Matchday Scoring Highlights: Centurions U18s (53) v Wellington Māori U18s (21)

The two teams met in fine, windy conditions in their opening Hurricanes Youth Council 2026 Division 1 match at Kilbirnie Park this past Saturday.

A feature of the encounter was the well-acquainted match-ups of many of the players, having been First XV teammates in their school sides all year and now opposing each other. There were also several club players involved, a handful of whom gained Premier rugby experience this year.

The defending champions Centurions scored three tries inside the first 20 minutes to lead 19-0. The Māori team came back but were always chasing the game on the scoresheet.

The Centurions had a second half setback in on-field personnel, sustaining two yellow cards and a red card, resulting in them being reduced to 13 for some of the spell. The Māori closed to 29-21 at one point, but the Centurions were able to dig deep and score four further tries and pull away to win well.

Match highlights below:

It is the second round of three of the Hurricanes Youth Council’s U18s competition this coming Saturday.

The two Division 1 matches see the Wellington Centurions U18s travel to Palmerston North to play the Manawatu U18s and the Wellington Māori U18s head to Napier to play the Hawke’s Bay U18s.

In Division 2, Whanganui host Wairarapa-Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti and Poverty Bay meet in Levin.