Uni see off Harlies

University Piggies have the chance to defend their championship title after beating Harlequins 31-22 in the Capital Rugby Union premier grade semifinal on Saturday at Bava Park.
A hattrick of tries from veteran George Hoki in the first half kept University in the match.
University showed great character and discipline to come back from a five point deficit at half time to claim the victory.
Piggies were made to work for this win as the Harlequins pushed them right to the final whistle.
Harlies held most of the possession in the first half as they retained the ball, frustrating University who gave away penalties which Harlequins converted.
A try to hooker Freddy Andale and four penalty goals to Uni Patrick gave Harlies a 22-17 halftime lead.
The points dried up for Harlequins in the second half as University’s forwards gained the upper hand, with two tries to Barol Homerang sealing victory.
Harlequin’s assistant coach Billy Rapilla said the team did well to compete in the match coming off two heavy losses.
“I’d like to give credit to the boys who stood up today; after the last two results, we come out with a lot more confidence today,” he said.
“When it comes to finals football it’s a new game altogether, if we had taken a few chances we would probably be in a different position.”
The University coach Paul Joseph predicted a tough forwards battle against the Harlies and knew that they would want to bounce back from two losses.
“It’s always tough against Harlies even though they lost their previous games we know they would be a different unit and it showed. They made us work for the win,” Joseph said.
“We maintained possession in their half even though we were making mistakes. One too many passes and some players getting the white line fever.
“But we composed ourselves to see the game through.”
University will face Brothers in the CRU premier grade grand final next weekend at Bava Park.