Co-captain Cohen Norrie leads out his Sacred Heart team. Photo / Bruce Holloway
Co-captain Cohen Norrie leads out his Sacred Heart team. Photo / Bruce Holloway
Sacred Heart’s miracle try-scoring blitz
Tauranga reign supreme in Super 8
Westlake hit a ton
Some refereeing praise
Central North Island finalists are familiar faces
Wellington’s reigning champs dethroned
Nelson College and Christchurch Boys’ to contest Canterbury final
Southland v King’s to battle in final down south
Sacred Heart’s miracle try-scoring blitz
If at first you don’t succeed in Auckland 1A First XV rugby, you need to try, try, and try again.
And that is exactly what defending champions Sacred Heart did in executing a desperate, rampaging 11-try blitz against St Paul’s College on Saturday to ultimatelywin 71-5 and somehow sensationally snatch the season’s final playoff berth from St Peter’s through a teasingly tiny points differential.
Their reward is an away semifinal with top qualifiers Saint Kentigern on Saturday, while in the other semi Auckland Grammar will host Kelston Boys’ High, who also finished locked on 39 points with Sacred Heart and St Peter’s, but with a far superior points differential of 255.
It was an afternoon where teams needed calculators as much as a game plan, with Kelston Boys’ High, Sacred Heart and St Peter’s only separated by points differential (season points scored minus points conceded) in the battle for third and fourth places.
Kelston had pretty much made sure of their 38-5 bonus-point win over Liston College five minutes into the second spell of their home match, and knew they had a far superior points differential tucked away.
However, across town things were far more dramatic. When St Peter’s began the final round with a points differential 14 better than Sacred’s - and then racked up a worthy 57-10 home win over Dilworth - it was reasonable to think they had done enough to qualify, given their seasonal points differential had improved to 141.
It meant that over in Ponsonby, Sacred Heart - who had opened their season with two consecutive losses - needed to win by at least 61 points against St Paul’s.
But as it happened, Sacred managed to chalk up a 66-point win when star first five Cohen Norrie twinkle-toed his way through the St Paul’s defence and sprinted 40m to score his third try, in the second minute of stoppage time.
While they had only led 26-5 at halftime, Sacred ultimately racked up points at the rate of one a minute, and the loudest cheer of the day erupted when word came through that they had just pipped St Peter’s thanks to Cohen’s final converted try.
However, you really do have to feel for St Peter’s in studying the league table. A team that won eight of its matches somehow finished two places below a team (Kelston) that only won seven, but harvested 11 bonus points.
St Peter’s had raced to a 26-0 lead in the opening minutes against Dilworth, with tries to Louie Kishimoto, Kiona Rajesh, Josh Peteru, Bailey Tupu Tuia and added a further five in the second half.
But even a 47-point winning margin and 15-point advantage going into the match wasn’t quite enough. One more try would have done it for them.
Out west, Kelston started nervously against Liston, in a match where they also knew they would need a bonus-point win to be certain of making the cut. After 20 minutes there were furrowed brows when they found themselves trailing 0-5 to a try from focused Liston openside Daniel Lawrence.
However, in a devastating seven-minute burst, Kelston then strung together quality tries to storming No 8 Dezman Laban, lively wing Ulutoa Aii and flanker Aio Keith.
Kelston made the game safe with their fourth try, to openside flanker Joseph Paiali’i, in the first minutes of the second half.
Kelston skipper Jarrel Vaega leading his team.
But the most telling illustration of their superiority was the manner in which they not only soaked up the best of Liston’s attack when they had Laban and Paiali’i consigned to the sinbin within seconds of each other, but even burst on to attack for hooker Xavier Leota to score under the posts. Keith added a further try for good measure.
Laban was exceptionally influential when not in the bin, while the whole Kelston backline will give Grammar plenty to be wary of on Saturday.
St Kentigern enjoyed a 33-8 win over De La Salle, with try-scorers including winger Epalahame Kivalu, No 8 Zephaniah Lototau, second five Benjamin Moughan and prop Riley Grant Faiva.
Auckland Grammar eased to a 36-0 away victory over Botany Downs Secondary College with tries to Bastion Armstrong, Patrick Tousoon, Charlie Wallis, Nico Stanley, Jonathan Thomson and Lagi Sharma, though they didn’t trouble the scorers again after the 41st minute.
King’s College finished a sometimes enterprising season frustratingly one point short of the top four with a 42-22 home win over Mt Albert Grammar.
For King’s, flanker Johan Schaumkell (2) and hooker Charlie Burn got the early tries, while winger Kahurangi Cotterill and subs Joseph Fatuvalu and Calvin Harris-Tavita sealed the win in the final 20 minutes.
