They dispatched Central Southland College 87-0 under the roof last weekend — but they will still head into the South Island final tomorrow as the "underdogs".
Their opponents, Christchurch Girls’, beat Craighead Diocesan 50-0 in drizzly conditions last weekend andare no strangers to the big South Island final.
Columba will have the home advantage at Logan Park 6 and manager Dayna Turnbull knows they are in for a big game.
But it is another opportunity for Columba to showcase what they can do.
"I think they’ll be pretty skilful," Turnbull said of Christchurch Girls’.
"They’ve got a lot more students to select from and they’ve got twice as many teams as us. They’ll be strong and they know the rules and very skilful players.
"But if we can isolate some of their areas of improvement, hopefully we can target some of the gaps.
"If it’s a dry day, I think we can use our backline to our advantage."
That backline was sensational in the Highlanders final last weekend and none more so than fullback Pip Eason, who scored six tries.
Columba also showed their strengths in open play, using the quick tap to their advantage and spreading the ball wide.
"They definitely love when they can run the ball and open some space," Turnbull said.
"We’ve got some very good passing players and some very good leadership across our backline. We’re really really lucky in that skill set."
If Columba win they will advance to the national top four, and head to the competition in Palmerston North next month.
Kick-off is at 11am tomorrow.
South Island secondary school girls final
Logan Park, tomorrow, 11am
Columba: Pip Eason, Livi Arnold, Payton Downs, Lula Joseph, Lyla Bowering, Madison Flutey, Charli Sinclair, Ciara Paterson, Jendi Minty, Ashley Malone, Georgia Drummond, Sarah Stephens, Molly Hansen, Baylee Rapata-Fish, Taylor Anderson.
Reserves: Emy Rouvi, Taylor Skevington, Ava Andersen, Nova Whitson, Fenella Millen, Molly Nichol.
