Rotorua Boys' with their trophies. Photo / File.
In his weekly wrap, Bruce Holloway looks at all the big talking points across New Zealand's schoolboy rugby competitions.
Rotorua Boys' High School's roller-coaster ride in first XV rugby is the stuff of fairy tales.
Amid mixed scenes of joy, despair and even disbelief, Rotorua stole the 2022 Super 8 rugby title from under the noses of hosts Hamilton Boys High, winning a quality final 20-19 thanks to a converted try in the dying seconds.
In doing so, they also jubilantly grabbed the Moascar Cup – the Ranfurly Shield of schoolboy rugby – that they had themselves surrendered to Hamilton back on June 25.
They've made movies out of less. The result also reinforced the Super 8's dog-eat-dog unpredictability, given Rotorua had lost two of their round robin matches (to Napier and Hamilton) and only gained a berth in the final after Hamilton narrowly pipped Hastings Boys' High a week earlier.
It was a massive blow for Hamilton, which had cruised through the round robin undefeated and appeared poised to retain the title until the final seconds.
It took a dramatic stoppage-time driving maul try to Rotorua hooker Sione Tupou – and nerveless conversion from Kees Ven Der Heyden - to clinch the win.
But Rotorua coach Ngarimu Simpkins said the two-trophy triumph was more fundamentally a tribute to his team's enduring self-belief.
"It was a high pressure game with three minutes to go, but even though we were down by six points we kept our faith," Simpkins said. "One of our strengths has been the maul so as long as we had the ball we knew we were a chance."
Earlier a brilliant solo run from Payton Spencer had given Hamilton a 19-13 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
Some 90 per cent of Rotorua's players have come through the school's U14 ranks, so they know each other well.
"Our team culture has been built since Year 9 for our boys, so it was all about self-belief and character.
"A lot of our boys come from tough backgrounds and very humble families and for them it became something to draw on in moments like this."
Simpkins praised the mature leadership of team captain and flanker Brooke Mitchell, in his third year in the team.
He also singled out hard-nosed lock Max Hutchings, who has displayed an exceptional work rate all season, literally taking Rotorua above and beyond with his input at set pieces as well as the uncanny ability of Tupou to find the tryline.
When Tupou dotted down, it marked his 22nd try of the season, an astonishing return for a hooker.
"A lot of those tries have come from our driving maul so are a team effort, but Sione has a great nose for the game and he is really hungry. When he gets that ball he does not let go. It is a great skill he has got."
Simpkins, who is celebrating his first Super 8 title as coach, acknowledged it had not just been his boys experiencing a roller-coaster season, but the parents and wider Rotorua community as well, while he said the support and guidance of school principal Chris Grinter had been significant.
"You can't win these sorts of things without good school leadership."
The competition was of such a demandingly high standard that little could be taken for granted.
"A week earlier we beat (bottom-placed) New Plymouth quite comfortably in the end, but it was an absolutely brutal game and a decent contest.
"No team in super 8 is ever the same and there are always multiple challenges tactically. You're in a firestorm in Gisborne, it seems like they have a rugby factory in Hamilton, at Palmerston North it is always tactical kicking.
"Every team has something and you have to be able to prepare tactically and strategically."
Live coverage this season of all Super 8 matches by Maori TV had added certain pressures for the players.
"But it has also been a fantastic learning tool with review sessions."
Regaining the Moascar Cup, which Rotorua had won off Napier Boys' High in 2020, was also highly significant for the players, who had studied its history as part of their rugby curriculum.
"The journey of learning about this trophy in classes means it meant a lot to the boys. And because they won it and lost it and won it again, it has also taken on a special history with us."
The Moascar Cup dates back to the end of WWI, where British, Australian and New Zealand troops cleared a patch of desert in Egypt to play a rugby tournament. The New Zealand Mounted Rifle Unit won and the trophy was constructed, using a cup and a German fighter plane propellor as a base.
Meanwhile there is every chance Rotorua and Hamilton could clash again in the Chiefs Top 4 final on August 27.
On Saturday Rotorua face Tauranga Boys' College in the Bay of Plenty semifinal for the nationals – and if they win that, expect to face Hamilton Boys' once more, but this time at home.
In the other Chiefs region action, Pukekohe High secured a famous 15-8 win over Wesley College last month to become the Counties Manukau first XV qualifier for the Chiefs Top 4 and will now meet the Taranaki winner.
# Rotorua also won the Super 8 Second XV final, beating Hamilton 24-13.
Auckland's 1A first XV top four have been found, with St Peter's hosting De La Salle and defending champs Kelston facing Sacred Heart in the semifinals.
Sacred Heart impressed with a 28-21 win over King's College, in which they also secured the Fitzpatrick-Kirkpatrick Cup. It was 13-13 at half time, then 21-21 late in the second half. With Sacred Heart down to 14 men, they managed a clean backline break and with some nifty footwork, secured a late try.
Meanwhile De La Salle College, the smallest school of the top four qualifiers, needed a last minute penalty to snatch a draw against Auckland Grammar and make the playoffs one point ahead of St Kentigern. De La Salle did not respond to media inquiries about their close shave.
In Wellington's Tranzit Coachlines Cup semifinals St Pat's Silverstream beat Rongotai 55-0, while St Pat's Wellington scraped home 24-23 over Wellington College to set up an "All Saints" final: Pat's v Pat's, at Porirua park, 4.15pm Saturday.
# Nelson College will play St Bede's College in the final of Canterbury's Miles Toyota Championship on Saturday, 11.05am at Trafalgar Park. Nelson beat Christchurch Boys High 27-24, while St Bede's – who finished fourth in the round robin – upset top qualifiers St Thomas of Canterbury 20-15.
# In North Harbour competition, Westlake Boys High beat Whangarei Boys High 37-10 in the semifinals while Manurewa High beat Massey High 17-7. The final between Westlake and Manurewa will be played at 12.05pm, at North Harbour Stadium.
Auckland 1A final round robin points: St Peter's 50, Kelston 43, Sacred Heart 39, De La Salle 36, St Kentigern 35, King's 33, Mt Albert Grammar 27, Dilworth 20, Auckland Grammar 17, Liston 10, Tangaroa 9, Aorere 0.
Sam Cane – 'the All Blacks‘ most under-appreciated player'.