Two late second-half tries saw Suva Grammar School emerge victorious in a gruelling encounter against rivals Marist Brothers High School in the under-18 Southern Zone Secondary Schools Rugby competition.
SGS secured a third-place finish in the rankings after the pool games following a 12-7 win over MBHS.
Both teams have advanced to the semi-finals of the U18 category along with Nasinu Secondary School and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School.
The heavy ground and weather conditions at Buckhurst Park made it difficult for both teams to precisely execute their set-pieces, resulting in a scoreless first half.
The Kaunikuila boys began the second half by attacking Grammar deep in their territory, but the Lions held firm on defense to deny them from penetrating their line.
With patience, Suva Grammar worked their way up, opting to kick downfield and pressure the Marist backline, who struggled to gather the ball in the wet conditions.
Some game awareness paid off for the Nasese-based school as they earned a penalty just 20 meters out from Marist’s tryline. Emilio Qoriniyasi’s penalty attempt fell short, but the chase from his teammates paid off as the ball fell kindly for Tui Benau, who dived over for their first try.
Qoriniyasi struck again just minutes later from another penalty attempt, and this time it was Semesa Biaukula who barged over for their second try.
Leading 12-0 with less than a minute to play, Suva Grammar found themselves under pressure again as Marist used their big forwards to mount an attack close to the line, and they were rewarded with a try to prop Tevita Qalobula.
Saiasi Fuli added the extra points from the conversion, but the comeback came a little too late as the referee blew the final whistle.
Next weekend, SGS will face second-placed MGM in the semifinals while top-ranked Nasinu will take on Marist.