📰 First XV star kicks for glory in a "Stephen Donald moment"

By Bruce Holloway & Adam Julian

Before Wednesday, the last time Francis Douglas Memorial College had beaten New Plymouth Boys’ High School was in 2014.

Back then, Ebola was rampant and Pharrell Williams was hip.

With such a famine of success, it’s unsurprising that there was little contingency for the possibility that Francis Douglas Memorial College (FDMC) would actually topple their larger cross-town rivals at The Gully.

But when workhorse prop Sam McIntosh crashed over for a late try to make it 8-8, Francis Douglas needed to find a goalkicker fast. The destination of the John George-Max Carroll trophy hinged on the outcome of the conversion.

FDMC’s regular kicker, Rory Gilmore, had left the field injured 15 minutes earlier. When assistant coach Thomas Kalin asked head coach Leo Crowley on his walkie-talkie, “Who’s the goalkicker?” Crowley growled back: “I wouldn’t have a clue”.

“Who’s taking the kick? Not me, pardon me, bemused looks. She was a bit hectic when I ran on water and the tee,” Kalin laughed.

“I’ll do it,” halfback Rico Pryor said. He hadn’t kicked a goal for four years, but there was no way McIntosh was taking the kick, so it fell to Pryor.

Heckled remorselessly from the 1500-strong pro-Boys’ High crowd, Pryor nailed the pressure shot, 10m in from touch, 25m away from the target.

“It was a heck of a kick. A Stephen Donald moment for sure,” Kalin acclaimed.

Kalin himself had been lucky to win this game twice as a player.

“In 2013, we won by a record score at The Gully. My contribution was eight minutes from the bench. Jordie Barrett was pissing blood. We didn’t want to take him off. Eventually, we had to,” Kalin reminisced.

“In 2014, we won 20-17 at Yarrow Stadium. I played centre. We had a fairly handy team that included Jordie and Du Plessis Kirifi. Winning the game as a player was special. Winning it as a coach feels better. I understand exactly what the boys are going through.”

Frustration was the overriding sentiment of the first half. Despite creating plenty of opportunities, FDMC turned 5-3 behind, conceding a try from a turnover to New Plymouth winger Coredae Wipiti-Boylan.

“There was no sign of panic at halftime, until we left the dressing room,” Kalin mourned.

“We had to scramble often and hang in the fight. That’s the nature of this game. It’s a real local derby with no quarter asked and no quarter given.”

No 8 Luteru Isaia was lion-hearted for FDMC, and McIntosh earned his corn, then a cherry, in 70 unremitting minutes.

With the victory, Francis Douglas have secured the right to represent Taranaki later in the year in the Chiefs regional finals for a place in the National Top Four.

There’s every possibility New Plymouth won’t be the last major scalp for Francis Douglas. Since 2020, they have only won 11 out of 42 games in the Central North Island competition, but in the opening fortnight of the Taine Randall Cup, they have stretched 2024 finalists Feilding High and St John’s College (Hamilton).

Kalin credits the accomplished Leo Crowley for much of the improvement. Crowley was the assistant coach of Taranaki when they won their first NPC Premiership in 2014.

In 2022, with Kirifi as his captain, he delivered Wellington its first NPC Premiership in 22 years as head coach. Leo’s brother Kieran was an All Black.

“The old notebook is getting a working over with new ideas about game management and positional play,” Kalin said.

“The other thing Kieran has brought is an old-school honesty. Kieran has a connection to the school with sons and nephews who have played for the First XV. He’s emphasised what a privilege it is to be in the First XV.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.