Wellington College makes it eight in a row | Manawatu-Wanganui Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Manawatu-Wanganui

Wellington College took its Quadrangular rugby tournament success run to eight in a row yesterday because it had many more attacking options than a gutsy Nelson College team.

And Wanganui Collegiate, if nothing else, won back respect in the curtainraiser even if going down 38-7 to Christs in the end.

Collegiate lost lively No 7 Larne Collins when red-carded after an all-in scrap after two minutes of the second half. It started when Collegiate No 10 Te Rui Wirihana was too high with a tackle, was remonstrated with severely by two Christs players - and then Collins and others from both sides came in.

He shouldn't have, and they shouldn't have, but clearly Christs were very, very lucky to escape sanction because if they had kept out of it, only the tackler would have been penalised.

As it was, Collegiate found battling with 14 players too tough - albeit while never giving up. At the time of the incident Collegiate trailed just 7-10 and were starting to really get into the game.

Coach Bruce Middleton was disappointed with Collins' dismissal, because he labelled him as having a very big game at the time. Others to do well included hooker Dylan Pearce - he scored the side's only try on the very ground his great-great grandfather Frank K Pearce played on 100 years ago, the ground's first year.

Frank K was Collegiate's head boy at the time.

Add to him, halfback Sean Cummins, lock Duncan Macphee, and second-five Lachlan Watson, and Collegiate's performance was a big step up from Monday's manhandling at the hands of ultimate winner Wellington.

Christs were probably a step down from their effort against Nelson on Monday, but nonetheless - as Middleton sai - "it sets us up nicely for the rest of the season."

Back to thye final:

Nelson gave hot favourite Wellington College as good as it got for the first half, taking a 6-3 lead with young first-five Fletcher Smith's second penalty after 25 minutes. But Wellington's physical pressure produced two quick tries just before halftime for a 17-6 lead.

And then only a quite brilliant 70-odd metre try from rangy Nelson fullback James Lowe stood between Wellington and an easy victory.

It might be too high a praise, but Lowe looked a little bit like a Christian Cullen on long legs. Wellington College assistant coach Jono Mahoney said he had given Wellington a "nightmare" in trying nto keep him under control.

Loqwe started his try by proving his strength in bursting from two tackles on his own 22, showed his speed and outside swerve on halfway by beating another couple and went inside the last like he wasn't there.

But unfortunately for Nelson - and Lowe - he was triple-teamed, maybe even quadruple-teamed, and couldn't produce any more magic.

Wellington's victory was built on the great forward surges of hooker Josh Nicho, prop Eti Sului, and skilled No 8 Tupou Sopoaga (two more tries - six for the tournament), as well as the hard engineroom work of lock Hoani Te Moana and flankers Josh Leutogi and Jack Wolfreys.

That's where it happened, up front.

So Wellington was dominant, Nelson probably deserved secopnd, Christs dropped away a bit - but Collegiate gained some second day ground, despite that final 7-38 score.