The highlight for Mt Albert was a hat-trick of tries to No 8 Noah Stratton Gregory, while they also led 17-14 at halftime.
Some 1A semifinal stats
Between 2011 and 2018, Saint Kentigern won five 1A titles and 91 out of 102 games. They made finals in 2019 and 2023 but haven’t bagged a title since defeating Sacred Heart 26-19 in the 2017 final.
Saint Kentigern’s record since 2019 is 44 wins, 16 defeats and three draws. They lost the 2023 final to Sacred Heart but defeated them in the 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2019 semis.
Since 2011 Sacred Heart have won 115 1A games and featured in 10 semifinals but only made the decider three times.
Auckland Grammar won the last of their 65 1A titles in 2014. Remarkably, Grammar haven’t been in a final since 2015. Their record since 2013 is 89 wins, 44 defeats and a draw.
Kelston finished in the top four 18 times between 1992 and 2011, netting six titles. From 2013 to 2020 Kelston failed to make the playoffs with a modest record of 37 wins, 42 defeats and three draws. In 2021 Kelston were declared champions when the season was called off early after winning all 10 matches. In 2022 Kelston stunned unbeaten St Peter’s College in the final.
The Auckland 1A First XV table.
Auckland 1A semifinals, 2.30pm Saturday: Saint Kentigern v Sacred Heart; Auckland Grammar v Kelston.
Final Auckland 1A points: St Kentigern 49, Auckland Grammar 48, Kelston 39, Sacred Heart 39, St Peter’s 39, King’s 38, Liston 27; Mt Albert Grammar 23, De La Salle 21, St Paul’s 10, Dilworth 6, Botany Downs 0.
A ton for Westlake
In Kyocera Document Solutions North Harbour First XV competition, Westlake Boys’ High showed no mercy with a 102-0 win over a Manurewa team that duly sunk to the bottom of the table on goal difference.
The final scoreline fell just short of the 107-0 win Westlake registered over Manurewa last season, but it is an outcome that does little for either team.
In other matches, Whangarei Boys’ High beat Rangitoto 27-8, Rosmini College beat Mahurangi College 45-5 and Massey High nabbed their fourth victory of the season with a 24-7 win over Takapuna Grammar.
Kyocera Document Solutions North Harbour First XV points: Westlake 60 Rosmini 54, Whangārei 46, Rangitoto 40, Mahurangi 24, Massey 23, Takapuna 5, Manurewa 5.
Praise for the ref
It’s often said the sign of a good referee is when they don’t get mentioned in any rugby match post-mortems.
But reader Sam Wimsett believes that amid all the praise dished out to players in the wake of the great 1A spectacle that unfolded between St Peter’s and Sacred Heart on August 3, an acknowledgment should also have been made of the exceptionally fine performance of young referee Sam Adam.
Wimsett wrote: “It was indeed one of the finest games of footy I have ever seen. I say that having been to 61 All Blacks test matches.
“You rightly mentioned that St Peter’s were equally deserving of a win. But you failed to mention a truly masterful refereeing performance. The young man was in wonderful position all day, communicated well and was accurate. The quality of the match owed much to him. It should have been mentioned.”
Tauranga steam-roll Hamilton to win first Super 8 title this millennium
Tauranga Boys’ College’s record 37-0 whitewash of Hamilton Boys’ High in the Super 8 final at Nicholson Field was so seismic even The Terminator’s Sarah Connor wouldn’t have predicted it.
Metronomic winners Hamilton were obliterated by Tauranga terminators who hadn’t won the competition since 1999 – a previous millennium where a computer bug called Y2K briefly threatened to bring down humanity as we knew it.
Has Super 8 ended as we know it? Hamilton’s legendary coaches Nigel Hotham and Greg Kirkham will both have departed by the end of the season, with Tauranga now clearly top of the pile and the scoreline as shockingly one-sided as it looks.
Furthermore, Tauranga won the Second XV version of the clash in a canter too, 36-17. That hadn’t happened since 2009.
Hamilton appeared hellbent on kicking the leather off the ball, a plan that backfired spectacularly. They were unusually errant, while Tauranga had the brains, brawn and attrition to avoid being enveloped by Hamilton’s typically cold efficiency.
Tauranga started without fear, stretching the visitors with expansive attack. Hamilton were resolute until the 17th minute when No 8 Aidan Spratley slipped a tackle and burst 40m.
Impatience threatened to derail the hosts, with first five Mason Verster eventually conceding a penalty, rather than maximum points, which was a better option in the 25th minute.
