Don’t discount St Peter’s College as title contenders in Auckland 1A first XV rugby.
St Peter’s climbed to third on the table and stayed in the hunt with a free-flowing 38-25 away win over King’s College in cold and wet conditions on Saturday, while above them leaders St Kentigern and second-placed Sacred Heart notched straightforward victories.
Last season St Peter’s won the round-robin stage of the season by seven points only to lose a desperately close grand final to second-placed Kelston Boys’ High. So they have a greater appreciation than most of the vicissitudes of first XV rugby and the folly of overestimating standings in early July.
Electric-heeled fullback Nico Mu loves running the ball and he led the way for Saints, with two tries and some clever touches against King’s.
Powerfully-built winger Justin Malifa also chimed in with a terrific try, while the others to cross the line were prop Olive Lam Yuen, flanker Leonardo Flores-McAlpine and Ainea Solomon off the bench.
Apart from Mu, best for St Peter’s were No 8 Charlie Bent who was always dangerous with the ball in hand, and blindside flanker Joe Jarvis Tuuga, while centre Voni Aluesi returned to the starting lineup to claim his 30th cap.
While St Peter’s led 22-8 at the break, King’s finished strongly with a couple of tries in the final 10 minutes.
Full-time: KC 25-38 SPC #KingsvSPC pic.twitter.com/6hLB5ICitx
— King's College (@KingsCollegeAk) July 1, 2023
Elsewhere the competition had its first draw of the season, with Kelston and De La Salle deadlocked at 8-8 after a gruelling physical battle.
That’s left Kelston clinging on to fourth position by goal difference from Auckland Grammar, who registered their fifth victory, 31-8 over winless Dilworth.
St Paul’s earned their first point of the season — a bonus point after losing 22-19 away in a thriller to Mt Albert Grammar — to ease into the relatively heady position of 10th on the table, ahead of Dilworth on goal difference.
Next up for seventh-placed Mt Albert is the Grammar derby (at Auckland Grammar) when competition resumes on July 22. Mt Albert then have a tough finish to the round robin, with matches against St Kentigern and Sacred Heart so it will take something special for them to make the top four playoffs.
By contrast, sixth-placed De La Salle have every chance of clawing back a seven-point deficit and making the cut, with remaining matches against Tangaroa, Liston and King’s College, who all sit in the bottom five. Auckland Grammar face St Peter’s and Sacred Heart in their final two matches. That’s tough.
Sacred Heart were made to work surprisingly hard for their 43-3 win over a gritty Liston College, considering they had close to 90 per cent of possession. It took Sacred Heart 20 minutes to get the scoreboard ticking over, though they eventually managed seven tries against plucky opposition, having led 19-0 at halftime.
Leaders St Kentigern won 51-7 over bottom-placed Tangaroa College.
In the North Harbour competition, defending champions Westlake Boys’ High hit a century quicker than Ben Stokes did in the Ashes, as they steam-rolled their way to a 107-0 win over Manurewa, the school that had pushed them so hard in last year’s grand final.
For a 70-minute game, that equates to a hard-to-comprehend 1.5 points a minute.
But it’s a result that does little for either team. Indeed, one watcher succinctly described it as “a futile match for both sides”.
Westlake will win their competition hands down on this form, but it is hardly a conducive standard for preparing for the bigger challenge of once again beating the best from Auckland’s 1A in the Blues region playoff.
Some had wondered if Westlake’s win might be a national record for a premier first XV competition. However, Otago Boys’ High put 135 on James Hargest College in 2012. Can readers cite a match that can beat that? Please email the biggest first XV win you’ve encountered, via the address at the bottom.
Wellington College won the 97th annual Quadrangular Tournament with a pulsating 32-31 victory over Whanganui Collegiate in the final, reports Adam Julian.
It was fantastic stuff, neither ruined by refs or mauls, and really should have been on TV.
The winning moment for Wellington occurred three minutes from fulltime when first-five Archie Sims nailed a penalty shot, 15m in from touch, 35m out from goal.
It had been a gargantuan struggle in postcard conditions at Wellington College highlighted by thrilling tries, jolting tackles, feverish crowd support, and Wellington coach Neemia Tialata (the heaviest All Blacks prop) reduced to tears on fulltime — overwhelmed by the importability of his teams’ success.
The Saturday earlier Wellington had stumbled to lowly St Bernard’s College in the local premiership. At “Quad” they rallied from 26-15 down against the Central North Island leaders to prevail, having overturned a 19-0 deficit in a 32-26 success over Christ’s College on Tuesday.
Wellington’s success is the first in the tourney since 2014. Midfielder and wing Jacob Kennedy was the undoubted standout. On Tuesday a 50m solo try he scored in the second half provided Wellington with a lead they never lost. In the decider, he scored three tries with his 60m intercept at 26-15 the catalyst for a momentum swing.
The hosts’ forwards — but especially the loose trio of Ele Lupo, Ben Corlett, and captain Jack Riley — showed greater starch than they have all year. Sims nailed several crucial goals.
Whanganui earned their place in the final by defeating Nelson College 35-28. It was the first win by Whanganui against the Southerners since 2003.
Whanganui have a powerful, well-balanced, vibrant side who were left to rue some misfortune in the final which included knocking the ball on over the try line. Standouts included locks Ratubui Latus and Oscar Mabin, No 8 Timothy O’Leary, and strapping midfield back Tali Ioasa.
