Rugby: Napier and Hastings Boys’ First XVs ready to roll with new coaches

Karl Lowe (with ball) playing for Hastings Boys' High School in the annual first fifteens' match against Napier BHS in 2002. Lowe played 100 games for the Hawke's Bay Magpies as well as playing Super Rugby and for the Maori All Blacks, and is now back with the school as its coach. Photo / NZME

The Napier Boys’ High School First XV gets the 2023 Super 8 central North Island boys schools rugby competition under way with the school’s annual matches against Gisborne BHS in Gisborne on Saturday.

But for Hastings Boys’ High School, the competition doesn’t start until a match against Palmerston North BHS at King’s Birthday weekend, a week ahead of the big annual match between Napier and Hastings in Napier.

Napier’s annual match against Wellington College, which was originally scheduled for last weekend, has been postponed by mutual agreement, Napier BHS taking a week off after a five-match tournament in Japan, in which their only loss was in the semifinal.

Hastings have played seven matches, for five wins, including the first against Auckland’s Westlake BHS in Rotorua on March 27, and a 60-7 victory over Wellington College in the only match in Hastings, and last weekend a 65-10 away against Wellington school Rongotai College.

The Super 8 final was won last year by Rotorua BHS, beating near-perennial winner Hamilton BHS 20-19.

Napier haven’t won the title since 2003, while Hastings last won outright in 2016 and shared the title with Hamilton 12 months later.

Each side has a new coaching set-up, with Dave Russell stepping up at Napier BHS to the head coach role, replacing Brendon Ratcliffe, who was also director of rugby at the school and who took the first XV to within a few seconds of the national schools title last year, when they were beaten 17-15 by Hamilton BHS in the Top Four final in Palmerston North.

Former Hastings BHS pupil Karl Lowe, who played 41 matches of the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, 100 for Hawke’s Bay at NPC level and also played for the Maori All Blacks and the Junior All Blacks, heads a powerful new coaching team at his old school as they try to regain the national secondary schools championship title they won in 2017 and 2019 , with such players as All Black Folau Fakatava and fellow Super Rugby players Lincoln McClutchie, Danny Toala, Kini Naholo, Devan Flanders and Jacob Devery.

Assisting Lowe are Jason Shoemark, who played 236 matches at Super Rugby and NPC levels, and Sona Taumalolo, who played about 300 games at the top levels, including for Tonga at the Rugby World Cup.