A 10-0 deficit was far from insurmountable for Hamilton at halftime. However, when Verster glided into a gaping hole in the 38th minute it was curtains for the 15-time champions.
Hamilton are almost totally foreign to the reality of losing and resembled possums in the headlights.
Verster kicked a 40m penalty to make it 20-0 and then a 50-22 he executed with the wind saw Tauranga maul from the subsequent lineout and switch sharply right for an unmarked Judah Draiva.
Draiva played with the joy of a first-time visitor to Disneyland and crossed again in the 57th minute after faultless phase play.
How bad did things get for Hamilton? Even gun centre Ollie Guerin threw an intercept to Kele Lasaqa.
Tauranga props Ioapo Kupita and Nickolai Te Huia set the tone physically, with lock Leo Keaney enjoying a barnstorming match. Loose forwards Jay McQuoid, Ketai Zinyowera and Aidan Spratley were tigerish and dynamic. Verster was commanding at first five, with his outsides growing in stature throughout.
Tauranga Boys' High celebrate with the Super 8 trophy.
Tauranga Boys’ previous largest victory over Hamilton Boys’ was 26-6 in 1987. Their largest score against Hamilton remains 38 from an 11-point win in 1994.
Tauranga have now beaten Hamilton three times in a row for the first time in three decades.
Hamilton’s biggest Super 8 loss before Saturday was 38-5 to Napier Boys’ in 2001. That season Hamilton also lost 46-17 to Rotorua Boys’. In 2000, Rotorua blanked Hamilton 31-0.
Tauranga won all eight Super 8 games this season, outscoring opponents 326-134. Their wins over Rotorua Boys’ (57-14) and Napier Boys’ (52-12) were school records with the Napier success a first in Hawke’s Bay.
The Titans’ double success is a triumph for former Bay of Plenty lock and coach Aidan Kuka, who has transformed the rugby programme at Tauranga Boys’ College since 2021.
He earlier told the Bay of Plenty Times: “I like to have an extended squad where both [first and second] squads train together and that has paid off for us this season. The players deserve the success they have had and today they really put their bodies on the line.”
This Saturday, at noon at Nicholson Field, Tauranga Boys’ host Rotorua Boys’ for the right to represent Bay of Plenty schools in the Chiefs Regional semifinals.
Hamilton Boys’, St Paul’s Collegiate, Taranaki champions New Plymouth Boys’ and Counties winners Pukekohe High are the other schools in contention for the National Top Four.
* Nicholson Field is named after Arthur Nicholson, who guided Auckland Grammar School to 13 1A championships (143 wins in 186 matches) between 1929 and 1943. From 1946 to 1964 Nicholson was foundation principal of Tauranga College. Has his field ever looked better? Manicured beautifully by groundsman Richard Earl, a horn band, sponsorship tents and a bundle of body-painted spectators showed how palpable momentum for rugby at Tauranga Boys’ is at present.
Wellington College and Silverstream set for compelling capital showdown
Wellington College have made the Tranzit Premiership First XV final for the first time since 2017, dethroning reigning champions Scots College 29-7.
Single-point semifinal defeats in 2021 and 2022 will become a distant memory if Wellington can topple St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, who crushed St Patrick’s College Wellington 60-5.
Silverstream’s victory was expected, with a similar margin separating their namesakes a fortnight ago. Silverstream forwards bullied their city rivals, with lock Preston Moananu and hooker Jericho Wharehinga each scoring twice.
Prop Noah Krijnen and openside Drew-Berg McLean were a bustle of activity and first five Thompson Tukapua contributed poise, pace and 15 points.
Meanwhile, Wellington were swift to establish ascendancy against Scots but would have been agitated it took 27 minutes to break the deadlock. Winger Shea Bosher finished a clinical scrum movement.
Carisma Faitala struck a crucial blow before the interval. Wellington first five Archie Sims jabbed a kick ahead for the fleet-footed fullback to pursue and gather in front of the rowdy terraces.
Wellington kept their foot on the throat after halftime with a penalty by Sims, and then Bosher turned provider for Teina Hingston-Mill with an offload in the grasp of two tackles while bound for the grass.
Hooker Daniel Hawes, captain Harry Law and second five Te Aowera Para headlined Wellington’s best display since toppling Silverstream on June 12. Scots gritty captain Reweti Ngarimu crossed for a consolation try.
Silverstream and Wellington have met each other eight times in finals, with Wellington enjoying a 5-3 advantage.
The Premiership final is on Sunday at Jerry Collins Stadium. Silverstream beat Wellington 17-11 in the 2017 final at that venue, but have lost eight finals in Porirua since 2002.
