterbury then took on Northland in the second semi, where it was an even match-up between North and South with one try a piece heading into halftime.

But it was the Northlanders that came out firing in the second stint, scoring two back-to-back tries to book themselves a spot in the U16s girls’ final against Wellington with a 12-10 victory.

The boys’ playoffs followed shortly after, where Canterbury took on Otago in the first semi-final. The Cantabrians dominated, scoring four unanswered tries to book their spot in the final, 24-0.

Wellington then took on Manawatu in the second semi. A clever barge through the middle saw Wellington open up the scoring, but Manawatu answered back with four unanswered tries to win 24-6

Wellington will take on Northland in the Girls’ final at 1:30pm and Canterbury will face Manawatu in the Boys’ final at 2pm. Both games live on Sky Sport 4.