Schools rugby: Hawke’s Bay schools bow out of national First XV contention early

A five-point Hastings Boys’ High School First XV loss to Palmerston North Boys’ High School in Hastings on Saturday has completed Hawke’s Bay’s earliest exit ever from the national secondary schools rugby championship.

But it was a close thing in the Hurricanes region quarter-final, with Hastings coming back from 20-7 down at halftime to lead 27-20 with six minutes to go before the visitors sealed a 32-27 win with two late tries.

It came two days after Napier Boys’ High School were eliminated when beaten 27-26 by Gisborne Boys’ High School in another home-team loss, with both results being reverses of the outcomes in the Super 8 competition earlier in the season, in which the two schools also missed out on places in the final.

Hurricanes region playoffs had been dominated by Hawke’s Bay schools until neither Hastings nor Napier made last year’s final. The five Top Four national finals played from 2016 to 2022 all included either Hastings or Napier, with Hastings winning in 2017 and 2019, and Napier beaten 17-15 by Hamilton Boys’ High School in the 2022 final.

But, now there are none, while two Manawatū teams face semifinals next weekend.

Palmerston North will play St Pat’s Silverstream, who beat Wellington College 31-12 in the Wellington Schools final on Saturday, and Gisborne play co-educational campus Feilding High School.

Both Hastings and Napier Boys' High School have been knocked out of national competitions early. Photo / Connull Lang

A big upset on Saturday was the elimination of Tauranga Boys’ College from the national championship, after winning the Super 8 schools final 37-0 against defending champions Hamilton Boys’ High School seven days earlier.

On Saturday, they drew 20-20 with Rotorua Boys’ High School in a Chiefs region playoff. With no extra-time provision, Rotorua advanced to the next stage because they had scored the first try.

Southland Boys’ High School stayed in the race to defend the national Top Four title with a 32-15 Highlanders region final win over King’s High School and, in next Saturday’s match to decide this year’s South Island Top Four representatives, will play Nelson College, who progressed with a 20-17 win over Christchurch Boys’ High School.

There were also big upsets as the Central North Island Schools (CNI) competition ended in Taupō.

Hastings school Lindisfarne College claimed third place with a first-ever CNI-match win over St Paul’s Collegiate of Hamilton. Lindisfarne won 40-15, after being down 10-7 at halftime, while St John’s College Hamilton claimed the title with a 42-33 win over Feilding, which had otherwise gone 10 matches unbeaten in the competition.