College Sport Whangarei off to roaring start

By JENNI RUTHERFORD

Whangarei Boys High made the perfect start to the rugby season with wins in the traditional and abbreviated version of the game.

Their sevens team had a decisive 53-10 win over Kamo High in the final of the Northland secondary schools tournament, and the first XV beat Kaitaia College 15-13 in round one of the regional competition.

Kaitaia College could not have made a worse start. Their sevens team, who were favourites to win the tournament, were disqualified in the semifinal against Kamo after a mix-up with the substitutes at extra-time.

The rules say that the seven players who ended regular time must remain the same in overtime.

Kaitaia's costly mistake was brought to the attention of the organisers when a substitute player scored the winning try.

They had a chance to redeem themselves in the 15-a-side match, but were denied victory.

In the Waikato first XV championships, Hamilton Boys High retained the Tricolour Trophy in their first defence, beating Matamata College 62-8.

The trophy's stay at the school might be shortlived.

Hamilton won it off St John's College in the first round of the season, but face a strong Church College challenge on Friday in the curtain-raiser to the Chiefs' Super 12 match against the Hurricanes.

* South Auckland's Wesley College finished fourth at the world secondary school championships in Japan.

The national secondary school champions were beaten 6-5 by South Africa's Boland Landbou in the semifinals, and then 12-7 by Fijian college Ratu Kadavulevu School in the playoff for third and fourth.

Boland Landbou is the second consecutive South African college to win the championship, beating Japan's Sendai Ikuei 32-10 in the final.

SWIMMING

There is no let-up in Melissa Ingram's gruelling training schedule now that the Epsom Girls Grammar sixth-former has qualified for the Commonwealth Games.

Ingram made the grade in the 200m backstroke.

She trains 5 1/2 hours a day. Four of them are spent powering through the pool and the rest is taken up in the gym at the Millennium Institute on Auckland's North Shore.

Then there are her studies.

The tough regime has taken some getting used to. "When I am at school I have to keep trying not to fall asleep," she says.

Ingram will miss a lot of school after the Commonwealth Games.

She goes to Japan for the Pan Pacific meet, but is not daunted by the work she will have to make up.

"I'm excited. I'll probably try to do some on the long-haul flights."

While relieved to have qualified, she was disappointed to finish second behind North Shore clubmate Hannah McLean, who has a slower personal best than Ingram.

Ingram was also almost two seconds off her best time, but put the performance down to nerves.

"I've only ever swam in national age-groups and open events, I had one chance to do this, a trip to Manchester was also riding on it, so, yes, I was nervous."

WATERPOLO

Nicki Bason from Sacred Heart Hamilton had reason to celebrate, even though her team finished 10th in the secondary school championships at Lower Hutt on Monday.

She made the New Zealand schoolgirls side to play Australia in the annual three-test series at the end of the year.

Wellington and Auckland schools dominated the top-10 placings, Sacred Heart Lower Hutt winning the title 4-3 in a thrilling final against North Harbour's Rangitoto College. Epsom Girls Grammar beat Westlake Girls High in the play-off for third.

ROAD RELAY

A venue change at short notice did not deter Bay of Plenty schools from entering the Waikaraeo Estuary relay on Saturday. The race was the Round the Lake relay in Rotorua, but Transit New Zealand costs forced organisers to find an alternative course in Tauranga.

Tauranga Boys College won the senior boy's section ahead of Otumoetai College. Tauranga Girls College won the senior girl's relay comfortably ahead of their second team.

This week:

* Today: Northland: soccer.

* Tomorrow: Northland: South zone secondary school cross-country championships.

Eastland: Eastland secondary school duathlon championships.

* Friday: Waikato: Central Districts secondary school orienteering.

Northland: basketball.

Bay of Plenty: Bay of Plenty secondary school multisport championships, Taupo.

* Saturday: Waikato: rugby, netball, soccer

Northland: rugby, fencing.

* Monday: Waikato: netball.