Nelson recovered from their loss on Tuesday to win the consolation playoff 38-31 against Christ’s College in a match that doubled as a Round 7 Canterbury Championship fixture.
The win for Nelson ensures they remain unblemished with an 8-0 record. If the defending champions win their final match against St Thomas of Canterbury College on July 22, they will be guaranteed first place in the semifinals.
Christ’s secured two bonus points by scoring four tries and losing by seven. Christ’s are two points adrift of fourth with two games remaining.
Hamilton Boys’ High are where they want to be for the rest of the Super 8 season — back at the top of the table — after a 37-19 away win over Tauranga Boys’ College.
Hamilton are now one point ahead, with games to play against Gisborne, Hastings and Napier, and it could well be that they meet second-placed Tauranga in the final.
Hamilton led 29-0 at halftime with the assistance of a strong wind and tries from wingers Ollie Guerin and Dupre Marshall, Christian MacEwan, Jack Miller and Hiraka Waitai-Haenga.
Tauranga fought back in the second spell with tries to second five Judah Draiva and two to hooker Christian Sauni. But Hamilton fullback Rangiwai Lunjevich had the final say with their only try in the second half and a penalty.
The postponed Super 8 game between Napier BHS and Hamilton BHS will be played on Sunday July 9, in Napier.
Scots College overpowered St Patrick’s College Silverstream 32-19 to become the only unbeaten team in Wellington’s Premiership with two rounds to play, reports Adam Julian.
Despite a first-half red card, which led to a try being disallowed, Scots’ size and ability to outflank the hosts resulted in a comfortable victory.
Silverstream lock Alex Hewitt scored two late tries to close the gap from 32-7 to 32-19. Hewitt and tenacious blindside Drew Berg-McLean were hearty in a pack that was ill-disciplined at the breakdown and didn’t generate enough quick ruck ball to stretch their considerably larger opposition.
Scots jumped to a 12-0 lead after 20 minutes with tries to wingers Richard Jones and Happy Valley Patu. Blindside Semurana Fepulea’i and props Tobias Mene and Samuela Moli (celebrating his 50th match for Scots) were busy and a magnet for the Silverstream defence. That reality was exploited by first-five Pyreness Boyle-Tiatia whose passing and running game was authoritative and precise.
Hooker Jericho Wharehinga pulled one back for Silverstream with a rare visit inside the 22 but when Mene crashed over before halftime Scots showed they could still punish despite a red card.
Silverstream lacked imagination on attack and were often guilty of carrying too high into contact and fumbling the ball.
Scots’ backs were efficient without being awe-inspiring. Boyle-Tiatia kicked a 30m penalty after 40 minutes to make it 22-7 and then Fepulea’i, storming down the left wing, deftly distributed to reserve Alex McAslan as Scots secured a four-try bonus point.
Of concern for Scots was powerful and experienced second-five Ieitaia Campbell leaving the field with what appeared to be a shoulder injury. His maturity and booming right foot are an essential ingredient in their success.
Silverstream’s loss was their first in eight games in the local Premiership stretching back to the 2022 round robin. In 2021 Scots beat Silverstream 17-15 on their home field. Scots have beaten Silverstream eight times since 2014.
Auckland 1A Points: St Kentigern 39, Sacred Heart 34, St Peter’s 33, Kelston 30, Auckland Grammar 30, De La Salle 23, Mt Albert Grammar 21, Liston 13, King’s College 11, St Paul’s 1, Dilworth 1 Tangaroa 0.
North Harbour 1A, Round 10: Takapuna 6 Rosmini 12; Massey 17 Whangarei 12; Rangitoto 10 Orewa 7; Westlake 107 Manurewa 0. Points: Westlake 49; Massey 37, Rosmini 36; Takapuna Grammar 35; Whangarei 23; Rangitoto 15; Orewa 6; Manurewa 0.
Central North Island: Wesley College 59 Rathkeale College 9. Points: Whanganui 31, St John’s Hamilton 27, Feilding 26, Wesley 24, St Paul’s 23, St Peter’s 21, Francis Douglas 11, St John’s Hastings 5, Lindisfarne 5, Rathkeale 1.
Wellington Premiership, Round 6: Mana 14 Tawa 24 (28.6.23); St Pats Town 22 Rongotai 5; Silverstream 19 Scots 22; St Bernard’s 38 Tawa 20. Points: Scots 35, Silverstream 30, St Pats Town 20, HIBS 18, Wairarapa 18, St Bernard’s 16, Wellington 12, Rongotai 10, Tawa 4, Mana 0.
Canterbury Premiership, Round 7: Selwyn 12 Marlborough 24; Shirley 31 Timaru 32; Christchurch 20 St Bede’s 10; St Andrews 14 St Thomas 17. Points: Nelson 39, Christchurch 31, St Thomas 29, St Andrews 20, St Bede’s 19, Christ’s 17, Marlborough 14, Shirley 8, Selwyn 7, Timaru 6.
Otago Championship (Division 1): Otago 22 Southland 18; John McGlashan College 30 King’s 5; South Otago 19 Wakatipu 39. Points: Otago 14, Southland 11, John McGlashan 9, Wakatipu 6, King’s 5, South Otago 0.
• Readers are invited to send their first XV rugby updates, news snippets and hot takes to nzschoolboyrugby@gmail.com.
Kiwi schools have now won the tournament three years in a row.