Feilding v St John’s final again in Central North Island
Feilding High will go in search of their third successive Central North Island First XV title in once again facing St John’s (Hamilton) in the final at Owen Delany Park in Taupō on Saturday at 12.45pm, (with the match expected to be livestreamed on YouTube by Bevs Broadcasting).
Last year Feilding beat St John’s 24-17 in the final and by 33-22 in the 2022 decider, and will arguably start as warm favourites once again, given they downed St John’s 48-15 this year in round-robin play.
Powerful left winger Dan Maisiri - who played for the New Zealand U18 Sevens team last year - was the star as Feilding beat Lindisfarne College 31-5 in their semifinal.
Maisiri opened the scoring with a strong run to score in the corner, and also finished the scoring with a lightning 50m dash for his second try. His searching kicks also drove play deep into the Lindisfarne half, while his ability to run down opposition players shut down a lot of attacks.
Others to impress for Feilding were hooker Alani Fakava and flanker Marshall Buckman, while prop Dane Johnston made his 40th appearance.
Meanwhile, St John’s bounced back from a 13-point loss to St Paul’s a week earlier to pip them 31-24 in an all-Hamilton semifinal, after leading 12-10 at halftime.
Feilding star Dan Maisiri.
Familiar finalists in Canterbury
In the 23 Miles Toyota Championship finals contested, either Nelson College or Christchurch Boys’ High have featured 21 times.
And on Saturday Nelson and Christchurch will face each other for the seventh time in the decider, with Nelson eager to exact revenge after their 30-26 defeat in last year’s final.
Nelson confirmed a place in their 13th final with a 32-10 win over Marlborough Boys’ College.
Marlborough were more competitive than their 50-0 slaying earlier in the season, but with six tries and ahead 22-5 at halftime Nelson were comfortable victors.
The hosts’ tries were scored by Kaelan Grafton, Zyon Ford, Fanua Faavae, Harry Inch, Samuela Takapu and Kobe Brownlee. First five Inch had a rare off day with the boot, slotting just a solitary conversion.
Marlborough’s coach Tonga Taumoefolau told the Marlborough App he was proud of his players’ second-half effort.
“We stopped them having territory, and once we sorted that out in the second half, we spent the majority in the time at their end of the field.”
Mason Nicklin and Luke Zillwood scored tries for a Marlborough team making their first semifinal since 2014.
Christchurch Boys’ and Christ’s College first locked horns in 1892 and their semifinal battle was typically fierce, with little in it. Christchurch prevailed 24-15, with the boot of Cam Jones the difference. Jones kicked three conversions and a penalty, while Christ’s failed to convert their three tries, scored by Zinzan Bondarenko-Leatua (2) and Harry Hanson.
Props Ethan Webber and Finn McLeod were hungry, accurate and aggressive for Christchurch, each profiting with tries. Foiling Christ’s openside Frankie Meates proved difficult but Christchurch are a well-organised side with a sensible and disciplined approach.
Christchurch have won 11, drawn one and lost three finals. Nelson are 4-8 in deciders but won in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
National Champions to face Resurgent King’s High in Final
Southland Boys’ High stormed into the Southern Schools Rugby Championship final and retained the Moascar Cup by belting Otago Boys’ High School 42-10.
Southland held Otago scoreless in the second half after only leading 12-10 at halftime.
Behind a fired-up pack, astute kicking by first five Mika Muliana kept Otago caged in the darkest corners of Invercargill and the hosts’ forwards were far too strenuous to handle.
Blindside Josh Carins and lock Jack McKeay scored quickly after the interval, but it was a 25m lineout drive finished by livewire No 8 Thomas Spain that buried Otago. Southland had employed the suffocating tactic to great effect in the first half, with Jake Evans dotting down.
Southland aren’t entirely devoid of flair. Jimmy Taylor had his classic moment fending off three players and setting up Carins for a double after a 50-metre bust.
King’s High continued their late-season surge, toppling John McGlashan College 27-22. King’s have flipped earlier-season defeats to Otago Boys’ and McGlashan to make the final.
They stunned the hosts with two tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to create significant breathing room. Winger Jeremiah Tuhega-Vaitupu was in fine form, dotting down twice, and fullback Jaxon Harvey was ever-present.
It was a keen battle at the breakdown, with King’s loose forwards Jacob Palmer, Montell Penese and Max Miller toiling gamely. Lock Jonty Reily put in a huge shift for John McGlashan.
Southland, winners of 10 matches in a row, have won both games against King’s this season, 17-13 and 18-15. The Moascar Cup will be at stake in the final.
* Is there another side to anything reported here? Readers are invited to send their first XV rugby updates, news snippets, and hot takes to nzschoolboyrugby@gmail.com .
